Red Dragon was founded in 1975 in Bridgend by two former Ford engineers, and the company went on to become the first to mass-produce precision tungsten darts in 1978. The Flightmaster Sidewinder sits in the brand’s long-running Flightmaster range, an entry-to-mid tier line built around 80% tungsten barrels rather than a player-signature design.
It has built up one of the larger review samples of any dart on this site, which makes it a useful case study in what a widely-owned budget tungsten set actually delivers.
Key Specifications
The range spans four weights on a torpedo barrel with an elliptical front profile, all sharing the same 8mm diameter and square-groove grip.
- Material
- 80% tungsten, polished finish
- Barrel shape
- Torpedo profile, elliptical front, centre-weighted
- Weights
- 23g, 25g, 27g, 30g
- Barrel dimensions
- 23g: 8mm x 43.2mm, 25g/27g: 8mm x 45.7mm, 30g: 8mm x 48.3mm
- Grip
- Full-length square grooves
- Points
- Black high tensile, fixed, 2BA thread
- Shafts
- TRX medium, 48mm
- Flights
- Hardcore extra-thick standard
- Price band
- Value
How They Compare
Spec sheets mean more next to the alternatives. Here is the Flightmaster Sidewinder against three similar darts we have covered, using the figures each manufacturer publishes.
| Flightmaster Sidewinder | Javelin (opens in a new tab) | Target Artemis (opens in a new tab) | Winmau Ton Machine (opens in a new tab) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price band | Value | Value | Value | Value |
| Tungsten | 80% | 85% | 80% | 80% |
| Weights | 23g, 25g, 27g, 30g | 20g to 26g | 21g to 26g | 22g, 24g, 26g |
| Barrel length | 43.2mm to 48.3mm | 54.6mm | 50.3mm (52mm at 26g) | 45.7mm to 50.8mm |
| Barrel diameter | 8mm | 6.15mm (20g) | 7.0mm (21g) | 6.6mm (22g) |
Who They Suit
| If you... | Fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Like a light, slim dart | Poor | Lightest is 23g with a 8mm barrel |
| Want a thick, heavy barrel | Good | Heaviest is 30g at up to 8mm |
| Want grip cuts along the whole barrel | Good | Square grooves run the full length of the barrel |
| Want a very smooth grip | Partial | Medium grip, according to the manufacturer |
| Prefer a short barrel | Good | Barrel length is 43.2mm to 48.3mm |
| Want quick-swap points | Poor | Standard points rather than a quick-swap system |
| Are working to a tight budget | Good | It sits in the Value price band |
The Sidewinder suits players who want a genuine 80% tungsten barrel across a wide weight range without paying for a signature name or a premium grip pattern. The four-weight spread, from 23g up to 30g, covers most throwing styles, and the value scores are among the strongest on this site.
Players who want a noticeably higher tungsten percentage in a similar price bracket should compare it against Red Dragon’s own Amberjack 14, which sits at a slightly higher price for a 90% barrel. Anyone who finds the square-groove grip too gentle should look for a set with a more aggressive knurled or ringed texture instead.
What Owners Say
The headline score is 4.4 out of 5 from 2,156 reviews. This is one of the larger review samples on this site, and it comes from Amazon rather than the manufacturer’s own site, so it is a broader and slightly more independent read than most. Red Dragon’s own on-site reviews run higher, around 4.8 out of 5 from just over 100 reviews, which is worth treating as the more favourable end of the range given the smaller, manufacturer-hosted sample.
Across both samples the pattern holds: buyers consistently rate the value highly for an 80% tungsten set, and the square-groove grip gets picked out as secure without feeling aggressive. Red Dragon’s own review breakdown scores the set at 4.6 out of 5 for quality and 4.9 for value, with grip a little further back at 3.7, suggesting the texture divides opinion more than the build quality does.
What owners consistently praise
- Strong value for an 80% tungsten barrel, rated close to the top of the scale by buyers
- Square-groove grip feels secure without being harsh, according to most owners
- Four weights (23g to 30g) cover a wide range of throwing styles
- Large review sample gives more confidence than most budget darts get
Common criticisms
- Grip is the one category that scores noticeably lower than the rest in Red Dragon's own breakdown
- Only one set of flights and shafts included, so a spare set is worth budgeting for
- 80% tungsten means a slightly thicker barrel than a 90% set at the same weight
The Grip: What to Expect
Red Dragon rates the Sidewinder’s grip as medium, with square grooves running the full length of the barrel. That is a deliberately middle-ground design, more texture than a smooth barrel but well short of the aggressive knurling found on some premium sets.
Owner feedback broadly agrees with that positioning. Most describe the grip as comfortable and secure for extended sessions, though Red Dragon’s own review data shows grip as the lowest-scoring category of the set (3.7 out of 5, against 4.6 for quality and 4.9 for value), which points to a genuine split: some players want more bite than a medium grip gives them.
The Consensus
Owners rate the Sidewinder as a genuinely good value 80% tungsten dart, and the sample size behind that verdict is larger than almost anything else reviewed on this site. The square-groove grip is the one point of disagreement: most find it comfortable, but Red Dragon’s own data shows it as the weakest-scoring aspect of an otherwise strongly-rated set.
For a budget-to-mid tungsten dart without a player’s name attached, the reception says it does the basics well and does not overreach on price.
How we compile this page
We don’t throw every dart ourselves. Instead we gather the manufacturer’s published specifications and weigh up the reception from owners and independent reviewers, then flag where they disagree so you can make up your own mind. Where a headline rating comes from manufacturer-hosted reviews, we say so, because those tend to skew positive.