Finding YOUR Setup

[adavidson]

Being inspired by Cyanide's recent post on dart stem length changes I decided to actually test my setups. Being a relative newbie I was always under the impression that one should stick with longer stems and bigger flights to get the most forgiveness. I started throwing various combinations of medium, tweenie, and short stems with various sizes and shapes of flights. Boy, did I have my eyes opened in a hurry. Some of the combinations were absolute train wrecks. Some actually made significant improvements in the darts performance. Some things such as how hard or softly you threw the dart made significant differences in the setup performance. In conclusion one should be willing to experiment a little to find YOUR setup as opposed to what someone tells you your setup should be. Thanks Cyanide for pointing me down the path!!!!

[0ldjoblo]

Ayep ,, I have found that nothing anyone says here at the Nutz house works for me ,,except try it and then see if it works for you,,,

[REBEL]

I always felt right with short stems and standard flights, when I first started playing thats all the pub had on the card behind the bar so I didn't have any choice.

Then I found darts forums and saw all these other sets ups and had to give them a try - several years later and a few quid lighter in the pocket and I am back using short stems, standard flights.....

But yeah, you will see and hear people tell you that you should use that with this and this with that as if its written in stone - you got it, find what works for you - all the best Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[adavidson]

One of the biggest surprises was how a little change on one item had such a significant effect on the overall setup. For example, visually speaking, I had two equal, identically sized standard flights. One was smooth plastic, one had some texture to it. I expected the textured flight to land a wee bit lower due to the increased resistance of the texture, but in some cases it was a fair bit lower. I had some Unicorn and Target medium shafts so expected they would act the same. Nope, Unicorns were a couple of millimeters shorter. Made a difference on flight of dart and showed medium length isn't medium for all manufacturers. So in the end I decided to set a standard dart setup and not waiver from it or to expect changes in results. It was actually quite interestingGuests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[conanthewarrior]

Yeah stem length does seem to make a difference, and funnily enough I notice all my darts, weather short barrel or long, when used with the stem that suits them/me best, they are all the same length! Like a long dart will have a Xshort stem, Phase 5 a tweenie, eagles a medium, and side by side they all are the same!

[Banned]

Aye, just saw this! Glad I could help a little. I would never tell anyone to try a certain type of dart equipment but I've always been one to preach about experimenting a little. For years and years I played with a 24 gram dart and standard flights. It's what everyone else used so why not me right?

Than one day my buddy had some light softtips laying on the table. I'd never even seen a soft tip dart before. Anyway I picked it up and started chucking them at a steel tip board. I was shocked at how straight my dart went!! It was around 14 grams(ish) and had a slim flight. But wow!! I couldn't miss.

That day changed my darting life. Who knew that a lighter dart and slim flight would suit me? I had NO idea. Through the years I've tried a few different weights and recently I was playing with a 20.5 gram barrel but I just wasn't comfy with them. So I went back down to 18 grams and that's just a good weight for me.

So yeah, I think as a player improves they should always attempt to dial in their set up. As we improve and even age, our style of throw changes. So you'll always have to make small changes along the way Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[adavidson]

I'd like to try a similar test with a lighter version of a dart I already have. For example a Barney 5 in 21gr instead of the 25's I already have. See if the final setup differs between the 2 and which works best. However, I'm not going to start buying up all kinds of darts just to test, I'd rather settle on a setup that works for me now, with what I already have, stand pat for awhile and enjoy. Fiddling too much can/has caused me some grief as I kept switching back and forth, messed me up for a bit. Right now its a toss up between the my Barney 5's, Pro Grip short stem, Vision standard flight or my Unicorn Phase 5, Pro Grip tweenie, and Harrows Fantail flight. Sort of similar setups, but different just the same. I wonder if you can tune any dart, to any player, just by changing the setup? Hmmmmmmmm....another time down the roadGuests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[Dmott]

The textured flight lands lower than the smooth? I would think that a textured flight gives more surface area, so it would make the dart land more flight up (in general, it depends on your throw of course). Does a bigger flight land lower for you in general?

[DoubleTrouble]

I use the fabric (textured) tear drop (pear) flights and Poly. I alternate between the 2 because I find the fabric last longer and I've not notice a of of difference in the flight or pitch of the dart.

In a stem I was using Jocky Wilson 28mm mainly because the action I used to have, mean't I bought the dart right to my eye. Longer stems would result in the occasional poke in the eye. Unpleasant especially in the middle of a game. I could go to a shorter barrel, but my grip even now extends onto the stem. Too short a barrel and I'd be holding the flight.

I can't use standard flights. The darts don't fly correctly. I guess this is due to my action. I have just recently ordered some over sized pears to see how much difference this makes to my game.

I've gone to the Harrows Super grip Short Stems. As I no longer bring the dart to my eye, now to my cheek, any contact to the face makes no difference. But I'm starting to move back towards the eye as I land a lot more consistent groupings

[adavidson]

I found that some of the flight/stem combos did make a difference in regards to how high the tail stuck up. Traditionally I thought that the longer the stem or larger the flight the higher the tail would land. I did find this on some combos, but on others it did not seem as prevalent or had little affect on the angle at all. Especially with the smaller flights. Having said that by what I can remember my Barney 5's and Phase 5's did not show as much tail movement as my 9 Zero's so maybe barrel shape may have some affect as well. I did not keep detailed notes of my experiments, maybe I should have. I basically eliminated the combo's the did not fly well for a specific barrel and stem/flight combo. I do whole heartedly agree that type of throw has major impact on everything as well, especially an agressive throw. It all boiled down to playing around with setups to find what is best for you. The combos did make that much difference.

[0ldjoblo]

My experience is along the same lines as Cyanide,,,I started throwing darts in a soft tip league at local VFW in Florida in the early 90's,,back then the weight limit was 16 gram for a complete dart point/barrel/shaft/flight,,,the darts I threw were less than 14 grams all up using short aluminum stems and mini standard flights,,,I have bought a multitude of soft and steel sets to try in the last 9+ months,,, and the ones I favor are the light sets 18 gram or less,,,steel and soft tip,,,,,,

[Parvez1971]

Bought Fit flights, L-Style, Click, Taylor Titanium shafts, Condor, Robson but my favorite set up is short pro grip or L-Style Laro carbon ( 190 ) shafts with punched shape or no6 flights.

[ballouj74]

it is really a personal choice for each person, there is not a right or a wrong setup, it what the player likes and is comfortable with