Dart Shafts
Aluminum, nylon, and carbon shafts in every length we carry.
Shorter shafts move the weight forward; longer ones settle the tail down.
Buying guide
Dart Shafts Buying Guide
A dart shaft, also called a stem, connects the barrel to the flight, and nearly every modern shaft screws in with the same 2BA thread. Length, material and whether the top spins decide how the dart sits in the air and how often you replace parts. We stock the Horizon Darts SuperGrip line alongside Cosmo, L-Style, Harrows and Viper, including aluminum and carbon fiber shafts.
What length dart shaft should I use?
Start with the length that came on your set and move one step at a time. Front grippers usually go shorter and rear grippers usually go longer; watch how your darts sit in the board after each change.
Length names are not standardized, so compare millimeters. Cosmo numbers its Fit Shafts, which makes a useful reference:
| Cosmo size | Length |
|---|---|
| #1 Mini | 0.5 in (13 mm) |
| #2 Super Short | 0.7 in (18 mm) |
| #3 Short | 0.9 in (24 mm) |
| #4 In-Between | 1.1 in (28.5 mm) |
| #5 Medium | 1.2 in (31 mm) |
| #6 Long to #8 Gigantic | 1.4–1.7 in (35–42.5 mm) |
Other brands differ: a Harrows Carbon ST Short is 33 mm (1.3 in), longer than a Cosmo #5 Medium.
Nylon, aluminum, carbon or titanium: which shaft material is best?
There is no single best material. Pick by what fails first for you: snapped shafts, bent shafts or loose flights.
- Nylon: low cost and light, and it flexes, which can mean fewer snapped shafts on a hard bounce-out. Try the Nylon Shaft.
- Aluminum: light and rigid, but it can bend on a deflection and vibrate loose. See our aluminum shafts.
- Carbon: lighter than aluminum and stiffer than plastic, like the Cosmo Carbon Slim Fit Shaft.
- Titanium: the premium option, with better corrosion resistance than aluminum, like the Cosmo Titanium Fit Shaft.
- Wire: the Laserdarts Spider Leg shaft uses four high-tensile wires on a 2BA aluminum base, so it flexes on impact instead of snapping.
Do dart shafts change the weight and balance of a dart?
Yes, but only slightly. A shaft weighs around a gram, and because it sits behind the barrel, a longer or heavier shaft moves the balance point back. The nylon Alamo Shaft is listed at 0.9 g in Short, 1.4 in (35 mm), and 1.1 g in Medium, 1.8 in (46 mm), so going up one length adds about 0.2 g at the back of the dart.
Construction matters too. The Harrows Carbon Plus puts an anodized linker and top on a graphite rod to shift weight toward the front. For soft tip league play, the shaft counts toward the 20 g NDA limit, which covers the complete dart: tip, barrel, shaft and flight.
Are spinning dart shafts worth it?
Yes, if you group tightly. A spinning shaft has a top section that rotates when another dart clips the flight, so the incoming dart tends to glance off instead of splitting the flight or bouncing out. It does not change how the dart flies to the board.
Locked shafts hold the flight in one position and have fewer moving parts. Many lines come both ways, so you can compare SuperGrip Spinning with SuperGrip Locked. If the click of a spinning top bothers you, the L-Style Straight Silent Shaft is built to spin more quietly.
What thread are dart shafts, and will any shaft fit my darts?
Nearly all modern shafts use a 2BA thread, so a 2BA shaft fits almost any steel tip or soft tip barrel. The thread is not the only thing that has to match, though.
- Flight system: Cosmo Fit Shafts thread in with 2BA but accept only Fit Flights, not standard slot-in flights.
- Bar darts: some take a larger 1/4 in thread. The one-piece Bar Flight/Shaft fits those barrels.
- Laserdart MP moveable point barrels: the MP point listings call for non-metal based shafts, so skip aluminum and titanium on those darts.
How do I stop dart shafts from loosening?
Fit a rubber O-ring between the shaft and the barrel. It cushions the joint so each landing does not slowly unscrew the shaft, and 2BA O-rings fit standard threads.
If an O-ring is not enough:
- ViperLock Aluminum Shade Shafts come with O-rings and a locking pin, so you can tighten them as far as your barrel allows.
- L-Shaft Tightener Gomu seats between shaft and barrel to hold the joint tight. Each piece is single use.
Check your shafts before every game. A loose shaft changes how the dart flies and can strip the barrel threads.
Which dart shafts hold flights the tightest?
Locking shafts hold best, because they add a ring or a molded fit instead of relying on the flight slot alone.
- SuperGrip Fusion and the rest of the Horizon Darts SuperGrip line use factory-fitted machined rings instead of springs, so the grip does not loosen with repeated flight changes.
- L-Style L-Shafts include Champagne Rings, like the L-Shaft 2-Toned Straight Locked.
- Cosmo Fit Shafts lock Fit Flights onto the shaft, like the Fit Shaft Gear Slim Locked.
Happy with your nylon shafts? Grip Rings clamp the prongs against the flight without replacing the shaft.
How do I get a broken shaft out of a barrel?
Use a shaft extractor, not pliers. An extractor grips the broken piece and backs it out without ruining the barrel threads. The Extractor and the L-Style Bull Shaft and Tip Extractor both remove broken shafts and stuck soft tips. If the cavity is already cross-threaded, a 2BA thread tap re-cuts clean threads so a new shaft screws in straight.