Are light or heavy darts better in 2024?
Whether you are a darts novice or a top professional darts player, when you first come into contact with darts, they must have thought of a question: Is it better to have a heavy dart or a light dart? For a while, they didn't know how to choose darts. In fact, instead of saying which dart weight is good or bad, it is better to say which dart weight is more suitable.
Every dart player should have his or her own "exclusive weight". Determine a dart weight that suits you, and then use this weight to practice throwing skills for a long time instead of frequently changing the weight of the dart. This way, you can focus on improving your throwing skills.
As we all know, darts are divided into soft darts and steel darts. According to the darts rules, the maximum weight of steel darts cannot exceed 50 grams, and the maximum weight of soft darts cannot exceed 21 grams (18 grams before 2019). Next, we will focus on steel darts.
Darts weighing more than 24g are usually considered heavy, and those weighing less than 20g are considered light. The weight range of 23g-24g for steel-point darts is the most popular choice. For example, professional dart players such as Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross often use 23g, while Gerwen Price often uses 24g.
So is it that darts under 23-24g or over 23-24g are not good? So the answer is not that simple. For example, 2022 PDC World Darts Champion Peter Wright is accustomed to using 20g darts, Dimitri Van den Bergh often uses 22g, and 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor has used 26g darts most of his career.
First of all, we need to make a very important point clear. In addition to the difference in weight, the flight trajectories of light darts and heavy darts are also very different. Weight is a superficial difference, and different weights will cause differences in the intrinsic nature of darts. Because heavy darts are heavier, their inertia will be greater, and their flight trajectories will tend to be straight. Because light darts are lighter, their inertia will be smaller, and their flight trajectories will tend to be curved.
After clarifying this concept, how do we choose a dart weight that suits us? Here are some factors we need to consider when choosing the weight of a dart:
Throwing experience
For novice dart players, it is recommended to choose darts with heavier weight. Beginners often need to practice how to control the throwing of darts. Compared with light darts, heavy darts are more friendly to novice players, and the flight trajectory of heavy darts is more stable. Novice players can use heavy darts to exercise muscle memory and throwing habits.
But this does not mean that heavy darts are easy to control. Because of their heavy weight, heavy darts require more strength to throw, and the player's strength control will also be higher. For more information on how to choose darts for novices, you can read our last article " How to choose darts for beginners ?"
When you have a certain amount of experience, what you need is to improve the accuracy of throwing darts and higher-level force control. You can choose light darts that are slightly lighter. Compared with heavy darts, the flight trajectory of light darts is easy to change, and you need to control the force and direction more accurately, which can better exercise your throwing skills.
Throwing technique
Throwing technique can be divided into "wrist throwing method" and "arm throwing method". Wrist throwing method mainly relies on the strength and flexibility of the wrist to control the flight direction of the dart. The flexible movement can better control the flight direction of the dart, which is suitable for throwing light darts. Arm throwing method mainly relies on the strength and stability of the arm to control the flight direction of the dart. It is easier to maintain a stable flight trajectory and is suitable for throwing heavy darts.
Throwing style
If you are a dart player who prefers power and speed, then you will be more suitable for throwing heavy darts, which can increase the inertia and power of throwing, and help the darts fly farther and more steadily; if you prefer higher and lighter throws, then you will be more suitable for throwing light darts, which are easier to make precise adjustments and subtle controls.
Height and weight
Taller people have longer arms, which gives them more room to throw darts, so they are more suitable for heavy darts. Shorter people have shorter arms, which gives them less power to throw. If they use heavy darts, it will be difficult to control the flight trajectory of the darts, so they are more suitable for light darts.
Heavier players will have greater throwing power, can throw heavy darts more easily, and better control the trajectory of the darts. Lighter players have relatively weaker muscle strength, and overweight darts will increase the difficulty of throwing, easily causing unstable throwing or deviation from the target, so they are more suitable for light darts.
Tips: Don't use too heavy darts for the sake of power, as this will reduce the accuracy of the throw. People with insufficient strength can improve wrist strength and control to make up for the lack of strength.
Some people may not yet know which dart weight is best for them. Is there a quick solution?
Of course! To find the right weight for you, just go to a dart shop and try out the darts. If you aim and throw at the bullseye, the dart lands above the bullseye, then you should increase the weight. If the dart lands below the bullseye, the dart may be too heavy for you，you need to switch to a lighter dart.
Choosing the weight of darts is a personal process, which needs to be determined based on your physical condition, throwing skills, etc. You need to constantly try and adjust to find the dart weight that suits you best. Of course, the weight of darts is not fixed. You can try and practice with darts of different weights to become a more comprehensive dart player.