Spinning Dart Shafts: Are they Any Good?

If you’re struggling to keep your flights on your stems, or you want to group your darts more closely together and minimise the amount of deflections then you may have stumbled across spinning dart shafts and wondered if they are worth trying.

In this article, I’ll take you through all the pros and cons of spinning stems so you can decide if they’re a good idea for you.

What are Spinning Dart Shafts?

Spinning dart shafts have a section which attaches to the flight that can rotate, and a section which attaches to the barrel which does not rotate. This allows the flight to spin when hit by an incoming dart to reduce the chance of deflections and help group the darts closer together.

Spinning Dart Shafts Protect the Flights

One of the main advantages is of spinning dart shafts is that they help to protect the flights. When the dart is in the board and the flight is hit by an incoming dart, the impact is reduced because the flight can spin around. This helps to keep the flights in better condition so they do not need replacing as often.

Fewer Deflections Means Tighter Grouping

Spinning dart shafts are also designed to allow players to group their darts more closely together. Instead of a dart being deflected by the flight of a dart which is already in the board, spinning shafts will rotate the flight so it essentially moves out of the way and prevents the incoming dart being pushed to the side.

This is useful for players who feel like the darts are being deflected too much and making it harder to group darts very tightly in the trebles.

Disadvantages of Spinning Dart Shafts

Many darts players don’t see the point in spinning stems and others actually find them to be a hinderance to their game, so let’s take a look at some of the cons.

They’re More Expensive

Spinning darts shafts are significantly more expensive than standard shafts. Locked (standard) dart shafts typically cost around $0.50-$1.00 (or £0.20-£0.60 in the UK) whereas spinning shafts cost start at around $2.00 (or £1.50) and can cost up to $20 (£15) for a pack making them quite pricey.

Some Can Rattle

Some players also find that spinning shafts will rattle which sounds very annoying and distracting, and can introduce inconsistency in the flight path due to the unpredictable movement added. This is usually more of a problem with lower quality spinning stems, whereas the more premium ones usually don’t suffer from rattling.

They Can Break Easily

Although you’d expect them to be more robust than standard stems, some players find that rotating stems can actually break more easily, usually when robin hoods occur. This can be very annoying since they cost 4-5x more than standard stems. Again, this is more of an issue with cheaper stems.

Some Can Need Tightening Frequently

Spinning shafts can become loose and need tightening to ensure they do not rattle or fall off. This is pretty annoying and you don’t have to do this if you’re using standard stems. It all depends on the quality of the stem though, with more expensive ones usually having a tighter fitment which doesn’t need tightening as frequently.

Should I Use Spinning Shafts?

If you are looking to group your darts more closely together then it may be worth trying spinning shafts, just make sure you purchase a good quality set, because cheaper ones usually break easily and rattle.

It’s worth noting that professional darts players in the PDC don’t use spinning stems and they are rarely seen in the UK so they are definitely not essential to group your darts very closely.

If you’re looking to experiment with your system though, it doesn’t hurt to give them a try and see if they suit you.