Cheap tungsten darts work just as well as expensive ones? With some of the recent product launches in the dart world you could be excused for thinking expensive darts means better performance. With darts like Luke Littler’s latest offerings launching at 129.95 pounds and Raymond van Barneveld Chrono SP at a massive 150 pounds the casual darts fan might think these prices are needed for success.
Proving cheap tungsten darts work just as well as expensive ones
The four semi-finalists at the PDC European championship are proof that cheap(er) tungsten darts work just as well as their more expoensive counterparts. So how expensive are these darts:
Luke Woodhouse darts are for sale at under 40 pounds!
Danny Noppert’s darts are for sale at 47,97
Richie Edhouse darts come in at 49,95
Jermaine Wattimena darts top the price list of the darts used by the four but come in at a very affordable (for these times) at 54,95
For reference, the darts of the 4 losing quarter finalist are all at similar prices apart from those darts used by Gary Anderson which are still available at under 70 pounds.
What darts does Luke Woodhouse use
The Luke Woodhouse darts are one of the cheapest pro player endorsed darts on the market. A beautiful natural tungsten dart which is under 40 pounds rates among some of the best value darts and is a perfect example of a “No Frills” dart offering premium performance. Full credit must go to Luke’s manufacturer Harrows for not pricing this dart up just because it has a PDC professional attached to it. The 90% tungsten dart is a dart for those players who prefer a simple grip with plenty of reference points along the barrel.
The beauty of this dart is that if you buy it you will be using the exact Luke Woodhouse darts setup as used in tournaments
What darts does Richie Edhouse use
Richie Edhouse took on Luke Humphries in the semi-final having dispatched with Gary Anderson in emphatic style. Another straight barrel dart, Richie Edhouse darts are nicely priced under the 50 pound mark by manufacturer Mission darts. This simple ring grip dart comes in 90% tungsten with the cuts very close together offering the feel of consistent grip allong the barrel and should suit front and mid grippers nicely.
My only dissapointment with this is the packaging. Being sold as a player dart it would have been nice to see a visual of Richie on the box along with his name. It should also be noted that Richie Edhouse dart setup is slightly different to what is sold. Richie is one of the players who use an all in one flight and stem system and these would need to be bought seperately.
What darts does Danny Noppert use?
Some might say that “The Freeze”, or Danny Noppert as he is better known, uses the most visually appealing dart of the quartet. Encorporating the Dutch Orange and the black of Danny’s shirt these darts could easily have been priced far higher by manufacturer Winmau. With the colouring and machining of the grip some might argue that other manufacturers would have priced the Danny Noppert darts set as sold at 30-40 pounds more.
The double banked ring cuts and the slight scallop along the barrel towards the rear of the dart mean that each barrel will take a good amount of time to machine. Another quality for this is that as sold you will be getting as close as possible to the Danny Nopper dart setup as used by him.
What darts does Jermaine Wattimena use?
Top of the shop in terms of pricing among the 4 is the Jermaine Wattimena dart set. Despite being slightly more expensive than the dart of his counterparts, the 54,95 price puts Jermaine’s darts in the category of afforable tungsten dart sets.
Another straight barrel dart (making 3 out of 4) the 90% tungsten barrel offers a simple but effective ring grip which would suit a fronbt or rear gripper. The centre of the dart being smooth will mean that mid grip dart players could struggle with this set. Sold with the grip point as per the Jermaine Wattimena dart setup means that those who like a point with some grip won’t be dissapointed.
Should you buy cheap darts or expensive darts?
We certainly won’t tell you what you should spend on a set of darts and this article is purely there to show you that a cheaper price tag doesn’t mean that they won’t bring you success on the oche. Each of the darts in this article has taken the player to the semi-final of a PDC televised tournament and each offers differing grip styles, all at under 55 pounds.
Buy cheap or expensive darts as long as the dart serves a purpose for you. I must admit that I would personally only be looking at buying the Luke Woodhouse dart if I had to choose between the 4. This is because my dart setup is closest to the grip on Luke’s darts and not down to the price although my darts have a slightly wider front. For reference I currently use the Loxley Moloko Plus darts which are part of Loxley’s concept series. Sold as barrels only darts they can be found for under 35 pounds and I pair them with an intermediate stem and white Pentathlon 150 micron flights
See also:
Luke Humphries match darts setup
The afore mentioned Luke Littler Prodigy darts