The story of artificial grass goes back more than 50 years. Since the first attempt at creating a synthetic turf surface, artificial grass technology has changed dramatically. Perhaps the most significant advancements have been in the techniques for creating radical new varieties of synthetic grass yarn.
Like modern carpet fibers that have incredible texture, durability and resistance to stains, textile technology has helped Purchase Green create some amazing yarns for artificial grass. Here at Purchase Green, our favorite thing to do is help educate our customers so they get the right grass to suit their specific needs. As such, we decided to post a blog series covering the various yarn types used in Purchase Green products.
Earlier in this series we introduced you to the Flat yarn, Stem, V-shape, C-shape and W-shape yarns. This time we take a look at the S-shape.
The S-Shape
The S-shape fiber features prominently in our Nature’s Sod line. This particular fiber is the result of a very scientific approach to balancing the realistic look and performance of synthetic grass yarns. Known for its exceptionally soft feel, great performance, and minimal shine, the S-shape fiber is very popular all over the world. As is the case with stem grasses, not all S-shapes are alike. Purchase Green’s S-shaped fiber is unique in two regards. First, it has virtually zero shine whatsoever because it receives an anti-luster treatment at the factory prior to being tufted. Second, ours is softer than the competition. We achieved this by improving the denier, the linear mass density of fibers. A thicker blade means better performance. In fact, the only thing left in common between our fiber and the competitions’ is the shape.
The reasoning behind the design of our S-shape is similar to that of the Vista. Imagine taking a piece of paper and trying to stand it up on its side. Even if supported by some base, the paper will fold over because it’s too skinny to support its own weight. When you shape that paper into an S, however, you’ll find it stands up quite fine on its own.
More than just adding support, the S-shape reduces the shine of artificial grass by distorting the surface area available to direct sunlight at any given point in time. Ultimately, the S-Shape helps reduce shine while providing a high-performance architecture to support the blade.
Our customers choose the S-shape for a variety of reasons. A primary reason is color, an area in which Purchase Green’s S-shaped fibers are much better than the competition. While most S-shaped fibers available have more of a dull, murky, brownish green color to them, ours have a vibrant and lively green that, mixed with olive bi-color notes and a brown thatch, really helps with lightening things up. There are some tiny hints of emerald that come through with a lack of sunlight, too, so it’s a pretty diverse color scheme for this grass that results in a beautiful, unique appearance.
The number of products we develop featuring the S-shape is growing. The yarn itself is a top performer, but performance is a function of face weight and yarn type, so our S-shape grasses, while top performing yarns, are generally produced for mid-traffic purposes because we want to offer beautiful and realistic looking grasses in every category.
Grasses featuring the S-shape: Nature’s Sod, Nature’s Sod Plush
In our upcoming, final segment we’ll take a look at the diamond shape!
