D.A.M Dart Depot → Dart Knowledge → 4 parts of a dart
There are 2 types of points - Steel Tip and Soft Tip.
The steel tips are probably familiar to just about everybody. Some are available in retractable points which have about a quarter inch of "play" in them. When the dart hits the board, this amount of "give" allows the dart to make better contact and reduces the likelihood of "bounce-out".
The soft tips are for use with an electronic scoreboard.
This is the part that you hold when throwing the dart. The barrels are manufactured in many different designs and weights and are usually composed of tungsten, steel or brass. Tungsten has a very high density and enables a barrel to be thinner than a steel or brass barrel of equal weight. Because of their being thinner, tungsten barrels allow tighter groupings of darts.
Barrels are available in four basic shapes:
This connects the barrel to the flight. Some shafts have a ring at one end which allows the flight to rotate. This has nothing to do with the dart's trajectory but it allows the flight to turn if it lands very close to another dart on the board. This permits tighter groupings and reduces bounce-outs.
Shafts are manufactured in the following lengths:
| Size | Inches | Millimeters |
|---|---|---|
| Micro | .5 | 12.7 |
| X-short | 1.25 | 28.575 |
| Short | 1.375 | 34.925 |
| Stylus | 1.4376 | 36.5125 |
| CB | 1.625 | 41.275 |
| Medium | 1.875 | 47.625 |
You may find this chart helpful when you are ordering dart shafts.
Flights are available in different shapes and sizes. Larger flights have greater stability of trajectory but they also have more air resistance or "drag".
Some of the different shapes of flights are - standard, axis, combat, fantail, heart, kite, pear, slim, vortex, v-wing, and others.
See the chart of flight shapes below. You may find this chart helpful when you are ordering dart flights:
