Measured in millimetres, the pile height is the length of the fibre from the backing all the way to the tip of the grass. Pile heights can range from anywhere between 10mm up to around 80mm. However, the extremes at the ends of the scale tend to be used for sports applications, whereas for most domestic garden lawn applications, pile heights between 25mm and 45mm are far more common.
The pile height that you choose for your artificial lawn has an impact on both aesthetics and performance. It can affect three key areas: resilience, touch and aesthetics.
One of the key aspects of realistic-looking artificial turf is vertical fibres. When you look at real grass, the fibres are in a vertical position, therefore that’s exactly what we want to replicate when manufacturing artificial grass. There is no getting around it, if the synthetic fibres on your fake turf aren’t in an upright position, they aren’t resembling real grass blades, and your lawn will look fake. When it comes to synthetic fibres, the longer the pile, the less resilience they will have. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. The longer the fibre, the greater the difficulty it will have in remaining in a vertical position, as its centre of gravity is higher. As a general rule of thumb, the higher a pile height, the less resilient the grass will be. All things being equal, shorter pile heights, around 25mm to 35mm, are more resilient than longer pile heights of over 35mm.
As we now know, the longer the fibres, the more flexibility they have. This means that they bend more easily and offer less resistance to the passage of the hand, which translates into better touch. The higher the pile, the better the touch. Conversely, at lower pile heights, since the fibres are shorter, they offer less flexibility and therefore greater resistance to the passage of the hand. The shorter the pile, the worse the touch. You can feel the difference between various pile heights by requesting your artificial grass samples, which we’ll deliver straight to your doorstep, free of charge. Try running your hands through our products and standing on them with bare feet to gauge which products have the better feel. It’s highly likely that you’ll think the longer piles have a better feel to them.
Choosing the best pile height, aesthetically, really depends upon personal taste. There is no right or wrong. Some of us prefer the look of freshly cut grass and, therefore, shorter piles will tend to appeal to this group of customers. If that’s the case, choosing a grass between 25mm–30mm, such as Inverness, is likely to suit your tastes. On the other hand, some of our customers prefer a slightly longer pile, as they feel it looks more natural. This could mean anything between 30mm–45mm, such as the Aberdeen artificial grass. When it comes to aesthetics, there really is no right or wrong; just choose what you think looks best.
It’s clear that there is a trade off between touch and resilience. You can’t have more of one without less of the other. But you can, of course, find a balance between the two. Choosing the best pile height really depends upon the application and the level of foot traffic expected. For example, a front garden lawn is going to receive very little foot traffic, and so a longer pile will be just fine. Compare that with artificial grass installed in a pub beer garden – in this case, foot traffic can be expected to be quite heavy, and therefore a shorter pile is likely to be a better option.
Every application has different needs and so there is no one ‘best pile height’ that will perform well in all situations.
When choosing the best artificial grass, it’s critical that you do your research and compare potential products on more than just their aesthetic appeal. Pile height is just one factor that will have an impact on how your artificial grass performs. And, when it comes to choosing the best pile height, there is no one-size-fits-all, as it depends entirely upon the application and level of foot traffic as to which would suit your needs. Be sure to check out the guides above and, of course, contact us if you need help in choosing the best artificial grass. Contact us so we can go over options and give a FREE quote to you.
Contact Person: Mr. Henry
Tel: 008613771370765
