When it’s time to put together your first set of darts, the most important piece of the puzzle is the barrel! Here’s a quick how-to article we’ve prepared in case you’re looking how to build your very own darts set for the first time, or even if you’re looking for extra tips on how to build your next set. 

Why is it so important?

For 2 straightforward reasons; (1) the barrel contributes to approximately 80% of the darts full weight and (2) it is generally where people grip their darts. 

What types of Barrels are there?

Barrels come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and are typically made of either brass, or a tungsten compound (nickel-tungsten or copper-tungsten). 

Brass darts are the cheaper option for new players who are looking to experiment with their first darts. Brass darts are also lighter than Tungsten darts, making it easier for beginners to throw.

Tungsten darts come in a variety of types such as 80%, 90% and 95%. Higher percentage means that the dart is more durable and can be made thinner than lower percentage tungsten darts.

FUN FACT: 100% tungsten darts do not exist as they may shatter on impact!

How to pick a barrel?

After choosing a material, the next 3 considerations are: Weight, Length & Thickness.

Weight:

• Darts range from 16g to 22g, with some going as low as 12g
• We recommend new players to start with a lighter dart to build muscle memory
• Heavier darts require more strength to throw and will be challenging to throw after a few games
• For Soft-tip darts, dart manufacturers advertise the barrel weight on their products, the full weight of a dart may weigh an extra 1-2g when fully set up. 

Length:

FUN FACT: The shortest soft tip barrel available is 19.5mm (S4 Impact)

• Shorter barrels are more stable while flying
• Longer barrels allow more space to grip on the dart
• Length of a dart is a personal preference and is influenced by the player’s grip

Thickness:

Lastly we have the thickness of the barrel. The thickness of the barrel mainly affects the player’s grip on a dart, thicker barrels have more space and are easier to hold. But this means that the dart will take up more space on the board. Our recommendation is to start with a thicker barrel to learn your grip and slowly move to thinner barrels as you progress.

• Thicker darts are wider with more space and is easier to hold
• Thinner darts can group better on the dart board for higher scores
• Players should start with a thicker dart and slowly move darts as they towards thinner improve

Feeling overwhelmed so far? If you can’t decide on your first set of darts, visit us at any iDarts outlets! iDarts X offers a variety of barrels from different brands such as Target, Cosmo Darts, Harrows and more.

They will also provide sample darts for you to test out before deciding on the dart you want, so definitely test out barrels of different weights, lengths and thickness to find out what suits you best.

Happy Darts!