Dart Points

Most modern soft tip darts take 2BA tips; ¼ in is a wider, older thread found mainly on bar and coin-op house darts. They are not interchangeable.

Not sure which you have? Ask our team with the make and model of your darts.

Use the length your barrel was built for, then adjust for feel. Longer tips add a little reach and move the balance slightly forward; shorter tips keep the dart compact. Measured without the thread:

• Micro, 0.7 in (18 mm): Micro Point
• Short, 0.9 in (22 mm): L-Style Premium Lippoint Short
• Regular, about 1 in (24.5 mm): L-Style Premium Lippoint Regular
• Long, 1.2 in (30 mm): L-Style Premium Lippoint Long

For NDA league play, the complete dart must measure 8 in or less from tip to the end of the flight.

Soft tips are plastic, so they bend and break with normal play, especially when a dart hits a wire. Replace any tip that is bent, cracked or broken as soon as you see it; NDA rules allow only unbroken, factory-standard plastic tips.

If you go through tips fast, bulk bags save reordering, like the Key Stubbie 1000 count. For tips that keep backing out, the screw-shaped Condor Ultimate 2BA is built to resist loosening. A tip snapped off inside the barrel comes out with an Extractor.

Conversion points are threaded metal or carbon points that screw into a soft tip barrel in place of the plastic tip, so you can throw the same darts at a bristle board. Use them on steel tip boards only, never on an electronic board.

• 2BA barrels: Brass or Nickel Conversion Points
• ¼ in barrels: Fluted Conversion Points
• Carbon: L-Style Hard Lippoint Conversion Points, which L-Style says keep the dart's weight and balance

If you play both formats every week, a convertible barrel like the Laserdarts WidowMaker Convertible is built to switch by changing points.

Fixed points suit most players; moveable points are worth it if bounce-outs off the wires are costing you. A fixed point is set solidly in the barrel. A moveable point slides slightly on impact, which absorbs some of the shock and cuts down bounce-outs.

Laserdarts makes many barrels both ways, for example the Phantom Fixed and the Phantom Moveable. For barrels that take standard movable-point inserts, the Voks Fixed Point Conversion Kit locks the point in place with rubber stoppers.

Most steel points fall between about 1 in and 1⅜ in (25–35 mm); go longer only if you like more point ahead of the barrel. Laserdart Standard Points are 1⅜ in (35 mm) and Laserdarts Long Points are 1¾ in (44 mm). Both are fixed, hardened steel with a black oxide coating.

Moveable point darts need their own parts. Laserdart MP series barrels take MP Points, which install from the shaft end, so their 2.3 in to 3.2 in (58–81 mm) lengths are not comparable to fixed points; the listings call for non-metal based shafts. Voks Sledgehammer darts take the Voks Fulcrum.

It makes a small difference, mostly in how well the point holds in the board and how it feels in your fingers. Grooves near the tip help the point grip the sisal fibers, while grooves closer to the barrel give your fingers some hold if you grip that far forward.

A coating can do a similar job to grooves. Laserdart Standard Points and Laserdarts Long Points are hardened steel with a black oxide coating that resists wear and helps the point bite into board fibers. Whatever the finish, a sharp, slightly rounded point matters more than texture, so keep burrs off with a point sharpener.

They can, when darts are catching at the front of the barrel. A point cone slides up the point until it sits snug against the barrel, closing the gap where darts usually catch. The listing for Trident-180 Dart Point Cones says they reduce deflections by up to 50% and improve aerodynamics, and at 0.008 g each they will not shift your balance.

A pack holds 12 cones, enough for four sets, and they fit any steel or soft tip point they slide onto snugly. Try one set on your most bounce-prone darts for a few games. If you are losing darts off the wires instead, compare moveable points, covered above.