Woven carpets – with a 12 year warranty!

1st December 2015

With the tufted vs woven carpet debate ongoing, we’re putting forward the case for our selection of a woven carpet as a non-turf cricket system component….

As with everything in life, we don’t believe it’s quite as simple as saying one type of carpet is ‘better’ overall than the other. Performance and quality go hand-in-hand; so woven carpets constructed using high-quality yarn will generally outlast and out-perform tufted carpets manufactured using yarn of lower quality – and vice-versa. The fact remains, however, that in carpets manufactured using exactly the same yarn but using the two different methods, the woven carpet would out-perform the tufted every time on certain physical tests – down to the manufacturing process itself.

Testing, testing…
Whether you’re looking to install a non-turf cricket practice nets facility or a non-turf match pitch, the traditional choice for high-performance carpet has been woven. Tufted, on the other hand, has always been the cheaper option – due mainly to the less time-consuming manufacturing process.

With woven carpet, the pile is created by yarn being physically woven into the backing – so the backing material is an integral part of the carpet. This is far more time-consuming than the gluing method used in tufted carpet, which explains the price point difference, and also means that woven carpets have historically proven more durable than the tufted option. However, with technological developments, there is no doubt that there are now some great tufted carpets on the market that give woven carpets a run for their money – indeed, we include a tufted carpet in the specification of one of our non-turf systems. It’s a case of ‘horses for courses’.

To ensure we selected the right carpet solution when recently making spec revisions another system design, we thoroughly tested a huge range of products – both woven and tufted – and the one that outshone the rest happened to be woven.

A bespoke solution
Not content to settle with an ‘off the shelf’ carpet product, we have worked with a leading carpet manufacturer to develop a woven carpet exclusively for us. Based on their woven product that performed best in our trials, our carpet is woven from the highest quality fibrilated knit-de-knit polypropylene yarns; specifically designed and tested to compliment the other components in our systems, providing a safer more reliably consistent playing experience. You will only ever find it used in total-play installations.

Performance beyond durability
In addition to being a high quality, durable product – our carpet now carries a 12 year warranty – the woven structure of the fabric means that water can pass through (the glue in some tufted systems can prevent this flow of water); this enables the carpet to dry quicker and prevent surface waterlogging.

When comparing systems, we recommend clubs bear in mind that a single component (i.e. the carpet) does not make a system; it is how that component performs along the other elements of the system – the sub-base and shock pads – that is critical. In their decision-making, therefore, clubs should look at overall performance and quality; and speak to other clubs who have the systems installed and in use.

Quality guaranteed…
The fact remains, we’re happy to put our money where our mouth is – we’re so confident in the performance and durability of our woven carpet component that it comes with a 12 year warranty.

For more information on the guarantee and warranties that come with total-play systems, visit Non Turf Systems