There are three types of pool table cloth on the market. In the industry we refer to them as worsted or woolen and the third uncommon is backed. So worsted, woolen, and back? What does this mean and what is the best choice for you?
Worsted cloth is what is also known as “nap free” cloth or tournament grade fabric. There are a few different makers of worsted cloth with Simonis being the authority on the cloth since they have been around hundreds of years. Worsted cloth has a tight wool blend that has no fuzzy naps for inconsistency and pulls the tightest giving it the fastest most accurate play. It wears slower as well. This is what the pros play on.
Woolen cloth is more common in home. Generally, there are more colors associated. It is a blend of nylon and wool and has what they call naps. These are small fiber bundles and when a ball is rolling on the cloth and slows down; then the ball may try to find the path of least resistance through that and will slightly wiggle. These inconsistencies are usually minute enough that most recreational users won’t notice. This cloth will wear faster and shows friction burns more predominantly.
There is also a backed cloth, usually woolen, that has a backing on the bottom making it more durable and more resistance to chalk and dust build up. This is typical for commercial use.
There has been some debate on the use of waterproofing chemicals on pool table cloth lately. We will recommend to most clients to use waterproofing on woolen cloth and non waterproofing on worsted cloth. Woolen cloth doesn’t have long enough life span for elasticity problems to occur over time.
