If you are choosing the best dart board for home use (like a home bar or game room) then you’re probably going to ask, “What dartboard do professionals use?”
Why not have the best professional dart board right in your game room? They are actually pretty affordable.
That way when you beat your friends, they’ll have no excuses.
So let’s cut right to the chase, here are the dart boards that are used by professionals in sanctioned tournaments. All of these boards have been approved by various professional darts organizations for competition. So you know these are also the best dart boards for home use.
If you’re just getting started, you may want to read our buying guides for the Best Darts For Beginners. And if you want to save a little wear and tear on the walls, check out our roundup of the Best Electronic Dartboards.
Winmau Blade 5 Bristle Dartboard
The Winmau Blade 5 is one of the newest models from Winmau, one of the most popular names in dart board manufacturing. This board has been endorsed by the British Darts Organization (“BDO”) so you can feel comfortable that you are playing on the same type of board that professionals use to compete.
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Specs
- Professional bristle dartboard with exclusive British Darts Organization endorsement
- Increased scoring area with 14% thinner wiring system than the previous generation Blade 4 for higher scoring potential
- Reduced bounce-outs and improved dart deflection with 30-degree reduction in razor wire angle
- Triple Wheel lock-and-level system easily secures the dartboard to virtually any surface
- Incredible durability with Carbon Diffusion technology in bullseye ring for stronger steel
The Blade 5 technology gives you 20% thinner wire framing than its predecessor the Blade 4. That means less chance for the dart to bounce off the wire and more rewarding for good shots. Wire framing is a necessary evil on dart boards. You need it to distinctly define one scoring area from the other but there is always the chance that a well thrown dart is deflected off the board by the wire. A thinner wire reduces the chances of that happening and rewards a good throw.
The steel on this board is also stronger than its predecessor and many other boards which also contributes to less bounce outs.
It also comes with a triple wheel lock and level system which let’s you ensure that the board is always easy to level regardless of the surface and locks it in place to avoid slipping during play.
This attention to detail and well built construction is what makes the Winmau Blade 5 my top pick among professional dart boards.
DMI Bandit Staple-free Bristle Dartboard
DMI Bandit Staple-free Bristle Dartboard is sanctioned by the world Dart Federation. It is the official world cup dartboard from back in 1999. This is a classic dartboard design that purists and competitive dart throwers will be happy to have in their home.
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Specs
- Official World Cup board since 1999
- Reduces bounce outs with interlocking, thin steel bands embedded in the bristles for all divisions, leaving almost nothing to deflect darts
- Comes with an improved, easier, and more rigid mounting and support structure
- Completely staple free
One of the best qualities of this board is the extremely thin wire which greatly reduces the percentage of bounce outs. Like the Winmau, it also uses very high grade sisal fiber to ensure durability and prevent bounce outs on well thrown darts. The outer wire, which has the numbers, is movable. This can come in handy if you use the board a lot and some sections of the board begin to show wear.
Interestingly, it has a black bulls-eye with a red outer bulls-eye rather than the red-green combination found on many boards. That has no effect on play but some darts purists may find it off putting.
The ultra thin wire framing and durable sisal fiber construction make the DMI Bandit a great choice.
Nodor SupaMatch2 Bristle Dartboard
The Nodor SupaMatch2 complies with the World Darts Federation specifications and is exclusively endorsed by the American Darts Organization and the National Darts Federation of Canada. Nodor is another well known name in dart making and as you can see has garnered a great reputation strong enough to be endorsed by two major North American darts organizations.
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Specs
- Regulation-size bristle dart board
- Official tournament board of the American Dart Organization
- Complete staple-free SupaBull II bulls-eye and improved scoring area
- Razor-ribbon wire spider minimizes bounce-outs; movable number ring
- Measures 17.75 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches thick; 1-year warranty
In terms of features and quality, this one is very similar to the DMI Bandit. It does have a more traditional look to it which may sway your opinion.
Nodor actually invented the bristle dart boards over 90 years ago and they are now the standard across the game. They claim that their tensile steel wiring system is the most advanced in the world today. I’m not sure how to measure how “advanced” a steel wire is, but I will say that it looks as thin or thinner than the other boards I looked at, so maybe they are right.
The Nodor SupaMatch 2 is a high quality board from a very reputable manufacturer that will likely last a long time.
What You Should Look For When Choosing A Dart Board
Whether you choose one of the boards on this list (you should) or not, there are certain things you want to look for when choosing a dart board. Here are the most important.
Board Material
You want a board that will last.
The best dart boards out there today are all bristle dart boards. Bristle boards are made up from compressed sisal fibers. Some cheaper boards might be made of cork, but these wear out much faster and result in much more frequent bounce outs, even on well thrown darts.
Stick with the bristle boards. Any money you might be able to save with a cork board will quickly disappear when you have to keep replacing them when they wear out.
Durability
This generally goes hand in hand with the board material. You want a dart board that will last as long as possible without getting loose and letting darts fall out. Once you notice it is harder to get a dart to stick in the board, it’s time to replace it.
Wire Thickness
The wire is what forms the metal rings around each section of the board. With the wire, there is no guesswork or arguing over which section the dart landed in. It has to be on one side of the wire or the other.
Generally speaking, better boards come with thinner wire. This decreases the chances of a dart hitting the wire and falling off the board. In addition, some boards have wire that is specifically designed to deflect the dart to one side or the other with minimal lost momentum, thereby increasing the chances of it sticking in the board.
Mounting Options
This may seem unimportant, but it can make a big difference if you want a truly professional level dart playing experience. Some dart boards include special mounting systems that make it significantly easier to level the board properly.
