Zen Dojo is the most modestly priced of the 5 sets of darts tested. Zen is a little more modest in appearance and was the only one of the 5 that didn’t utilize a shaft 0-ring.

Throughout testing, all 5 products seemed very well made and none of the flights came off the shafts, even on the lower priced Zen Dojo. No malfunctions or disassembly occurred. No darts sustained damage during testing from other thrown darts as part of the testing process (colloquially known as ‘robin hoods’).

While all the darts have great designs with impressive packaging, the Roman Empire Caesar was a personal favorite.

A test of 100 throws of each dart were performed at 10 specific places on the dartboard, meaning each set of darts was thrown 1000 times. The places on the dartboard were chosen to hopefully provide a diverse test of shots a thrower would typically encounter throughout the course of a match.

After 12 warmup throws, the darts were thrown by the tester using a 3 person system where 3 darts were thrown, another person retrieved the darts while relaying the numbers of hits to a 3rd person recording the results. This allowed the tester to throw from the exact same foot position every time and expedite the testing process.

Approximate time per test: 10 minutes.
A 10-minute rest was taken between each test to prevent fatigue.

1 – 1-1/2 tests were performed per day over the course of approximately 40 days, typically in the late afternoon or early evening. No alcohol was consumed as part of the testing process – perhaps that’s an experiment for another time :)

About the shooter:
Average ability, non-league player. Favorite game: Cricket.
Male, 6’3” tall who typically use a 3-finger style grip (thumb/index/middle finger) and deploys a flat, firm throw with little arc.