Choosing the right dart barrel shape is crucial for optimizing your game. This guide dives into the five main types: Straight barrels offer classic control and high scoring, favored by legends like Eric Bristow. Torpedo barrels, popular with Luke Humphries, are front-weighted, ideal for players with a higher release looking to “drop” the dart. The traditional Bomber barrel suits a relaxed throwing style, letting the dart do the work. Scalloped barrels provide a consistent grip reference, while Tapered barrels offer a personalized blend of straight and front-weighted designs. Understanding these shapes can significantly enhance your accuracy and consistency on the oche.
The Classic Straight Barrel: Precision and Control
The straight barrel is arguably the most iconic and widely used dart shape, particularly since the advent of tungsten, which allowed for thinner, sleeker designs. Pioneers like the legendary Eric Bristow, often considered the greatest of all time, championed this style. Its slender profile facilitated tighter groupings and higher scores, a hallmark of players like Bristow and Jocky Wilson.
- Even Weight Distribution: The uniform weight across the barrel is believed to offer superior control, making it a favorite for players who value consistency in their throw.
- Versatile Grip: Its often longer length provides a wider area for gripping the dart, allowing players to experiment and find their perfect hold, adapting their game as needed.
The Torpedo Barrel: Power and Precision Drop
Gaining immense popularity with the rise of stars like Luke Humphries, the torpedo-style dart was originally championed by greats such as Cliff Lazarenko and Simon Whitlock. This distinctive shape features a front-weighted design, which significantly impacts its flight dynamics.
Why it works: The weight concentrated at the front causes the dart to drop more quickly. This characteristic is particularly beneficial for players with a higher, less direct release point. They can leverage the front-weighting to almost “drop” the dart precisely into their target, utilizing gravity to their advantage for a consistent, powerful throw.
The Traditional Bomber Barrel: Relaxed Power
The bomber barrel is a classic, deeply rooted in the early days of dart technology when metal limitations prevented the creation of thinner barrels without compromising durability. While not as prevalent today, it remains a steadfast choice for players like Scott Williams and Andrew Gilding.
A Unique Approach: Players who use bomber barrels often adopt a more relaxed throwing style, allowing the dart to do much of the work. This is because the weight is typically more centralized, creating a focal point that, while potentially susceptible to minor imperfections in a throw, can also lead to a very natural, flowing release when mastered. Scott Williams, for instance, achieves high maximum scores despite the barrel’s shape, likely due to a combination of modern long points and his unique, relaxed technique.
The Scalloped Barrel: Grip Consistency
The scalloped dart has recently found its way into the mainstream, offering a unique solution for grip consistency. A notable proponent of this design is Connor Scutt.
- Instant Reference Point: The distinctive scalloped (concave) region provides an immediate and consistent reference point for the player’s fingers. This reduces the need for conscious thought about grip placement during the throwing action, allowing for greater focus on aiming and release.
- Addressing Deflection: A common critique of scalloped darts is the potential for a “second point of deflection” where the scallop transitions back to the main barrel. Connor Scutt addresses this by using specific flights, such as Condor AXE 120 Trifin flights, which have fewer wings than standard flights. This design helps to stabilize the dart and minimizes unwanted deflections, ensuring a straighter trajectory.
The Tapered Barrel: Personalized Performance
The tapered dart offers a wide range of variations and has been famously adopted by players like Gary Anderson, whose recent successes have coincided with his use of this style. The beauty of the taper lies in its adaptability.
- Blended Design: For Anderson, his tapered dart combines the control of the straight barrels he used for most of his career with the front-weighted feel of a torpedo dart, featuring a slightly bulbous nose. This allows him to harness the benefits of both designs.
- Central Taper for Grip: Tapers can also be found in the center of the dart, as seen with German star Niko Springer. Similar to the scalloped barrel, a central taper provides a consistent reference point for players who grip the dart further back.
The tapered barrel is perfect for players who appreciate the fundamental feel of a straight barrel but desire a personalized alteration to fine-tune their grip, balance, or flight path, giving them a unique edge in their game.
Source: Based on an article from Darts Planet TV.
