What weight darts should beginners use?

Feb 12, 202312 min read

Most steel-tip beginners should start with 22g to 24g darts. If you have no clear preference yet, choose a 23g or 24g straight barrel with medium grip and 80 to 90 percent tungsten. That gives you enough weight to feel the dart without making the release slow or forced.

Last reviewed: 23 August 2026. This guide is for steel-tip darts. Soft-tip players should check machine, venue and league weight limits before buying.

Quick answer

The best beginner dart weight is not a single magic number. It is a sensible testing range. For most new steel-tip players, 22g to 24g is the cleanest place to start because it sits in the middle of the common playing range, feels stable in the hand and still releases easily.

If you are buying blind, pick 23g or 24g. If your throw is quick and direct, 22g may feel easier. If your throw is softer and slower, 24g may feel calmer. Do not start by buying extremes. Very light darts can feel lively and unforgiving; very heavy darts can hide release problems until you play under pressure.

Beginner dart weight chart showing the 22 to 24 gram starting range and when to adjust weight — Use the 22g to 24g range as the first test zone, then adjust only when your miss pattern gives you evidence.

Why 22g to 24g is the safest starting zone

Several current buying guides point beginners toward this same area. Dartshopper’s 2026 barrel guide recommends a straight 22g to 24g 90 percent tungsten barrel with medium grip for beginners. ArrowHeadz recommends 22g or 23g as a common first choice. Red Dragon notes that many bestselling darts sit from 22g to 26g, while Dartshopper’s beginner-specific advice also points new players toward 22g to 24g with a straight or slightly tapered barrel.

That does not mean every beginner should own the same weight. It means the range is forgiving. You can learn your grip, rhythm and release without the dart doing something extreme. Once your throw repeats, the board will tell you whether to move up, move down or leave the weight alone.

What dart weight actually changes

Dart weight changes how much the dart resists the throw. A heavier dart can feel steadier because it carries more momentum and may not react as sharply to small hand movements. A lighter dart can feel easier to release because it needs less effort to move forward. Both can work. The question is which one lets you repeat the same throw with the least tension.

Weight also affects feedback. A dart that is too heavy for your throw may drop low, land flat or make you push from the shoulder. A dart that is too light may float high, wobble or feel as if it leaves before you have finished the stroke. The important phrase is "for your throw". A 24g dart is not automatically better than a 22g dart; it is better only if your grouping, entry angle and comfort improve.

Use miss patterns, not guesses

If your darts mostly group high and you are not snatching upward, a slightly heavier dart may help. If they mostly drop low and you feel you are having to force the dart at the board, a slightly lighter dart may help. If the darts are scattered across the board, weight is probably not the first problem. Work on stance, grip pressure and follow-through before changing equipment.

A repeated miss is useful. A random spread is not a buying signal. New players often blame grams when the real issue is that every dart is being released from a different hand position. Before buying another set, throw enough darts to know whether the problem is consistent.

Beginner weight decision table

What you see	Likely meaning	What to test
Darts group high	The dart may be too lively for your throw.	Try 1g heavier if grouping is tight.
Darts group low	The dart may feel too heavy or the follow-through may stop early.	Try 1g lighter, but check technique first.
Darts land nose down	Setup balance, stem length or release may be wrong.	Test flights and stems before changing barrels.
Darts scatter everywhere	The throw is not repeating yet.	Keep the same darts and stabilise routine.
Darts feel good but grouping is bulky	The weight may be fine but the barrel may be too wide.	Consider 80 to 90 percent tungsten.

Steel-tip and soft-tip are different

Most UK home and pub players asking this question mean steel-tip darts for a bristle board. In that format, 22g to 24g is a normal beginner starting point. Soft-tip darts are different because electronic boards and competitions often have lower total-weight limits. Do not assume a steel-tip recommendation transfers directly to soft-tip play.

If you play both formats, check the total dart weight, not only the barrel weight. Points, stems and flights can affect total setup weight. A dart that is legal and comfortable on a bristle board may not be allowed on every electronic board.

Weight is only one part of beginner fit

A beginner who buys a sensible weight can still choose the wrong dart. Barrel shape, grip level and tungsten percentage matter just as much. A straight barrel is usually the best first shape because it gives your fingers room to find a natural grip. A torpedo or teardrop barrel can feel good, but it often pushes the hand toward one grip position before your technique is settled.

Grip should feel secure without making you squeeze. Very aggressive grip can feel impressive in the hand, then catch on release. Smooth darts can feel clean, but many beginners find them hard to control. Medium ring grip is the safer first choice because it gives reference without trapping the fingers.

Why tungsten percentage matters

Tungsten is dense, so it allows a slimmer barrel at the same weight. That matters once your grouping improves because slimmer darts leave more room in the treble bed. Dartshopper’s beginner material guide explains that 70 to 80 percent tungsten can be affordable for beginners, while higher tungsten percentages usually make the barrel slimmer and more precise.

You do not need to overbuy. For a first proper set, 80 to 90 percent tungsten is a strong target. Brass darts are cheap and can be fine for casual play, but they are bulkier at the same weight. If you are practising seriously, a slimmer tungsten barrel usually gives clearer feedback.

Best first set specification

A strong first steel-tip set looks like this: 22g to 24g, straight barrel, medium grip, 80 to 90 percent tungsten, standard points, medium stems and standard flights. That specification is not flashy, but it gives you a neutral baseline. Neutral matters because you are still learning what your throw naturally wants.

Use dart sets if you want complete starter options, darts under £50 if you want a sensible first tungsten set without overspending, darts for broader filtering and darts accessories for spare flights, stems and setup tests.

The 90-dart beginner weight test

Test a dart weight with 90 darts, not three. Throw 30 darts at the big 20, 30 darts at doubles and 30 darts at the bull area. Record group size, miss direction, entry angle and comfort. Do not score the test by your best visit. Score it by what happened most often.

If the darts group tightly but sit slightly high or low, weight may be worth adjusting. If the darts feel comfortable and grouping is improving, leave the weight alone and practise. If the darts feel uncomfortable in the hand, the issue may be barrel shape or grip rather than grams.

Do heavier darts go straighter?

Heavier darts do not automatically go straighter. They can feel steadier, but accuracy still comes from repeatable release. A player with a smooth, slower throw may like 24g or 25g. A player with a quicker release may prefer 21g or 22g. The board result matters more than the theory.

If you want the deeper version, read do heavier darts go straighter? and are heavier darts easier to throw?. Those guides explain why the same dart can feel stable to one player and heavy to another.

What weight do professionals use?

Many professional players use darts in the low-to-mid twenties, but that should not be treated as a shopping shortcut. Professionals have settled technique, known grip positions and thousands of hours of feedback. A beginner should borrow the sensible range, not copy a player’s exact setup without evidence.

For context, see what weight darts pros use and what are the best darts to buy?. A pro-name dart can be excellent, but only if the weight, barrel shape and grip fit your hand.

When to move heavier

Move heavier when the current dart repeatedly feels too light, floats high or lacks feedback in the hand. Make the change small. Moving from 22g to 23g or from 23g to 24g is a proper test. Jumping from 21g to 27g tells you very little because too many sensations change at once.

A heavier dart should make the throw calmer, not slower. If you start pushing, leaning or holding the dart longer because it feels heavy, the change is not helping. The right weight should simplify the throw.

When to move lighter

Move lighter when the dart drops low, feels late out of the hand or makes you work too hard to reach the target. Again, move by one or two grams, not by a dramatic jump. A lighter dart should release cleanly without making the throw rushed.

Low grouping is not always a weight issue. It can also come from stopping the arm, aiming too carefully or losing balance at the oche. If the dart drops low only under pressure, the first fix is routine, not equipment.

Do not change everything at once

The fastest way to confuse your buying decision is to change weight, barrel shape, grip, stem length and flight shape in the same session. If the result improves, you will not know why. If it gets worse, you will not know what caused the problem.

Keep the test clean. Compare your current darts with one new weight or one new barrel style. Use the same board, same distance and same practice targets. A clean test gives you buying evidence. A chaotic test gives you opinions.

Beginner buying mistakes

Buying too heavy because it sounds more controlled: control comes from repeatable release, not weight alone.
Buying too light because pros can throw fast: fast throws still need timing and clean release.
Choosing an extreme barrel shape: beginners usually need a neutral grip zone first.
Ignoring tungsten: bulky barrels make grouping harder once accuracy improves.
Changing darts every week: constant equipment changes make progress hard to measure.

A simple recommendation by player type

Total beginner: start with 23g or 24g straight tungsten darts with medium grip. Spend the rest of the budget on spare flights and stems.

Fast thrower: start closer to 22g or 23g. Keep the grip medium so the dart leaves cleanly.

Slow thrower: start closer to 24g. Avoid going heavy unless the dart still feels too lively.

Unsure grip position: choose a straight barrel with grip across most of the length. It gives your hand room to settle.

Related guides

Once you have a sensible weight, the next improvement usually comes from technique. Read how to hold a dart properly, the repeatable throw chain and how often to practise darts.

Sources used

Bottom line

Most beginners should start with 22g to 24g steel-tip darts. If you want the safest single choice, buy a 23g or 24g straight 80 to 90 percent tungsten barrel with medium grip. Then throw a clean 90-dart test before changing anything else.