Are you looking to buy darts for your game night? Perhaps you want to give a set to someone who has just started playing but isn’t sure of their playing level. It can be confusing which Dart brands are suited for every player level.
No matter your darting experience or level, there’s a perfect set of darts for you. In this guide, we’ll look at some of the best dart brands and what sets they offer for players of all levels. So whether you’re just starting or are a seasoned pro, read on to find the perfect set of darts for you.
To make matters more manageable for you, I list five of the best Dart brands for every player level. I chose these brands based on the brand’s reputation, professional dart player endorsements, and product ranges.
I also cover the following topics:
- What to look for when choosing dart brands?
- Best Brand for Beginners
- Best Brand for Professionals
And more…
Contents
What to Look For When Choosing Dart Brands?
Choosing a dart that is right for you is an important step but can also be a tedious process. The shape of the barrel, the feel of the grip of the dart, and the method in which you consistently grip the dart are all factors that can impact the mechanics of your throw. Here are some factors to consider when choosing dart brands:
Comfort
Comfort is the first thing to consider right from the board set up to selecting darts. If you are not comfortable, you will continue making changes which, in turn, will reduce your chances of developing consistent mechanics and practice habits.
Material
Darts, in the early days, had barrels made of wood. Later they progressed to metals, copper/tungsten, and, recently, tungsten blends. Tungsten is brittle in its original form, so most manufacturers add some nickel to enhance its strength. Ideally, it would be best to look for tungsten in the range of 80-95% when shopping for darts.
Weight
When the barrels were made of wood, you were pretty limited in your choice of dart weights. With tungsten, you can have a dart weight between 12 grams to 30 grams. Professional level games even allow darts up to 50 g. Practice darts or darts for beginners can be around 20 to 24 g.
Length and material of shaft
The length of the shaft is based on the way you throw. You have different shaft lengths – short (12.5 mm), medium, and long (over 65mm)- to suit your level of play and your throwing style. Shaft materials can include plastic, nylon polymer, and even metals like aluminum or titanium.
Longer shafts tend to shift the weight of the dart towards its backend, causing the dart to tilt backward and hit the board at a downward angle.
On the other hand, shorter shafts make the dart more compact and reduce the downward lag on its backside. More often than not, darts with shorter shafts may make your dart land at an upward tilting angle.
Beginners to the game can choose an average or medium shaft size of 33 mm.
Flight
This is the fin, feather, or wing of the dart. In the game’s early days, this was made with real turkey feathers. In 1989, an American patented the use of folded paper flight. Later, manufacturers started using plastic, nylon, and foil to make the ‘flights.’
Today, machine-molded plastic flights are considered the best. You can easily customize flights just like professional players do.
Flights are also categorized as hard and soft. Harder flights are made from stiff polyester plastic, and its many layers are heat-sealed during manufacturing. They do not tear easily. However, if they do tear, they cannot be replaced easily and are not as flexible as soft flight darts.
Soft flights are called poly flights. Their layers are glued together, and their softness or ‘give’ prevents deflections seen in hard flights.
You also have flights made of Dimplex or Ribtex and nylon. Nylon flights are considered the most durable.
The Best Dart Brands for Every Player Level – 2022 Top 5 Picks
#1. Best Brand for Professionals – Winmau
Winmau has been making darts and dartboards for over 70 years. The brand is also the official sponsor of top-rated dart players like Michael Van Gerwyn. They are well known for their soft tip, and steel tip darts and recently have come up with the 2022 collection.
Winmau’s dartboards available on retail sites feature the BDO or the British Darts Organization endorsement. Their innovative 2022 collection includes Blade 6 with triple and dual-core options, MvG extract 25g, and thousands of other dart products, sports apparel, etc.
Winmau even sponsors tournaments worldwide and is well-known for the blade dartboard with a 14% thinner wiring system that helps enhance scoring potential.
Their 5th Generation Blade Technology, Carbon diffusion technology in the bullseye ring, and military-grade tungsten in their darts clearly show the brand’s innovative efforts in the field.
I recommend the Winmau Sabotage 90% tungsten alloy steel tip darts. They are available in 3 weights: 22, 24, and 26 g. Even professionals like Ted ‘The Count’ Hankey use Sabotage as his weapon of choice. These pencil-thin darts contain 90% tungsten and are designed for superior accuracy. These precision-engineered weighted darts are sure to give you higher scoring.
#2. Best Brand for Beginners – IgnatGames Store
If you’re just starting out in the world of darts, it’s essential to choose a set that will give you the right amount of practice and help you improve your skills. Here is a great beginner set from one of the best dart brands around:
Ignat Games has an interesting story behind how it got into dart manufacturing. Its founder, Cristian, lost a dart game because he did not use darts of the proper weight. That experience encouraged him to create a reliable dart set for all levels.
One of Ignat’s top-rated and best-selling darts comes with an innovative case to help you carry and store your darts safely. The kit has a magnetic closure and a futuristic design that makes it fantastic for gifting.
Moreover, it consists of different weights of professional-grade steel darts that have strategically knurled brass barrels. This enhances grip and precision. IgnatGames sturdy darts are sure to improve your confidence by providing optimum lift and stability. The stainless steel darts also feature sturdy aluminum shafts to ensure that the darts won’t break and O rings.
Other features include the laser engraved Ignat logo, the option to choose from coated iron, nickel silver, brass darts, and superior rust resistance and optimum balance.
Each box also contains a dart wrench, sharpener, and other bonuses like a Dart guidebook.
#3. Best Soft Tip Darts – Viper by GLD Products
GLD Products began humbly in a small Milwaukee tavern 40 years ago. In 1981, 5 friends (and business partners) came together to discuss how to drive more traffic to their bar. They realized that darts, billiards, and gaming tables were the way to go.
Soon every bar in their locality was hosting dart leagues and tournaments. Thus was formed the English Darts South that began attracting local bar owners for game supplies. English Darts South soon became the talk of the darts scene and established a 60,000 sq. ft warehouse to meet the demand.
Great Lakes Darts Manufacturing was born soon after when their soft tip darts saw explosive growth. Today, GLD Manufacturing also makes tables for Foosball, Pool, and Air Hockey.
Many features make Viper GLD soft tip darts the best in the category. Soft tip darts have flexible plastic tips. You can use them on electronic dart machines that score automatically.
Viper Diamond 90% Tungsten soft tip darts are one of their bestsellers. They consist of barrels made of 90% tungsten and 10% nickel. Tungsten is a denser material that allows slimmer darts and better stability to improve scores. It also features knurled bands strategically placed to improve grip – no matter what level player you are.
Viper’s diamond-cut aluminum shafts have locking holes for tighter fitting. Each soft tip dart weighs just 16 g. Viper Diamond by GLD also has 3 barrel styles and three diamond knurl grips for heavy, medium, and ringed knurl.
#4. Best Steel-Tip Darts – Red Dragon
Red Dragon Darts was founded in 1975 by two intelligent engineers who fell in love with the game while working on an automotive project. Being engineers, they naturally put a lot of research and thought into their design and soon built a facility to produce innovative and state-of-the-art tungsten darts.
Today, after over four decades of excellence in the field, Red Dragon product engineers still put in the same thought and attention to detail at every step to create unique darts for professionals and amateurs.
They’re one of the most popular dart brands in over 100 countries, with millions sold worldwide. Red Dragon understands that great performance starts with top-rated professionals like Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright, who work with them to create better-performing darts.
For example, their Red Dragon Tungsten Steel Tip Darts are available in 24, 26, and 28 g weight. The precision machine cut edge darts have a superior grip with slim, streamlined barrels. They are also priced reasonably, have an excellent grip, and are slip-resistance and well-balanced.
#5. Best All-Around – Target
This UK-based brand may not be as old as the brands mentioned above; it came into existence only in 2006, but it has created dart products with impeccable craftsmanship within a short span of time.
Target collaborates with seasoned professionals in the game of darts to encourage less experienced players, as well as those who play the game at home, to push themselves to new heights, enhance their skills, and break through their limitations.
Target Darts 975 consist of 97.5% tungsten which is the highest in the category. Their precision-milled barrel also has Target’s innovative Cell Grip inspired by Elysian. The striking acid yellow pattern comes with a stunning overlay of black titanium nitride coating that improves grip, stability, and aerodynamics as well.
FAQs – The Best Dart Brands for Every Player Level
Steel tip versus soft tip dart: what is the difference?
Soft tip darts are made for use with soft dartboards that have small holes and are made of plastic. Soft-tipped darts are generally lighter than steel tip darts. For professional games, they also have a lower maximum allowable weight. However, the rules for soft tip darts are the same as those for steel tip darts.
What dart brands do the Pros use?
Professional dart players use brands like Winmau, Red Dragon, and Harrows.
What are the most popular dart brands?
Winmau, Target, Viper by GLD, Red Dragon, and Unicorn are some of the popular dart brands across the globe.
Why are tungsten darts better?
Tungsten darts are superior in quality and quickly overtook brass because of their higher density. For example, a bulky brass dart of 28g became a super slim tungsten model of equal weight.
Are lighter darts more accurate?
Lighter darts sometimes increase bounce-outs which can decrease accuracy. At the same time, kids and beginners may be able to better grip lighter darts, increasing their accuracy. As you practice, the weight should not influence accuracy too much.
Key Takeaways – The Best Dart Brands for Every Player Level
Dart players know that the right equipment makes for a more enjoyable playing experience. There are many brands to choose from, but I only included the five top-rated ones in this article. There are several small and large darts brands for beginners to choose from.
The dart industry is a thriving one with many brands to choose from. These days, professionals can be seen playing Winmau or Ignat Games along with old favorites like Red Dragon and Target. These dart makers stay on the cutting edge of technology and offer top-quality products from tournament level to beginners.
I hope this guide helps you buy the best dart set for your game night or gifting.