Best 23g Darts (2026): What The 23-Gram Field Actually Looks Like

23g darts appear across every major brand in our database, in straight, tapered, torpedo and teardrop barrels, spanning 80 to 97 percent tungsten. The best-known named examples include the Target Beau Greaves G1 Swiss Point, the Red Dragon Amberjack 14, the Winmau Andy Fordham Onyx, the Shot AI Cyberpunk, and the Unicorn Adam Paxton, each covering a different barrel shape and grip profile at the same 23g mark.

What Does "23g" Actually Weigh?

The 23g figure printed on a dart's packaging refers to the barrel, not the fully assembled dart. According to myDartpfeil's equipment guide, "with soft darts, the barrel, tip, shaft, and flight all have a total weight. With steel darts, however, there is no total weight, only the barrel weight." A steel-tip dart's assembled weight on the oche, barrel plus point, shaft and flight together, runs a few grams heavier than the number on the box once those three components are added.

One published breakdown of dart weight conventions puts a number on it, using 23g as its own example: "When a manufacturer lists a dart at 23g, they mean the barrel. The full assembled dart weighs 1–3g more once you add a shaft and flight." That is a single source, and no manufacturer whose product pages we checked publishes the breakdown itself, so treat 1–3g as a working estimate rather than a figure guaranteed for any particular model. Treat "23g" as a barrel spec, not a total throw weight, and be aware that a like-for-like weight comparison between two darts only holds if you are also matching point, shaft and flight material and length, since those vary independently of the barrel figure.

The Real Reason 23g Deserves Its Own Page: Odd and Even Weights Are Different Fields

23g is not just "24g minus a gram." In a snapshot of our database taken on 2026-07-27, only 209 models appear at both 23g and 24g, which is 35 percent of the smaller (23g) set. Roughly four hundred models listed at 23g have no 24g counterpart in the same line, and a similar number of 24g models have no 23g counterpart. Across the wider pattern, models at 21g, 23g and 25g overlap each other in 63 to 92 percent of cases, and models at 22g, 24g and 26g overlap each other in 73 to 93 percent of cases, but crossing between the odd group and the even group drops that overlap to 17 to 35 percent.

The practical read on this pattern, treated here as an observation about our own catalogue rather than a manufacturing rule, is that dart lines tend to be released in either odd weights or even weights, not both. For a player who has found a 23g dart that suits their throw and wants to nudge a gram lighter or heavier, the model that actually offers that next step is far more often a 21g or 25g variant in the same barrel line than a 22g or 24g variant, because that line frequently does not exist at 22g or 24g at all. If you want to move even a single gram off 23g and stay in the shape and grip you already know, check 21g and 25g in that model first.

Best 23g Darts in 2026 by Brand and Shape

The 23g field spans straight, tapered, torpedo, teardrop, bomb and scalloped barrels across every major brand, so the right pick depends on shape and grip more than brand alone. Straight barrels are the most common shape at 23g in our database, followed by tapered and torpedo, and centre balance point outnumbers front and rear balance combined.

Model	Brand	Barrel shape	Tungsten	Balance	Suits
Beau Greaves G1 Swiss Point 90%	Target	Straight	90%	Center	Neutral straight-barrel players, 6.45mm slim profile
Amberjack 14 90%	Red Dragon	Torpedo	90%	Center	Players wanting a torpedo profile with ringed grip
Andy Fordham Onyx 90%	Winmau	Bomb	90%	Center	Short, fat-profile players wanting maximum diameter
AI Cyberpunk 90%	Shot	Straight	90%	Center	Aggressive-grip players, milled zones, gripRating 4
AI Mecha 90%	Shot	Tapered	90%	Front	Front grippers wanting one of the strongest grips in the field, gripRating 4.5
Adam Paxton 90%	Unicorn	Straight	90%	Center	Neutral all-rounders, fully ringed zones
Aurora Coral PVD 90%	Mission	Straight	90%	Center	Players wanting a fully milled straight barrel
Ascent 03 90%	One80	Tapered	90%	Center	Mixed milled/ringed/smooth zone texture
975 Ultra Marine 02 Swiss Point 97%	Target	Tapered	97%	Center	Advanced players wanting a dense 97% barrel with a compact profile
Draco 95% Black PVD Orange	Datadart	Straight	95%	Rear	Rear grippers, one of the few rear-balance 23g options

Specs above are drawn from our dart database, snapshot 2026-07-27. Balance point and zone counts refer to that snapshot and will shift as the database grows.

What Makes the Target Beau Greaves G1 a Strong Neutral 23g Pick?

The Target Beau Greaves G1 Swiss Point is a strong neutral 23g pick because it pairs a straight 90 percent tungsten barrel at 6.45mm diameter with a centred balance point and mixed milled, ringed and smooth grip zones. A straight barrel keeps the weight distribution even along the full 50.9mm length, so the dart does not bias a player toward a front or rear grip the way a tapered or torpedo shape would.

The Target Beau Greaves G1 uses Target's Swiss Point interchangeable tip system, which means the barrel accepts Target's proprietary quick-change points rather than a fixed steel point. Its grip runs milled at the front and centre zones, with a mixed ringed and smooth texture toward the rear, giving a stepped texture rather than one uniform pattern across the barrel.

• Target Beau Greaves G1 Swiss Point 90%: straight barrel, 6.45mm, centre balance, grip rating 3, interchangeable Swiss Point tip.
• Red Dragon Amberjack 14 90%: torpedo barrel, 7mm, centre balance, grip rating 2.5, ringed and smooth zones.
• Unicorn Adam Paxton 90%: straight barrel, 6.4mm, centre balance, grip rating 2.5, fully ringed zones front to rear.

What Are the Most Important Criteria for Choosing a 23g Dart?

Choosing among 23g darts comes down to barrel shape, grip zone texture and balance point, because at a fixed weight those three variables carry almost all of the feel difference between models. Tungsten percentage mainly changes barrel diameter at that fixed weight, so it is a secondary filter once shape and grip are set.

1. Barrel shape and where the weight sits

Barrel shape decides whether the mass sits toward the front, centre or rear of the dart, which should line up with where your fingers land at release. In our 23g snapshot, straight barrels are the most common shape, followed by tapered and torpedo, with bomb, teardrop and scalloped further behind. A torpedo like the Red Dragon Amberjack 14 concentrates diameter at the centre and tapers both ways, while a tapered barrel like the Shot AI Mecha is wider at the rear and narrows toward the tip. See our barrel shapes guide for the full comparison.

2. Grip zone texture matched to grip pressure

Grip texture should match how hard you naturally hold the barrel, not simply chase the most aggressive option available. Ringed texture is the most common zone style at 23g in our database, followed by milled, and both can range from a light gripRating 2 to a specialist gripRating 5, so the texture name alone does not tell you the intensity. The Shot AI Mecha runs milled zones at gripRating 4.5, among the strongest in the 23g field, while a fully ringed barrel like the Unicorn Adam Paxton sits at gripRating 2.5. Our grip types guide sets out the full texture scale.

3. Balance point relative to your throw

Balance point at 23g skews heavily toward centre in our database, with front-balanced models a distant second and rear-balanced models rare. A centred dart like the Target Beau Greaves G1 is the most forgiving starting point because it does not push the throw arc in either direction. A rear-balanced option, such as the Datadart Draco, is one of the few available at 23g for a player whose throw already suits a higher arc. See our balance point guide for how balance interacts with throw arc.

Expert Tips for Choosing Within the 23g Field

If a 23g dart feels close but not quite right in weight, check whether the same model line exists at 21g or 25g before assuming you need a different barrel shape entirely. Because odd and even weights tend to be separate release tiers in our database, the fastest way to add or shed a gram without relearning grip and shape is usually a two-gram step in the same line, not a one-gram step to a neighbouring model that may not exist.

Filter by grip zone before brand. Ringed and milled zones dominate the 23g field across every brand we listed, but the intensity behind either texture name varies from gripRating 2 to 4.5, so two "ringed" darts from different brands can feel very different in the hand. Check the gripRating alongside the zone name, not the zone name alone.

Treat the 23g figure as a starting point for tuning, not a finished number. Since 23g is a barrel-only spec, the assembled weight you actually throw depends on your point, shaft and flight choice as well. If you switch between a fixed steel point and an interchangeable system like Swiss Point on the same barrel weight, the assembled dart can feel slightly different even though the barrel spec on the box has not changed.