money The Best Darts, According to Professional Throwers
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It’s always a bit of a thrill to walk into a new local hotspot and see a dartboard on the wall. If it’s a decent bristle board, all the better — if it’s electronic, well, it is what it is. But the real moment of truth isn’t in the board — it’s in the darts themselves. Anyone who’s played more than a few rounds knows the misfortune of asking the barman for something to throw and getting handed a disheveled bunch of battered instruments that feel cheap and flimsy.
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The good thing is that getting your own set of darts is both easy and affordable. Sure, some of the pro models come with a premium, but for a hobbyist a premium set costs about the same — or less — as a night out on the town. And a quality dart makes a world of a difference.
Darts, as it currently stands, was founded in 1896 by a carpenter in Lancashire, England, Brian Gamlin, who created a numbered point system on a few wooden boards littering his workspace. This act of boredom evolved into the 100-point system standard in any local grease hole, alongside the darts themselves. In the earliest days of the sport, darts were just stubs of an arrow or crossbow bolt, but they’ve evolved into the slender pointed missiles that players use today.
And thanks to new refinements in metalworking technology, state-of-the-art darts are now things of beauty, perfectly weighted for accurate flight even in the least experienced hands.
What the Experts Say
To sort through this, SPY spoke to Justin Dodd, an amateur darts player based in Brooklyn, Darren Watson, a darts YouTuber who runs the Darts Review Channel, and two experts from Dartreviews.tv and Dartsplanet.tv, Gavin Rookyard and Max Haley. Dodd said that most serious amateurs and pros are playing with a tungsten dart, usually 97% tungsten with some steel mixed in. That means they’re not cheap — but also that you get serious weight in a small, streamlined package. Weight helps darts fly straighter, but exactly what you want your darts to weigh is up to you. “If you’re a sane person, you’re playing between 21 and 28 grams,” Dodd said. “The heavier it is, the straighter it will fly. The lighter it is, you might feel like you have a little more control.”
The pros mostly use between 24 and 25-gram darts, but Dodd prefers 23. The best choice, then, is to pick something in the middle and play with it for a while, trading up for lighter or heavier darts depending on how the first ones feel.
BEST OVERALL
Harrows Wolfram Infinity
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The Wolfram Infinity are Dodd’s chosen dart. Dodd said finding the right size and material is “like a science experiment,” as some pros will use more tungsten than others — but the 97% Wolfram Infinities are his choice. They pack a ton of weight in a slim, streamlined package, allowing a delicate grip and a lot of control. Sure, they’re not cheap — but one toss with these and you’ll never be able to go back.
BEST BEGINNER
Red Dragon Amberjack
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VERSATILITY COUNTS: “For a beginner, I would recommend a standard straight-barreled dart with a ringed grip,” Rookyard said. “You can find sets that won’t break the bank and will be able to experiment with multiple grip zones (be it front, middle, or rear) to find the placement that works best for you.”
ROI: Both the Winmau and the Red Dragons — Haley’s pick — come in under $50, meaning they’re on the cheaper end of tungsten darts.
BEST MID-RANGE PICK
Cuesoul 95% Tungsten Darts
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SHOP SMART: Dodd said if he were going for a budget dart, Cuesoul is where he’d start. They’re a little less Tungsten than the Wolframs (though the brand has more expensive options), and their midrange about halves the price of the Wolframs.
LEVEL UP: If you like the feel of Cuesouls, they also offer a professional set in a sweet carrying case.
BEST BUDGET PICK
Designa Dark Thunder
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GOLDILOCKS ZONE: “It’s a straight barrel ring grip dart, which is a good starting style of dart for beginners,” Watson said after his time reviewing the Designa Thunder. “It is not too long, not too short, not too thin, not too thick, and not too grippy and not too slippy.”
ROI: At just over $40, these are a quality dart — 90% Tungsten — for a very reasonable price point.
BEST BUDGET STAPLE
DartsClearance Classics
THRIFT PAYS: Watson said the DartsClearance standard tungsten darts are “hard to beat” for their price — just over $20 for a really solid dart.
PRO STYLE: Watson said these darts are in an “MVG” style — meaning close to what pro player Michael Van Gerwen uses.
BEST FOR A BAR OWNER
Red Dragon Javelin
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OPTIONS, OPTIONS: Rookyard and Haley handed over a list of top-tier darts they’d purchase as theoretical pub owners, but the above two were SPY’s favorites from the bunch. What you want, Haley said, is “three or four sets of varying-weight darts like the Red Dragon Amberjack 04, Darts Corner’s Marine M6 and the Designa Crusader M2 as they offer the broadest weight and grip areas for varying darts players.”
BACKUP REQUIRED: Be warned, players are going to break stuff: “Players tend to get through flights and stems quickly, so it’s important that you have some spares available,” Haley said. Rookyard also emphasized the need for variety in a dart co
Frequently Asked Questions About Darts
What are darts made of?
Darts are made from a combination of materials. The flights and tails of the darts are usually plastic, to keep the dart weighted toward the front. The main shaft and tip of the dart are a blend of metals, usually tungsten and steel. Tungsten is a heavy metal for its size, meaning it can be used to give a dart weight in a small package. Cheaper darts often use brass, though its density isn’t quite as great as tungsten.
How do I protect my darts from breaking?
The best scenario is to make sure any bounces aren’t falling directly onto a hard surface, like concrete. Get carpet down to cushion the blow — because they’re weighted to fall onto their tip, an impact with concrete is going to run through them faster than anything.
How much should I pay for darts?
The suggestions on this list range from the $15-20 range to close to $100, depending on sales and where you bought them. A high-quality competition set is going to run upwards of $70, but Watson said that there are perfectly serviceable options available for much less than that. Most players will probably get something in the midrange, for around $40 or so, if they want to use something better than plastic.
How many sets of darts should I have?
Let’s be honest, most players probably are not going to stop with one. Having at least two sets of quality darts is probably the minimum for two-player games, but if you’re going to have a high-traffic board like in a basement — or if you own a bar — it’s worth it to have far more than that on hand in case of breakage, theft, et cetera.
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