I can throw anything from 23-26gm darts. However the other night at the Pub (bar) I brought a set of 24gm darts with me and was just all over the place with them. I had to throw harder to hit my target hmmmm. Example was 18's all of me darts was falling into the 4's. Got my 26's out and with less effort though heavier was hitting my targets. So for me the heavier dart was much easier to throw. I guess Taylor, Barney and some others may feel the same way. After season will give the lighter dart once again a go to be sure though !

It's all what you are used to - I throw 22g, so if I tried a 26g dart mine would be all over the place as well (if I could lift them that is lol)

good point , however I have read that new players and women should start with a heavier dart ?

It doesn't make sense really, you would think a heavier dart would take more effort to throw, but I guess it has to do with physic's

Think how hard you would have to throw say a feather !

SilverSaber wrote:

Think how hard you would have to throw say a feather !

Great analogy Larry. It is physics grip. F=ma (force equals mass times acceleration). Acceleration is directly proportional to force and indirectly proportional to mass. So, the more mass you have, the less acceleration it takes to achieve the same force, i.e. the heavier the dart, the less hard(fast) you have to throw the dart to achieve the force needed to put it in the 18s. It's really a better explanation of straight line motion. In throwing a dart on a parabolic arc, the greater the angle of your throw, the more you offset the acceleration needed. When I got into darts, I thew with an elderly English gentleman who, as he got older and weaker, threw with more and more arc. I swear his darts would be higher than the board during flight and he could drop them standing straight up in treble 19 all day long. The heavier dart is like the longer stem and larger flight. It is more resistant to alterations of flight path or more forgiving of release problems. I too threw 24g for awhile and went back to 26g for the reasons mentioned and because I think they reduce bounce outs and fall outs.

I was going to use the feather analogy myself believe it or not, then I thought nah I'm being silly , but I know the process makes sense up to a point of course, over a certain weight it would be tiring to throw a long time, and going to an extremely heavy weight would be impossible say like a shot putt!

I guess its all finding the right balance, getting the right weight of dart to suit your throw, I am experimenting with larger weight differences at present. I am using my 21g and will do so for a couple more weeks I think, then I am going to try a 26g dart and see what happens!

getagrip wrote:

I was going to use the feather analogy myself believe it or not, then I thought nah I'm being silly , but I know the process makes sense up to a point of course, over a certain weight it would be tiring to throw a long time, and going to an extremely heavy weight would be impossible say like a shot putt!

I guess its all finding the right balance, getting the right weight of dart to suit your throw, I am experimenting with larger weight differences at present. I am using my 21g and will do so for a couple more weeks I think, then I am going to try a 26g dart and see what happens!

Sometimes the silly examples are the most effective. Yes, there is a point where it becomes too taxing in energy spent. 21g to 26g is a big difference. One of the first things you'll notice is how much harder you have to pull to get your darts out of the board. Another benefit I see to throwing a heavier dart, going back to the acceleration, is my arm motion is slower. It's easier for me to control and repeat.

That is a pretty interesting and intelligent opinion ooche. Some of the women in my mixed league throw with the high arc that you describe and it works for them! One lady who was always a riot to have around (since passed on) and was in her late 70's when she stopped playing could pound the triple 19 pretty consistently. Wish I could say the same for myself Seriously though, isn't the mechanics of the game is a fascinating thing?

Heavier darts are easier to throw for me, as well. I also use 26g but have some darts from 23g to 24g as well. Noticed that my throw was smoother with the heavier darts. I do get tired though from holding them.

the_cutter wrote:

Heavier darts are easier to throw for me, as well. I also use 26g but have some darts from 23g to 24g as well. Noticed that my throw was smoother with the heavier darts. I do get tired though from holding them.

I think that was one of the reasons I went to a lighter dart, I started off with 26g darts but would feel my arm getting tired quicker, strange really you would not think just a few grams difference would have such a noticeable affect.

canuckdartnut wrote:

That is a pretty interesting and intelligent opinion ooche. Some of the women in my mixed league throw with the high arc that you describe and it works for them! One lady who was always a riot to have around (since passed on) and was in her late 70's when she stopped playing could pound the triple 19 pretty consistently. Wish I could say the same for myself Seriously though, isn't the mechanics of the game is a fascinating thing?

getagrip wrote:

the_cutter wrote:

Heavier darts are easier to throw for me, as well. I also use 26g but have some darts from 23g to 24g as well. Noticed that my throw was smoother with the heavier darts. I do get tired though from holding them.

I think that was one of the reasons I went to a lighter dart, I started off with 26g darts but would feel my arm getting tired quicker, strange really you would not think just a few grams difference would have such a noticeable affect.

It is fascinating and I think the fact that you can be successful with so many variations in mechanics is one of the most appealing aspects of darts and makes it so inclusive to so many people. I too am surprised at the fatigue increase from 4 or 5 grams. I had the opportunity to play around with a set of 32g darts several years ago and knew in 10 minutes I could never compete with them solely because my arm would fall off in a couple hours.

Just noticed recently that my arm really gets sore than usual, playing with 26g darts. During a practice session, I shifted to 23g darts and started throwing with no aches at all. Performance-wise, the accuracy is not there yet. Would you consider shifting to a lighter dart, reworking your throw, to avoid the soreness/fatigue? I'm concerned with my darting career in the long-term but I haven't heard of any career-ending injuries just by practicing. LOL

if you think 2 grams is not a lot of difference-think of it this way. Im gonna use my own personal dartpro stats for this exercise.
-it take me a rough average of 3 minutes to throw a game of 501 in practice.
-my total darts average is 25 per game
-2 grams x 25=50 grams
-50 grams x 20(games/hour)= 1000grams

1000 grams per hour + or - just by changing 2 grams in either direction.