Dart Flight Shapes: A Complete Guide

Choosing dart flights can be difficult as there are so many different shapes available. In this article, I’ll take you through all the main dart flight shapes and the impact it has on how the dart travels so you can decide which shape is the best for you.

Why Does Shape Matter?

Dart flights vary in terms of their dart shape and size which affects the angle the dart travels through the air and how much it loops and the speed the dart travels. When it comes to size, this impacts the surface area. The larger the surface area, the more drag, so larger darts will travel more slowly.

The flight shape has an impact on the following:

• Speed: the smaller the flight’s surface area, the faster it’ll travel
• Stability: the larger the flight’s surface area, the more stable it’ll be
• Lift: larger flights provide more lift
• Space on the board: smaller flights take up less space on the board which can help with grouping

Throwing Style and Flight Suitability

The way you throw the dart will give you a preference towards different shapes.

Larger flights (more surface area) tend to suit heavier darts with longer shafts and will be better for a “lob” throwing style.

Slimline and smaller flights on the other hand suit lighter darts with shorter shafts and will be better for harder and straighter throwing styles.

Some shapes are more stable than others when traveling through the air. If your darts are sticking to the board with the flight angled downwards (towards the floor), then a larger flight with more surface area will be better. Ideally, the darts should be hitting the board at a flat angle, or slightly upwards.

Some players also like smaller dart flights because they take up less room so make it easier to fit other darts on the board in tighter areas.

More Surface Area	Less Surface Area
Less speed	More speed
More stability	Less stability
More lift	Less lift
Takes up more space on the board	Takes up less space on the board

Main Dart Flight Shapes

The most popular dart flight shapes are:

• Standard
• Shape and Super Shape
• Slim
• W-Shape
• Pear
• Kite and Super Kite
• Velos
• Fantail
• Vortex

Standard and Shape darts are quite large whilst other types such as slim and the “super” variants of different shapes are much smaller and narrower.

The types not only differ in their shape, but also in their size. Both these factors mean you get different flight characteristics which will be suited to different darts and throw styles.

Here are images of all the different shapes. All the images link to Amazon so you can check the current price.

Standard

Shape

Super Shape

Slim

W-Shape

Pear

Kite

Super Kite

Velos

Fantail

Vortex

Rocket

Which Flight Shape is Best for You?

This is a really personal choice and it’s difficult to know which flight shape is more suitable for your throwing style without trying them all. That’s why I recommend trying them all out at some point so you can get a good feel for them and decide which suits you the best.

However, in order to make this article a little more definitive, I’ve made some infographics below to show you the speed, lift and stability of all the different flight shapes ranked against each other.

Generally, larger flights will be slower but will have more stability and more “lift” compared to smaller and narrow flights which will be faster and have a straighter flight path.

If you use heavier darts and have a looping throwing style, go for the slower end of the spectrum, but if you have a harder and straighter throw, then go for something a bit faster.

Speed

The fastest dart flight shapes are slim, super kite, vortex and pear. The slowest dart flight types are shape and standard. Faster slight shapes are best suited to harder throwers and lighter darts.

Lift

The dart flight shapes with the highest lift are standard and shape. The dart flight shapes with the lowest lift are slim and super kite. Darts with more “lift” are best suited to players with a lob-style throw, whereas darts with less lift are more suited to harder and flatter throwers.

Stability

The most stable dart flight shapes are standard and shape.

Here are some more articles you might find useful:

• Moulded vs Folded Dart Flights
• Thick vs Thin Flights
• What is the Best Angle of Entry?