Choosing Darts For Beginners

Have you caught the darts bug? Seen the professionals throwing 180s for fun on TV and fancy having a go for yourself? If you are new to the exciting world of darts, then the first thing you will need is a set of your own darts to play with!

My name is Andy Cornwall, an ex PDC professional, and I remember the first set of darts I played with. I started off with a 26g steel tip dart which had a straight barrel with razor grip, and I paired them up with a set of medium stems and standard shape flights. I actually hit my first nine darter with them!

While you may be looking to improve your game quickly, the most important thing to consider when deciding on your first set of darts is what equipment you will get the most enjoyment from. In this comprehensive guide we will walk you through the best darts for beginners and help you choose the set that is right for you to start your darting journey with.

How to choose a darts set as a beginner

For a beginner, we typically recommend purchasing a complete set of darts, rather than picking all of the components individually. This is the more straightforward option when it comes to choosing a darts set as a newbie to the game. It’s also an easier purchase if you are buying a darts set for beginners.

A darts set will come with:

• the barrels and points already connected
• 3x stems and 3x flights

See our ‘Beginners Darts’ collection which features our hand-picked selection of darts that we recommend for new players. Our ‘How To Find The Perfect Darts For You’ blog also contains some useful tips for choosing a set of darts.

Key considerations for beginners

This article will guide you in:

The anatomy of a dart

What type of dart is best for beginners?

What’s the best darts weight for beginners?

What’s the best dart grip for a beginner?

How much to spend on beginner darts

Will more expensive darts improve my game?

The best steel-tipped darts for beginners

The best soft-tip darts for beginners

Choosing a design for beginners

Essential buying tips for beginner dart players

How to care for your new darts

The anatomy of a dart

There are four individual components that make up a dart: the flight, shaft, barrel and point. It is important to understand these dart features before we get into the best type of dart for beginners. Check out our blog about ‘The Anatomy Of A Dart’ for an in-depth look or read below for a brief overview on how each part impacts your performance.

POINTS

A dart point is what will enter the dartboard and helps to keep your dart to stick into the board. There are two types of points: metal (for steel tip darts) and plastic (for soft tip darts) depending on what board you are playing on. If you are playing steel tip darts, like you’ll generally see in the pub or on TV, it is important to keep the metal point sharp to stop darts from falling out of the board. Read our ‘How To Sharpen Your Darts’ blog for a handy guide.

BARRELS

The main part of a dart is the barrel. Barrels come in various shapes and sizes and different materials and grip types. This is the area on the dart that most players will hold when playing. This is the most important part of the dart to consider as you will want a barrel that feels comfortable in your hand. Read our ‘Dart Barrels And Materials’ guide for some advice on what material, grip and weight to start with.

SHAFTS

A darts shaft (also known as a stem) is the part between the barrel and the flight. These also come in different materials, lengths and styles. Although light in weight, they have a big impact on how the dart flies through the air. It is worth trying out a variety of options (a Mission Stems Research Pack has a good mix) to get a better idea of what suits you the best.

FLIGHTS

The dart’s flight helps it to fly through the air. A flight attaches to the stem and keeps your dart stable while it travels towards the board. Like stems, flights also come in different shapes, designs and weights, and will impact the trajectory of your darts during flight. Check out our ‘How To Choose The Best Dart Flights’ blog for more insight on the various flights available.

What type of dart is best for beginners?

There are two different types of darts for the two versions of dartboards. Steel tip darts are used with bristle dartboards and soft tip darts go with electronic (soft tip) dart boards. Both types of darts are suitable for beginners and each offer their own benefits.

Steel tip darts is the more traditional type of darts, being used by a wide range of abilities, from casual games at home and in the pub to the world’s best players in the professional tournaments on television. This version of darts is the preferred choice for players who want a more authentic darting experience and to play with the same type of equipment as the top professionals.

Soft tip darts is a safer and family friendly option to go for, as the points on soft tip darts are made of plastic. This makes a set of soft tip darts more suitable for younger players compared to sharp metal points used in steel tip darts. Playing with soft tip darts can be more interactive too, as many of the electronic dart boards come with built-in scoreboards to take care of the scoring for you, and options to play different games either in person or online against players around the world.

What’s the best dart weight for beginners?

What darts are best for beginners is a tricky question to answer because the most popular sets on the market may not be suitable for newcomers to the game. For steel tip, we would recommend the best dart for beginners a tungsten dart that weighs around 28g or a brass dart that weighs 18g. For soft tip we would suggest a 22g dart.

The type of material used for the barrel will be a determining factor in what set of darts you go with. A 22g brass dart will be larger in size than a 22g tungsten dart as brass is a lighter material than tungsten, and the size of the dart will impact how it flies through the air. This is the reason why the suggested weight of a dart for beginners varies depending on the material used. We believe a 28g steel tip dart is the ideal dart weight for beginners to start with.

Are heavy or light darts the best? A heavier dart gives greater consistency more quickly. A lighter dart is more challenging to control in the air and will generally take a lot longer to master in practice. After you have spent more time practicing, we would then suggest working towards a lighter dart. Light darts can offer better scoring and are used by the top professionals.

What’s the best dart grip for a beginner?

One of the most important things when it comes to choosing the best beginner darts is the grip on the barrels. This also comes down to player preference with some players liking very grippy darts, while other players opt for a barrel with no grip at all.

The graphic above illustrates the main grip types found on darts. We have ranked them from 1-5, with 1 being a completely smooth barrel that offers no grip and 5 being a razor grip barrel, which provides the maximum amount of grip.

We would recommend a ringed grip barrel (levels 2-3) as the best darts grip for a beginner as this is in the middle of the scale and a good starting point to work out whether you need more or less grip or if a ringed grip is just right for you.

Take a look at our ‘Darts Barrels And Material’ blog for a more in-depth look at the different darts barrels and grip levels available.

Top Tip: If you are a player who gets sweaty hands when playing darts, then look for a grippier dart to stop the dart from slipping out of your hand. Players with dry hands tend to use darts with less grip on them as they don't need to worry about a dart slipping because of having sweaty hands.

How much to spend on beginner darts

There is no one answer when it comes to how much you should spend on your first set of darts. This is because the best darts to use for beginners depends on personal preference. We recommend finding something that feels good in your hand and that you like the look of.

Our ‘Beginners Darts’ collection features a wide range of darts that are relatively inexpensive, mostly priced in the £10-30 range. These sets have been hand-picked by us as a great starting point for players who are at the very beginning of their darts journey, and all offer great value for money. If you are looking to start out with a more professional setup, then look at our tungsten darts range.

Will more expensive darts improve my game?

As mentioned earlier in this guide, darts barrels come in different materials which will affect the overall price. For example, a 90% tungsten dart will be at a higher price point than a brass dart, as the metal of a 90% tungsten dart is more expensive and of a greater quality. Even for beginners spending a little more on a set of darts can reap the rewards.

The above diagram shows how different materials and tungsten content used will impact the size of the barrel. Tungsten is a much denser material, which results in a thinner barrel. This makes for better scoring as it’s easier to get three tungsten darts in the treble sections of the dartboard.

Following this dart buying guide can give you an extra percentage of performance and choosing a more premium dart now can benefit you in the long run, as you will not have to think about changing to a different type of material later down the line. Most professional players will use a ‘thinner’ dart made of tungsten to help them to consistently hit the bigger scores.

The best steel-tipped darts for beginners

• Darts Corner Warfare M6 Black Ring Steel Tip Darts are one of our top picks for beginners. These darts are included in our 'Beginners Darts' collection on the site and are priced to cater to all budgets. The Warfare dart is made of 80% tungsten and comes with a spare set of flights and shafts, so you won’t have to make any additional purchases for extra flights and shafts.
• The Perfect Darts Super Cobra Darts are another popular choice for beginners. The Super Cobra dart is made from 90% tungsten and is both stylish and durable, meaning you will get a lot of use out of them. Like the Warfare dart, these darts also provide you with an extra set of flights and shafts, as well as a point protector and a compact case to keep your darts safe and secure when not in use.
• If you are looking for a more premium dart to start off with, the Mission Josh Rock Steel Tip V2 Darts are a best seller on the Darts Corner site. These darts are made from 95% tungsten and have a ringed-grip design down the full length of the barrel, offering great grip wherever you hold the dart. This dart set is also available in 28g, which is our recommended weight for beginners in steel tip tungsten darts.

The best soft-tip darts for beginners

• Darts Corner’s recommended best darts for a beginner in soft tip include the Designa Dark Thunder V2 Darts. These darts feature in our ‘Top 10 Soft Tip Darts’ range and are great value for money. Made with 90% tungsten, the Dark Thunder V2’s are equipped with a distinctive twin ringed grip which offers plenty of control.
• The selection of McCoy soft tip darts are also included in our top picks for the best tungsten darts for beginners. All made with 90% tungsten, the darts in this range are crafted from premium materials and come in a variety of different colors and designs. The McCoy soft tip collection is an ideal choice for beginners as they are made with simple and elegant designs and are at an affordable price range.
• If you have a bigger budget, the Bulls Blue Pegasus Darts Style C make for an excellent choice. These darts are 22g, which is the preferred weight we suggest for soft tip beginners, and are a high-quality dart, made from 95% tungsten. The Pegasus dart is a popular choice from our team at Darts Corner and the striking design of the barrels will be sure to make you stand out from the crowd!

Choosing a design for beginners

Darts Corner carries a huge range of darts, including more than 1,200 sets of steel tip darts and over 750 different sets of soft tip darts. There is a wealth of options available with various designs, colors, shapes and styles on offer. We have the biggest range of filters to help you narrow down the choice; filter by your preference of weight and color and see what pops up!

Get creative with our extensive darts flights selection which features over 1,800+ options, and choose from over 600 different darts stems!

We also have a dedicated personalized section where you can customize your darts in a variety of different ways. You can make the game more individual to you and let your personality come through with your very own personalized flights, personalized stems, personalized darts and personalized points.

Essential buying tips for beginner dart players

Tip 1: Don’t spend a fortune on your first set

There are several tips we have for choosing the best dart set for beginners. For a first darts set, you do not have to spend a fortune as there are plenty of affordable options available that offer great value for money, both in steel tip and soft tip.

Tip 2: Try different darts sets

We would recommend practicing with a few different sets of darts to see what’s comfortable for you. This could be done with a group of friends who are already playing darts, so you can try out loads of darts sets to find out what is the best option for you.

Tip 3: Choose something that you feel comfortable with

One of our top tips for beginners in darts is to choose something that feels right in your hand. Having a set of darts that feels comfortable will help you get the most enjoyment from the game, rather than playing with a dart that you are struggling to get to grips with and doesn’t suit your own style.

How to care for your new darts

When buying a new set of darts, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned professional, it is important to properly look after them. Taking care of your darts will not only make sure they last longer but also ensure they stay in the best possible condition for playing.

Our ‘How To Care For Your Darts’ blog offers some useful tips on keeping good darts maintenance. The guide mentions investing in a darts case to store your darts away when you are not using them. A case is also useful if you are on the move and travelling to play darts as they are portable and easy to carry.

If you’re playing steel tip darts, a dart sharpener is also a worthwhile investment to help keep your darts performing at their best and to ensure they have a longer lifespan. Using a sharpener will help to avoid the points on your darts becoming blunt and at risk of more darts falling out of the board. There are also lots of accessories packs that give you all the essentials in one set, such as the Darts Corner 125 Tune Up Kit.

Choose your beginner darts today

There are many things to consider when buying darts as a beginner and we hope that this guide will help you make your decision on what is the best dart for you. Darts is a relatively low-cost sport to get involved with, as it requires very little equipment which will last a long time. Now you know how to choose the best darts as a beginner, explore Darts Corner’s full range of steel tip darts and soft tip darts and buy your first set of arrows from us today!

Darts can bring a lot of enjoyment and is a fun game to play with your friends and family, as well as competitively in leagues and tournaments to really test your skills. Even at the start as a beginner, honing your darts skills and seeing your improvements over time will have you enjoying this game for many years to come.

Darts Corner has plenty of more guides for beginners to get started in the game. Check out our ‘Ultimate Dartboard Buying Guide’ for some helpful tips on choosing the best dart board for you, and our ‘How To Hang A Dartboard’ blog for step-by-step instructions on setting up your board at home.

Read our ‘How To Throw A Dart’ blog for a guide on all the foundations of dart throwing, and take a look at the ‘How To Practice Darts’ blog for lots of tips and advice on getting the most out of your game.

Pictures: PDC

Andy Cornwall is a former PDC tour card holder who now offers his expertise to players of all abilities through his Mission Precision Darts Fitting Service. Exclusive to Darts Corner, Andy’s one-hour dart fitting experience is an in-person service available for any darts player to help them to discover their best darts setup!

Andy has been a darts coach for 15 years and during his playing days also represented Lancashire at county level. He is now the brand manager for Mission Darts and works alongside ex-PDC professional Matt Edgar in producing content for the Mission YouTube channel.