Talk to any professional darts player about effective ways to improve your game, and it won’t be long before they recommend arming yourself with the best dart flights you can afford.
Choose the right set, and those flights could help you enjoy a marked improvement in your power, precision, and all-around performance. Choose the wrong ones, and your game could easily start to suffer.
The only question then is, how do you tell the difference? After all, apart from the array of cool designs, aren’t most dart flights essentially the same?
Not at all.
We’ve tested out 25 of the year’s best-selling dart flights to find the top 5 that offer the best combination of speed, accuracy, and overall quality. Ultimately, the Red Dragon Hardcore Dart Flights scored the highest in all of those categories.
If that set doesn’t work for you, don’t worry, we’ve rounded up four other excellent alternatives for you.
Top 5 Best Dart Flights for 2024
If you’ve ever tried shopping around for the perfect set of dart flights, you’ll no doubt appreciate what a tricky task it can be. So, to determine our top five, we had to set some parameters.
We consider shape (Standard, Slim, and others), thickness, quality of the material, and brand reputation as our primary deciding factors, while color and design and all-round value for money also helped influence our choices.
We’ll discuss how each one of our picks fared in all of those categories in the in-depth reviews below, though if you don’t have time for all that right now, you can simply check out our quick comparison table above.
1. Editor’s Choice: Red Dragon Hardcore Thick Standard Dight Flights
Specifications:
Shape: Standard
Thickness: 100 microns
Competition for our pick of the all-around best dart flights of the year was tough, but in the end, we had to go with the popular Red Dragon Hardcore Thick Standard Dart Flights for several good reasons.
First of all, they’re standard-shaped flights. While that doesn’t necessarily make them better than slim, kite, or other shaped flights, standards are the most commonly used and widely preferred type, meaning they’re the ones most darts players are likely to be looking for.
Used well, these standard flights in particular offer an excellent level of stability and can make a difference when it comes to helping those prone to making arched throws land their shots with greater accuracy.
Then there’s the quality. The 100-micron thickness provides a substantial amount of durability without the awkwardness that can arise when you try to fit thicker flights into your dart shaft.
Finally, this Red Dragon Hardcore selection pack also offers excellent value for money, combining four sets (for a total of 12 flights) into one affordable package.
What We Like:
- Standard shape
- Solid thickness ensures they’re built to last
- Four sets to a pack mean value for money.
What We Don’t Like:
- A bit of a dull/basic design.
-> Read More Customer Reviews Over On Amazon
2. Best Slim Flights: Harrows Retina Black Dart Flights
Specifications:
Shape: Slim
Thickness: 100 micron
As we’ll discuss properly in our buyer’s guide later, slim flights can be handy for improving the speed of your throw and are a perfect choice if you’re using soft tip darts when introducing your young ones to some fun and easy darts games.
While there’s a huge number of slim-shaped flights out there, many of the best ones are made by Harrows, and these Harrows Retina Black Dart Flights, in particular, are the best of the best.
Even if you ignore the striking, all-black design, what you’ve got here is a set of flights that combine long-lasting durability with excellent performance.
If you’re buying with speed in mind, you’ll love the texture of these flights, which combines a thicker outer-layer for added protection with a translucent inner-layer to ensure a faster throw without compromising on swiftness.
Related: 27 Fun Dartboard Games to Play at the Bar or at Home
What We Like:
- Contains 15 flights – 3 sets of 3 plus 3 spares
- Attractive design
- 100-micron thickness for added quality
What We Don’t Like:
- Only useful for soft-tipped darts.
-> See More Customer Reviews Over At Amazon
3. Best Professional Quality Flights: Winmau Rhino Long Life Standard Extra Thick Dart Flights
Specifications:
Shape: Standard
Thickness: 150 microns
If you’re looking for the best dart flights from a reputable brand you can trust, look no further than these Winmau Rhino Long Life Standard Extra Thick Dart Flights.
For decades, Winmau has been the standard-bearers of excellence in darts equipment, lending their name to a plethora of competition-grade dartboards, flights, and darts sets.
As such, the next time you step up to the line for a game of 301 darts in your local darts league, you can enjoy knowing that you’re playing with professional-quality flights that guarantee your shot will land with power even if you don’t throw, especially hard.
While the extra 150 microns can make fitting them to the steel tip darts a little cumbersome, it does ensure they’re well-made, won’t bend easily, and will continue to serve you well for many games to come.
What We Like:
- Winmau brand has a reputation for quality products
- Range of color options
- 3 sets of 3 offer good value for money
What We Don’t Like:
- The extra thickness can make them difficult to slot into place.
-> Read More Customer Feedback Over On Amazon
4. Best Value for Money Option: IgnatGames Dart Flights and Accessories
Specifications:
Shape: Choice of six different options
Thickness: 100 microns
In terms of the actual price tag, the IgnatGames Dart Flights and Accessories pack isn’t the cheapest option you’ll find on this list, but in terms of getting the most bang for your proverbial buck, it’s undoubtedly the best value for money option.
For one comparatively small price, IgnatGames will give you 10 complete sets (30 flights in total) of flights, all with an attractive design that’s sure to help you stand out the next time you play.
The best part is that you can use this deal for flights of any shape.
If you prefer slim flights, you’ll find the 100 microns; resistant PET material does an excellent job of minimizing drag, maximizing speed, and keeping your shots balanced and accurate.
If you want the standard darts, you’ll find they’re of a superior quality to other sets in this price range and deliver a level of performance that rivals the Winmau mentioned above.
Are you looking for something else entirely? The set is also available in Pear, Vortex, Fantail, and Shield shapes.
IgnatGames also throw in a whole host of useful accessories to make this an even better value-for-money purchase.
Related: How to play Baseball Darts (Rules and Basics Explained)
What We Like:
- Option to choose between six different flight shapes
- It comes with 6 rubber flight protectors and other accessories
- IgnatGames offers a 10-year warranty.
What We Don’t Like:
- May not be suitable for competition level
-> See What Other Customers Think It Over At Amazon
5. Best Flight Designs – CENTAUR 30 Sets 90 Pcs Standard Dart Flights
Specifications:
Shape: Standard
Thickness: 75 microns
If you’re playing professionally (or at least in your local league), then you’ll no doubt be more concerned with how your flights perform than how they look.
However, if you’re only enjoying the occasional lighthearted game of ‘Around the Clock‘ with friends and family at home, then choosing flights with a little bit of color and creativity can really add to the fun.
While flights come in all kinds of designs, what we love the most about the CENTAUR 30 Sets 90 Pcs Standard Dart Flights is that you get so many different options in one set.
If you don’t like the assortment of different national flags (USA, UK, Australia, Canada, and more), maybe you’ll enjoy the spider web designs, the flames, or any other fetching designs. Fans of the Minnesota Vikings will also find a set with the team’s famous mascot and team colors.
At 75-micron thickness level, these may not be the most premium quality flights on the market, but they still hold up incredibly well for recreational play. At the same time, the solid PET material ensures they could easily last for years.
What We Like:
- 30 different design sets
- It comes with 6 free flight protectors
- Suitable for both steel tip and soft tip darts
What We Don’t Like:
- Not suitable for competition play.
-> Find More Customer Reviews Over At Amazon
Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose the Best Darts Flights
At a basic level, choosing the best dart flights to buy is no different from making a purchasing decision about any other type of gaming equipment, whether it’s pickleball paddles or pool cues, or anything else.
Related: 5 Best (soft tip) Darts for Beginners
Essentially, what you’re looking for is the best quality product at the most reasonable price. Yet when it comes to darts flights, there are a few things in particular that you’ll want to keep in mind.
These include:
Flight Shape
All told, there are around 25 different types of dart flight shapes, but you’ll be looking at either Slim or Standard for the most part.
As you can probably guess from the name, Standard shaped flights are the average, run-of-the-mill type of flights that everyone from serious professionals to eager amateurs use.
Standard flights are better used for heavier darts and are more commonly used on steel tips. They help to keep the dart stable in the air even without throwing with a lot of force.
This means that you can focus more on accuracy while letting the heavier weight carry the dart into the board with enough strength.
Slim flights are lighter and built for speed. They tend only to be used on lighter darts such as soft tips, as they’re not big enough to support a heavier dart.
The two are kite darts that offer a combination of the Slim’s speed and the Standard’s strength, while other shapes include Pear, Combat, Shield, and Vortex.
Thickness
After shape, the next most crucial factor to look out for is thickness, a quality that is measured in microns.
As a general rule, the more microns, the thicker and more durable the flight. Yet, that doesn’t mean that going for the thickest flight possible is always such a good idea.
In almost all cases, you’ll find that the best dart flights come in one of three different thickness levels.
At the bottom end of the scale, you’ve got your 75-micron flights which are the lightest and fastest, but also the least durable. They’re great for playing a casual game of cricket darts at home, for example, just don’t expect them to last a remarkably long time.
At the other extreme, you’ve got 150-micron flights which are the thickest and most resilient of the lot. While that’s generally a good thing, the extra thickness can make them difficult to fit correctly into the dart shaft.
In between, the 100-micron flights offer that sweet spot of excellent durability, speed, and ease of use, which is why so many of our top five picks are of the 100-micron variety.
Material
The kind of materials used for your dart flights will heavily influence the quality.
Nylon dart flights are the strongest and most durable and tend to be professionals and semi-pro players’ preferred choice.
However, they also tend to be the most expensive.
If cost is an issue, plastic flights are the cheapest, though sometimes “cheap” isn’t exactly a good thing.
In the middle, you’ve got polyester. Many standard dart flights, particularly those in our top five picks, are made from polyester. We prefer them because they offer a good level of durability without being overly expensive.
Brand Reputation
Brand reputation may not be the most crucial factor for casual players, but if you’re serious about taking your game to the next level, it’s good to know you’re using darts from a brand that understands a player like you looks for in a quality flight.
Brands like Red Dragon, Winmau, and Harrows are all some of the game’s biggest names and are endorsed by a veritable Who’s Who of world-class professional players, and it’s that kind of endorsement that speaks volumes about their quality.
Value for Money
Whether you’re spending a few dollars on some new darts flights or hundreds of dollars on a new pool table, value for money is always important, but that doesn’t mean simply picking the option with the lowest price tag.
When choosing darts flights, consider how many sets (three flights) are included and whether there are any extras included.
Frequently Asked Questions About Choosing Dart Flights
Which dart flights do professionals use?
The majority of professional darts players use standard-shaped flights, which help them to ensure a more accurate shot. The specific brand of flights varies from player to player.
What are dart flight protectors?
Flight protectors slot onto the end of your dart flights to stop them being ripped or damaged if another dart collides into them.
What is the best dart flight shape?
This all depends on your personal preference. For us, standard-shaped flights work best as they’re suitable for the kind of steel-tip darts you get in serious competitions and league games, though if you’re playing with soft-tip darts, you’ll much prefer the slim darts.
The Best Dart Flights of 2024: Our Verdict
If you’ve read this entire guide, you may well have reached the same conclusion we did:
There’s not necessarily a single, definitive answer to the question of which are the best dart flights around.
While we love the Red Dragon Hardcore Thick Standard Dart Flights and found countless user reviews which praised them just as much as we did, their standard shape may make them unsuitable if you need a slim flight for your soft-tip darts, in which case the Harrows Retina Black Dart Flights may be a much better option.
Likewise, if you’re looking to spend as little as possible, then it may be that you consider the IgnatGames Dart Flights and Accessories pack to be the best of the bunch. While your opinion may be valid, it may also be totally at odds with your friend who prefers the Winmau Rhino Long Life Standard Extra Thick Dart Flights, thanks to the kind of professional quality that can really help him take his darts game to a whole new level.
