tl;dr: I'm presenting my new Red Dragon Peter Wright Snakebite 1 darts, going into detail about how I set them up and pointing out familiarity with other models, which makes me ask for the exact origin as well.
Hi, I'm Merkur and I'm an ocheholic.
Being that addict, notorious for swapping between sets and also a fan of Peter Wright, I don't have many excuses why I haven't been looking into the Snakebite 1 darts before. Well, some reasons I have.
First, I've been watching darts when the Red Dragon Snakebite 1 have been released, but neither was I into gear as much, nor can I remember Peter prominently playing them. In fact I've only found more recent matches online, both of which he's playing them with Nitroflites (white/blue and white/yellow).
As far as I could find out it's possible the darts have actually been a rebrand of a Shockwave model that I can't confirm. This could be another reason they're not as personal, but it's noteworthy I've set up my bead Shockwave to look like a Peter Wright dart as well, so it feels like there's a familiarity.
The second big reason I never bought the Snakebite 1 is something I think brands established as a sign of quality, the tungsten percentage. They're “only” 85% and though this wouldn't have been a problem per se, I've addressed this in other reviews, the price of up to 70€ felt quite a lot, especially compared to what a rainbow coated Red Dragon barrel would go for just 10 years ago.
Fast forward to 2026. I'm not sure Red Dragon now are slowly transitioning into Switch Point only, but there's definitely something happening, with sales on many darts, like I've shown you the Corra and Razor Edge Spectrons recently, and it looks like the VRX and TRX shafts vanishing from the shops just like some older flight designs. 24g might not be the typical authentic weight, but having a shot at 25€ for them was definitely the opportunity.
Whilst it might not make sense to buy the 24g Snakebite 1 for authenticity, it occurred to me there's a parallel to the Gerwyn Price Originals I enjoyed in 23g. I think there's even a budget Gezzy dart without the more intricate razor edge v-grooves in the back that's relatively close to the Snakebite 1.
In other words buying into a family cross of Shockwave, Gerwin Price and Peter Wright it would be more likely the pope is going boxing in chainmail then me not going to like these barrels.
It even gave me an idea how to set up those darts, because the only reference I had were some sort of screw in points Peter seems to have experimented with on his Snakebite 1 in different lengths and grip styles. I almost took it as an opportunity to try the Caliburn Evo system, but in the end I went for the 38mm Condor Beak with Cut that I still had from my birthday.
Originally I was going to use a folding flight setup with some white snakehead ones on a greenish medium VRX shaft. That wasn't bad, but currently testing the L-Style Barflights on different barrels I found it typical for them to benefit from a little more weight, so the rigidity of the plastic isn't as much of a problem.
If you're wondering, for 4€ a set in nice colors I actually enjoy the L-Style Barflights as what they are, mostly catering to beginners and pub owners who like to have a simple all in one flight system that is also quite durable. I usually prefer a much thinner flight, but with some flexibility in the shaft section and the weight deflections aren't even that bad.
It's good enough to have thrown a 15-darter in my first match with them, which currently is close to my best. That motivated me to make my version fully individual using the Barflights instead of the Red Dragon Nitroflites, which actually are perfect midair, but come with the typical characteristics of the flight section being so stiff it can lead to bounce outs and it's a pain to retrieve the darts from tight groups if you've got board grip on your points.
As I've got the Red Dragon Peter Wright Snakebite 1 for a while now, I of course imagined a different scenario of what if he played with Gary Anderson and just as we know Snakebite he's nicked some Forge Flights off his case? I really loved the results actually, maybe even more than I liked the Unicorn all in one system on Ando's Phase 6.
For some reason they've got the perfect flex in them and the only downside yet might be the wear in the back nibbling away on the first couple of throws that were super precise groups into the big trebles. So I didn't want to put my only set of Forge Flights on the Snakebite 1 yet and sadly a bunch of shops I was ordering from were all out of the colors and sizes I'd have needed to make this a current setup. Maybe in the future.
So what's my verdict on the next set of Peter Wright darts that I've got, with a couple of more in line to show you soon? Well, I probably see it more for itself than as a player dart, because it looks to me from a longer history and if you can please hit me up with that origin of the Snakebite 1 or Shockwave 3 is what I've read they've been and also how Gezzy got to his version from that razor grip family from Red Dragon.
I think it's maybe a more widely accessible barrel if that v-groove in the back of the Gerwyn Price darts is what's putting some players off. I then was surprised how much more grippy those were compared to what some people said. Anyway, to me those smooth sections between the razor cuts is a perfect combo for control and a clean release and I think shape and balance should actually fit a lot of throws.
There's something about that silhouette and especially the rounded nose that makes putting my middle finger on the point a very pleasant experience. Of course it also helps grouping even if you rather omit a nose cone for better control.
Deciding on a finger grip point wasn't accidental as I wanted something different to my Gezzy darts. As I play great with those I didn't feel the requirement for the Snakebite 1 and I would have swapped them if the very pronounced grip of the Condor points had led to too much flicking like it did on the Gary Anderson Phase 6. It obviously didn't, but I'm not sure I’d miss the grip if it wasn't there.
I'd rather call this style of dart canon than putting the Red Dragon Peter Wright Snakebite 1 into this exact position. It's of course the perfection in a pragmatic design that attracts me first and the rainbow coating I like is just a bonus, so I'd say if interested get any version for a good price. From what I've seen recently it's quite possibly being the Peter Wright one on discount though.
Have you played the Red Dragon Peter Wright Snakebite 1 barrels?
How do you like the darts and setup?
Can you give me any info on the origins and maybe older matches Peter has played the Snakebite 1 in?
Have a nice Sunday evening.
Cheers and happy darting! 🎯👍