Buying a set of darts
Finding the right dart is a very personal thing; comparable to finding the right shoes. Everyone who ever purchased a dart can relate to that. A dart has many features that contribute to your darting performance. It has to feel good in your hand, therefore size, shape, grip and weight are crucial. Furthermore, you probably want the dart to look good as well. So now the main question is; How to pick your perfect dart. This question is being asked a lot; however, it is very hard to answer. It solely depends on your personal preferences. This blog will not contain the Holy Grail of darts, but it will help you find the dart of your choice in the maze of darts on dartswarehouse.eu.
Weight
The weight of a dart is seen as the most important feature. The weight is determined by the combined weight of the tip and the barrel (so not the stems and flights). Darts weights vary between 12 and 37 grams, but the majority of players, including all professionals, use darts between 18 and 26 gram (the unique exception being Stephen Bunting, playing with 12 gram darts. For players who are new to darts, it is wise to start with a slightly heavy dart, somewhere around 24 to 26 grams. Heavier darts will have a more stable flight to the board and therefore tiny mistakes in the throwing technique (which are of course more common with newbies) will not lead to a huge miss. This gives you the opportunity to stabilize your darting technique without being made fun of by your friends. Later on in your darting career you will find that you probably want to try a less heavy dart. It is wise, when switching to another dart, to choose a comparable barrel concerning size, shape and grip (unless of course you didn’t like these features on your first dart) to be able to use the same throwing technique as before. For example, I myself started off with 26 grams darts; while in the present I demolish the dartboards with 22 grams darts. It is just a matter of your own perception.
Grip
The way the dart feels in your hand, as well as the feeling of the dart going out of your hand, is very important. Every single has some sort of grip. The multiple grips all have their own name. A few examples are: Zero (no grip at all, so a smooth barrel), ringed grip, shark grip, knurled grip and Phantom grip. An exciting new type of grip is the Pixel grip. It uses the CNC laser technique, which makes the barrel look smooth but gets it grip through minuscule little holes in the barrel. The brands Bull’s and Shot! often use the firm Pyramid grip, or even the more robust Spike grip. Phil Taylor has his own grip, called the Taylor Grip. However, on his Gen 2 9-Five darts he uses the Phantom Finger Grip. So you can see, even the greatest in darts sometimes doubt their darts. It is, like every other feature, simply a matter of your own feeling. In our webshop, every single grip in existence is available.
Model
The final important feature is the shape or model of the barrel. The most common model is the straight barrel. In this type, the weight of the barrel is divided along the entire barrel. All other models are deduced from this model, for example ‘the bomb’ or ‘the torpedo’ model, in which the weight of the barrel is concentrated in the front of the dart. Again, it is very personal to decide which model suits your game best.
Tungsten %
For many years Tungsten has been the major ingredient of every professional barrel. Tungsten is a high-rated, but nevertheless an affordable metal. In comparison to cheaper materials, tungsten has a much higher density, which means that darts with a similar weight will be much more slim when made of tungsten. Slim darts lead to a higher probability of throwing multiple darts in the same small bed, for example the treble 20!
Tungsten darts always have a percentage, that indicates the percentage of tungsten in the barrel. The rest of the materials in the barrel mainly consist of Nickel. A 80% tungsten dart will contain 20% Nickel.
The tungsten percentages of darts vary between 70 and 97. A full tungsten dart is an impossibility, because the barrel would become very fragile.
Tungsten darts are darts for more advanced players. Starters; as well as children; usually start playing with Brass or Nickel darts. When someone decides to keep playing after a while, or wants to increase his level of play, they switch to Tungsten.
In conclusion, the different features contribute to the very wide variety of darts available. Every player for himself will have to go on a dart quest to find the perfect dart. Luckily enough, on our website you will feel like a child in the candy store, for on dartswarehouse.eu you will find almost every imaginable combination of weight, shape, size, colour and grip. Let’s Play Darts!