What Cloth Works For Me?
What billiard cloth works for me?
There are three main types of cloth to choose from when covering your billiard table: Standard Woolen Cloth, Worsted Woolen Tournament Cloth, and Snooker Napped Cloth.
Standard Woolen Cloth
Home table owners often choose the most economical choice for recreational play, Standard Woolen Cloth. This cloth is usually 80% Wool and the remainder is Nylon, used to make the cloth durable and easier to stretch. We recommend Championship Invitational Cloth, a high-quality home cloth with multiple colors from which to choose and infused with Dupont Teflon to help resist water stains.
Worsted Woolen Tournament Cloth
Billiard Halls and more serious players will use a Worsted Woolen Cloth. This cloth is woven in such a way the weave is tighter and denser. This results in a faster, truer and smoother play. Tournament cloth will also hold up to standard wear and tear longer than a standard woolen cloth. It will not pill like a Standard Woolen Cloth and, because its smoother, Worsted Woolen Cloth resists friction burns and does not show check marks and burns as quickly.
Home Table owners and Designers might choose a worsted cloth because of the better play or because it will look nicer over time. There are a lot of brands to choose from including Simonis, Predator, and Championship 3030 Tour edition cloth. There is even a Hainesworth Elite Pro Worsted Cloth on which you can print a logo.
Simonis, from England, is perhaps the best-known tournament cloth for pool tournaments. Simonis 760 is the original. It is slightly faster than the Simonis 860, which was developed for 9 ball tournaments. Simonis 860 offers a large number of colours from which to choose. Click here to view Simonis cloth colours.
Predator, widely-known for making high-quality cues, also makes two qualities of merino wool worsted cloth. Predator Arcadia Select comes in 12 colors and offers a quality worsted play. Arcadia Reserve has a higher wool content than the select, and plays a little faster than the Select. To view Predator cloth colours, click here.
Championship Tour Edition 3030 is a worsted cloth with almost all the color choices available in the Championship Invitational line. It is fast, it is accurate, and it is the most divot resistant tournament cloth in billiards. To view Championship Tour Edition 3030 cloth colours, Click here.
Hainsworth, also from England, makes the Elite Pro worsted tournament cloth, and can print logos onto the cloth with up to 4 four colors. A very high quality worsted cloth weave produces long-lasting, high speed play and provides the perfect surface for print personalisation and branding.
Snooker Napped Cloth
The third type of cloth has a nap; therefore, the cloth is unidirectional (the ball will roll faster in one direction than the other). Cloths are typically 90 to 100% wool. Napped cloth is the standard for snooker tables. It is traditional and stretches more easily around the curved pockets of a snooker table. Hainsworth Club cloth is the world standard for snooker cloth in the home and clubs. English Green is traditional and the most popular choice, but Hainsworth also offers other interesting colours from which to choose. Hainsworth Smart Cloth offers more colour choices and is slightly heavier and more durable. View Hainsworth Smart Cloth colours here.
