How to choose darts: weight, tungsten, barrel shape and grip
On a shop wall or a website, darts all look much the same, yet two sets at the same price can feel completely different in your hand. The good news: only four or five things really matter. Here's how to make sense of them, whether you're buying your first set or your second.
Weight comes first
In steel-tip, most players throw darts somewhere between 18 and 30 g. The rules allow much heavier (up to 50 g), but above 30 g you're mostly looking at special cases.
What weight changes:
- A light dart (around 18 to 21 g) needs a slightly firmer throw and flies in more of an arc. Some players love that delicate feel.
- A heavy dart (around 24 to 26 g and up) travels flatter and forgives small wobbles in your arm a little more, but it tires you out more over a long evening.
- In between (22 to 24 g) is a sensible starting point if you don't yet know what you like.
There's no universally correct weight: the right one is the one you group best with, without forcing it.
Tungsten or brass
The barrel (the part you hold) is the heart of the dart, and what it's made of changes everything.
| Material | What to know |
|---|---|
| Brass | Cheap but not very dense: for the same weight, the barrel is chunky. Fine for trying the game without spending much. |
| Tungsten | Very dense: at the same weight, the barrel is slimmer, which leaves more room for your darts in the same treble. |
Tungsten is always alloyed with other metals, and the percentage on the box (often 80, 90 or 95%) tells you how much of it there is. The higher the percentage, the slimmer the barrel can be for a given weight, and the higher the price. For most players, 90% is a very good balance. Slimness starts to matter once you're grouping: three darts in treble 20 means three barrels squeezed into a bed a few millimetres wide.
Barrel shape
At the same weight, where the mass sits changes the feel:
- Straight (cylindrical): the weight is spread along the whole length, so you can hold it in several places. The most versatile choice.
- Torpedo: thicker towards the front, which moves the centre of gravity forward. Plenty of players feel it "pulls" towards the board.
- Bomb (or barrel-bellied): fatter in the middle, easy to hold in the centre, good for a compact grip.
A long barrel often suits a three or four-finger grip, a short one a tighter grip. There's more on that in how to hold a dart.
Grip: the knurling
The barrel surface is machined so your fingers don't slip: rings, grooves, fine or aggressive knurling. A heavy grip feels reassuring if your hands get sweaty, but it can catch your fingers on release. A nearly smooth barrel asks for a more consistent hold. If in doubt, go for a medium grip, and above all check that the spot where your fingers naturally land is properly textured.
Shafts and flights
They're the cheapest parts, yet they change how the dart flies:
- Shafts: short, medium or long, in nylon, aluminium or carbon. A longer shaft makes the dart steadier in flight but more prone to clipping darts already in the board. Nylon is light and cheap but breaks sooner; aluminium lasts longer but can bend or work loose.
- Flights: standard, slim, kite, pear... A big flight steadies and slows the dart, a small one flies faster and leaves more room in the treble.
These parts wear out, so always keep a spare set in your case. They're the first thing to experiment with before you change barrels.
Tips for beginners
- Start simple: an entry-level tungsten set around 22 to 24 g, straight barrel, medium shafts, standard flights. You can fine-tune later.
- Change one thing at a time: if you go from short to long shafts, keep the same barrels long enough to feel the difference.
- Give a set a few weeks before you judge it. In the first days, we blame the dart for what's mostly down to the throw.
- Keep track of your results: without numbers you go on how the evening felt. With Throw the score keeps itself while you play, and your three-dart average in x01 is saved if you have a free account, so you can compare two sets over several games.
Try before you buy
It's the best advice and the most ignored. Plenty of specialist shops have demo darts and a board to throw at. At the club or the pub, players are usually happy to lend you their set for a few visits. Throw at least ten visits with each model and look at your grouping, not one lucky shot.
Once you've picked your set, stick with it for a while: consistency comes from repetition, and repetition needs the same kit. Next up, have a look at throwing technique and the difference between steel-tip and soft-tip.