Darts Buying Guide
The game of Darts has been around for a long time, perhaps as far back as medieval times and it continues to be a great social game, suitable for all the family. Here are some tips for choosing darts and boards.
Darts
Brass Dart - Steel
Brass is the lightest of the three metallic darts. It is a soft alloy (copper & zinc) which makes it easy to for manufacturers to shape and work with.
Nickel - Steel
Nickel-silver is another light dart that is an alloy consisting of nickel, copper and zinc. Like brass, it is easy for manufacturers to shape and work with.
Tungsten - Steel
Tungsten, unlike brass and nickel-silver, is a very heavy and dense metal. It is usually mixed with nickel so you will see on a package something like 80-20 (80% tungsten/20% nickel). It is harder to work with but will last longer than the other two (especially the knurling). On average, a 20 gram tungsten dart will be ½ the size of a 20 gram brass dart which will allow for tighter groupings on the board. This is the reason most of the really good throwers use tungsten darts but if you are just starting out, this is less important.
Points
Steel-tip: You have two options, fixed-point or moveable-point.
Fixed-point: This is where the point is solidly fixed into the dart, it does not move. This is the most common type of dart you will see.
Moveable-point: There are a number of different varieties on the market, but the idea behind them all is the same, they are designed to help decrease the chance of a bounce-out. The hope is that if you hit a wire, the back-end (or barrel) will then move forward and force the point into the boards as opposed to letting the dart bounce off the wire and fall to the floor.
Try out different types of darts before you buy, if possible, to see which shape and weight of dart suits you best.
Weights
Steel-tip darts can weigh up to 50 grams, though you will have a very difficult time locating very many varieties above 30 grams. Most people throw darts that weigh between 20-25 grams.
Choosing dart flights is a very important factor in your dart set-up and care should be taken in choosing the correct shape and texture for your darts and throwing style.
Standard flights tend to guide the darts more efficiently because they have a larger surface area. They tend to be more forgiving of darts thrown at an angle to the board because the larger surface area catches the air and straightens them up.
This does not mean they would be the best choice for everyone though. If you are using very short stems for example, the size and shape of your dart flights becomes a big issue because the darts will not group as closely together without hitting each other causing bounce outs and wrecked flights!
This is when it may be better to choose a different size and/or shape of flight. Smaller flights tend to cut through the air quicker too which I feel enhances the effect of using shorter stems. I have found though, that your throw needs to be very controlled and balanced for this set-up to be effective.
Another factor with flights is that the smoother the texture of flight you use, the less drag effect they have so they will slice more quickly through the air.
Also very important when choosing flights is the price and availability factors. It is worth remembering that you need to be able to readily buy the same design of flights once you find one that suits you. Also, flights get damaged so easily it makes sense to find some that you like that aren’t too expensive.
Dart Boards
Traditionally dartboards were made from anything from wood to hog bristles to cork but today, they are usually made up of compressed sisal (and other synthetic fibres) glued to a backing board, with the edges held by metal banding. The main advantage of this type of construction is, when you remove a dart from the board, the hole will close behind it. This means it will ttend to last a lot longer than any other type of dartboard.
To ensure long life, look for a dart board that meet competition standards. Cheaper dart boards tend not to pack the bristles as tightly as quality boards and will wear a lot more quickly. Also, sisal is widely regarded as the best fibre for bristle dartboards. Damage will eventually occur to your bristle dartboard, so look for a removable number ring that will allow you to rotate the most popular areas so you get even wear on the board.
A regulation size target area for a dartboard is 15.5 inches. Most boards in the market have a diameter of 18 inches.
Spiders
Spiders form the demarcation lines for scoring areas on the board. The lower end bristle dartboards tend to have round wires and staples to hold the wiring in place. These are fine, but hitting the wire is more likely to result in a bounce-out. Since a dart’s point cannot penetrate the spider, the dart bounces off the board – ergo, the bounce out. As you go up in price, look for a staple-free bullseye, staple-free wiring systems, and features like super-thin wires with triangular edges that will guide the dart into the scoring bed. New and experienced players alike have their shares of bounce outs.
Dart makers have addressed the problem from their end by making retractable tip darts. When the tips of these darts hits a spider, it moves back slightly into the body and allows the momentum of the throw to push the tip right back into the board.
Dartboard makers are trying to provide the solution by imbedding thin spiders inside the board. The demarcation lines are still visible, but the problem of bounce outs is greatly reduced.
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This Buying Guide gives general advice on Darts equipment. It is intended as a guide only and we always recommend visiting one of our stores and talking to the experts in our sales team if in any doubt about what to buy.
