How to look after your dartboard

All Shot Darts bristle dartboards are made with high-grade sisal – so you can play more and they’ll last longer. Like any bristle dartboard though, they do need to have the wear evenly spaced across the entire surface of the board, or the sisal can get over-compacted, making it harder for darts to ‘stick’.

Rotate your dartboard

Like the 70s rock classics playing on the turntable in your mancave or she shed, get into the habit of putting your bristle dartboard on high rotation. Choose a dartboard with a moveable number ring, which will easily let you rotate your board on the regular. We recommend doing this fortnightly for a board that’s being used a few times a week.

To take your dartboard for a ‘spin’: unclip the number ring and turn the board by one segment. E.g. 20 would become 12. Then just clip the number ring back on. And remember to go in the same direction each time. Of course the bullseye gets the same amount of wear however you rotate the board. But if your bullseye is wearing out rapidly, we would like to give you a small round of applause and suggest you reward yourself with a new board.  

Keep your bristle dartboard dry

Bristle dartboards are made from natural sisal, which is highly absorbent, and therefore susceptible to moisture damage. Basically, bristle dartboards are like Gremlins. Bad things happen when you get them wet. As a side note, try to avoid getting a paper dartboard wet too.

Look after your darts

A big part of looking after your dartboard is maintaining the points of your darts. Dart points should be sharp and straight, not blunt or hooked. Hooked darts will pull out fibres when you remove them from the dartboard, while worn, blunt dart points cause over-compaction. It’s a good idea to check your dart points regularly and either sharpen or replace them if needed. A dart mat just in front of your board will help protect darts from hard floors like concrete and tiles. It’ll also protect wooden and linoleum floors from the darts, so it’s a win-win.

What about dartboard cabinets?

While you don’t need to keep your dartboard in a cabinet, this piece of equipment does come with a few benefits. A dartboard cabinet provides wall protection in the case of all but the most erratic throws. It will also keep your dart gear safely in one place, with space to store your darts and scoreboard. And some people prefer to look at a cabinet, rather than a board. (Although we reckon a good dartboard is a thing of beauty.)