The bead itself is rather ordinary. I find these in chain craft stores like Hobby Lobby etc and they cost a couple bucks per 25. I'd like to find bulk bags, so if you see them let me know. I have seen these called "football beads", but searching for that usually turns up REAL football ("soccer") beads.
The bead is 10mm (11/32") in diameter and 14mm (9/16") long. The hole is 4mm (1/8") in diameter; convenient for both size of bamboo skewer. I have found them in red, white, and black.
Usually I use round beads for my bead darts, but when I saw these in the store I just had to try them thinking that the more gradual approach curve and the "boat tail effect" might give slightly improved performance. After using them for almost a year, I have to say that they SEEM to perform better than a round bead, but I really have no way of scientifically backing this statement outside a physics lab. My conclusion is that these oblong beads are more forgiving (more room for bamboo error) than round beads. If a bamboo skewer is slightly warped, a round bead sometimes will cause the dart to become unstable (go "squirrelly") as velocity falls off and restorative force is reduced. With the oblong bead, it seems that slighty warped bamboo shafts will remain stable in identical conditions. This does make some sense, I just can't quantify any data without a high speed camera and a chronograph.
I have been considering making a video of this dart in action for your "Impress Me" competition, but I don't know how appropriate it would be for this forum.
