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Gunn & Moore Halo Cricket Set
by pmcds
The Halo series of cricket sets are ideal for practicing purposes, perhaps not so for matches. The idea behind them is to train in particular areas of the game as opposed to concentrating on batting when someone's trying to bowl you out with a fast ball!
To start with, the bat is somewhat thinner and designed to be more ... resilient and focusing the power into the middle of the bat. There is less emphasis on being able to edge the ball or tow it, and therefore these areas aren't as carefully designed as the rest. The extremities of the bat (shoulders, toe and edges) are stockier and likely to provide a concentrated front drive to the bat as opposed to nicking the ball and it flying off at an angle.
This makes it great for training, and I thought it was really good to start with, until the cracks started showing. Initially very annoyed, I wondered this could have been as I had mainly used the softer ball that the set comes with. Cricket balls are very solid and hard, the leather tightly woven over a dangerously hard interior. This ball is solid, but much softer, more like a hard tennis ball than a cricket ball. Although I've used a real cricket ball with this bat, I knew it had been designed to drive and drive, so the cracking annoyed me. However, I was reliably informed that it's to do with the design of the bat. Regular bats are designed for a range of flamboyant shots, ranging from hard handed to soft handed, fast bowling and spin, and any cracks or splits in them usually signify the end of the bat. However, the Halo bat is made of willow that is tempered deliberately so that cracks and splits will occur but this will not affect the performance of the bat. Initially dubious, I followed up on checking this and apparently it's true.
The stumps are also white willow, and feel like a more raw wood than the seasoned stumps you usually get. There's one set of full stumps and then a single one, perhaps so you can test you running between the wickets, perhaps as a spare, I'm not sure. It does prevent you from using these for a complete game, but then it's a training set for cricket as opposed to a game set so I guess you can't complain about this too much.
Does this help my game? Well I suppose it must do - the junior set certainly helps my 9 year old son, as it's easier to wield the bat than it is a real one. I don't ever feel confident in using this, and it's not as thin as the Gunn & Moore bat designed to train you to centre the shot every time, so it doesn't necessarily help with this. You can't really practice your deft shots as much either, wherever you make contact it's kind of a driving shot and this does feel weird. Moving from this to playing with a real bat may result in you getting caught at slip or dragging the ball onto your stumps instead of the anticipated down the ground drive you've been perfecting.
It's an okay product, and is probably more of benefit to someone wishing to practice particular shots or for a beginner. The junior sized set certainly is good for beginners. Other than the sturdiness of the bat and stumps in terms of not being damaged permanently despite chips and cracks, the benefit isn't as much as the price of £14 or so would have you believe. A proper cricket set would cost you a whole heap more, so you're not breaking the bank. It's just not as marvellous and I suppose necessary as you may first think.
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Unicorn Dart Sharpener
by MattyTM
The Unicorn darts sharpener is one of the better and more useful accessories for your new set of darts. It is cheap, small (can be bought with a keyring attachment) and does exactly what it says on the tin and gives your points a little bit of an edge, very important when trying to force bounce-outs from your game.
I bought a ... pair of James Wade darts, loved them but naturally using them every day of the week during my lunch and tea breaks at work caused the points to slowly wear down. After a while you'll notice that your darts don't quite sit into the board as deep as a fresh set of points, and bounce-outs become ever more prevalent in your game. Simply put this is due to the points becoming more rounded, meaning that there is more surface area for the spokes around the boards to be hit by.
The Unicorn darts sharpener is something that can add a quick edge to your points, helping with such issues. You could even go as far as to use it quickly between plays, but sportsmanship issues means generally you'll refrain from this choosing to sharpen before and just after a match.
The great thing about this is that it only costs around £1.50-£1.99 a pittance for what it's worth. I did once opt for point replacements, simply put my points were in dire need of a change and not even a sharpener could save them, and whilst it cost me around £10 and included a fresh set of point, it took 7 or so days to sort. No doubt a few sports shops still offer the service though finding said shops is becoming more and more difficult.
The Unicorn darts sharpener on the other hand is cheap and quick, and considering how much gimmicky accessories that are now made available to throwers this is one item that isn't gimmicky in anyway and can in fact be the difference between a ton eighty and three bounce-outs in all honesty.
It is made from vitrified silicon carbide, and even through constant use will last you years and years before you even need to consider replacing it. Even when that time comes, it's not exactly a bank-breaker and for that reason this can only ever get 5 stars. Great value for money and can quite literally be the difference between winning and losing dart matches
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Sistema Twister Bottle
by MsTricia
I had read some good reviews on this bottle, so when I spotted it in Asda for a mere £2 I had to have it! It had been lurking in my wishlist for absolutely ages so it was a no brainer for me to buy it, and I think I want another one if I am honest!
I bought a pink one, as I saw them available in black, pink and blue and the ... black looked far too hideous and boring and the pink just seemed more girly and bright which would definitely encourage me to use it more! Holding the bottle it felt really lightweight and thin but in use it is actually really durable and strong. It is made from BPA free plastic which is good. BPA is a type of plastic which research has shown that BPA can seep into food or beverages from containers that are made with BPA so just to err on the side of caution I am always happy to let my daughter always drink out of this when we are out and about.
The bottle has a twist cap which is really easy to use so it reveals a small protruding spout for easy drinking. It's really straightforward and even my 3 year old daughter can use it on her own! Not good as now she wants to use it as hers! It has a ridged side so its easy to hold and grip and is really comfortable to hold.
I tend to use this to keep in my handbag so I can have a drink with me on the go when I am out shopping or on my way to work and not get too dehydrated. It's been really good as it has not yet *touch wood* leaked at all in my bag so for this it is definitely worth a fab 5 stars! The bottle is really easy to clean, simply unscrew the lid and give a quick wash around and leave to dry on the draining board. Really easy, and not a problem at all.
Overall this has been a really good bottle and I've had no problems with it so I would definitely recommend it. It's easy to use, doesn't leak and can hold a good capacity and me and my daughter love using it. For only £2 I think I need to buy another one!
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