Aim for DARTS PERFECTION

Darts Shafts 

picking the shaft. What should you look for? 

It can be real tough to pick the best shaft there are really so many different varieties.  But here is the basics.

You can get

Alloy, Spinning, Plastic, Nylon and Composite etc.

Plastic, are the lowest cost and also generally the lowest quality.  So We will not discuss them too much here.

The theory behind spinning is that if a dart just thrown, hits the flight of a dart already in the board the flight will spin.  allowing the thrown dart an easier path toward the triple 20.  Allowing your darts tighter grouping.

The Alloy (usually aluminum) are light and tough.  However they tend to undo them selves with constant throwing.  If you use an Alloy shaft on your dart, then try a locking O Ring.  This will help lock the shaft and stop it from undoing itself.  The allow coming in all shapes and sizes.  will discuss the shape and size shortly.  The alloy are most popular as they are durable and last a long time.

Nylon, are very common and also very good.  The two most common shaft types are aluminum and nylon.  Again these come in many and varied sizes and lengths.  Different from the Alloy ones they do not require a locking ring.  They are also not a durable as Alloy, and can break more easily.  But they are usually lower cost as well.

Composite are a combination of both Alloy and Nylon.   The composite is said to have the best of both the Alloy and Nylon.  ie stays tight and can be fix easily.  To be honest.  If the shaft is broken,  just chuck it out and put a new one on.  They are not that expensive.  However they do offer the flexibility of changing one end and maintain the strength of Alloy with the tightness of fit of Nylon.

So how long should the shaft be?
It usually depends on the weight and size of the barrel of the dart.  The heavier the dart the longer the shaft might be to maintain a good balance.  It is usually the balance that the shaft usually effects.  So you need to get your preferred dart and try a few length shafts and see what has the best appeal to you.  I would suggest that if your dart were heavier, then start at the longer shaft end and work down.  If your dart is lighter, then start at the shorter end of the shafts and work up.

There is no real measurable difference in performance as it depends so much on the throw and weight etc.  So have an experiment with different lengths on your dart and see how they perform.