High quality artificial grass can absolutely change the way you view your patio or backyard living. It’s super low-effort to keep healthy, it saves you water (and money on your water bills), and it’s surprisingly natural-looking these days. It’s why the industry just keeps on exploding year over year – and is expected to keep growing!

You will get efficient and thoughtful service from Lvyi.

So, how do you go about choosing the best for your patio, backyard, or other high-traffic area? Well, durability really becomes a priority for spaces where family, guests, and pets will be walking non-stop. Finding the best artificial grass to withstand that level of wear-and-tear and still look great comes down to knowing what makes a turf type rugged, how to install it properly, and how to care for it long-term.

We have another blog all about choosing the best fake grass if beauty and a real-grass aesthetic is your top priority. It’s a great read for those of you who just really want that natural grass experience over any other factor. But for those of you wanting artificial turf that’ll tough it out through all those backyard BBQ’s and long afternoons in the sun with friends and family, let’s get to it…

Assessing Your Patio and Traffic Patterns

Before you get seduced by the soft, luscious feel of that premium turf sample, take some time to honestly evaluate how your space will be used. Remember, the “best” artificial grass isn’t universal—it depends entirely on your specific needs.

First, grab a notepad (or app) and answer these questions about your patio or outdoor space:

1. Who will be using the area? (Adults, children, pets, customers, or all of the above?)
2. How frequently will the area be used? (Daily, weekends only, for entertaining?)
3. What activities will take place here? (Dining, lounging, play area, dog zone?)
4. Is this a high-visibility area where appearance is critical?
5. Do you need it to withstand furniture being moved across it?

One approach I’ve found helpful is to observe your current outdoor space for a week. Where do people naturally walk? Where do the pets go crazy during playtime? Those high-traffic zones will need special consideration.

Call the Artificial Grass Specialists Early!

I applaud anyone who likes to do their own research and really understand a product or challenge before making any big decisions. But if my experiences tell me anything, it’s that online research can only take you so far. The reality is that you don’t know what you don’t know. But who does? Experienced professionals – like our friends over at Artificial Turf Supply. The earlier you call them, the more they can help you understand all those nuances and hidden traps that come with outdoor projects this big.

When’s the best time to call in the big guns? Right now, when you’re assessing your space and planning your artificial grass project. Go check them out on their website. They definitely have the decades of experience necessary to help you choose the best artificial grass for your patio or traffic-heavy space.

Fake Grass Traffic Rating Scale

To make this assessment step easier, here’s a “traffic rating scale” to help you figure out what you should be prioritizing for your synthetic turf choice.

For high-traffic patios – if you chose Heavy or Extreme on the scale – you’ll want to focus on durability above all else. Do you know how many artificial grass shoppers choose based on how a sample feels between their fingers, and then get disappointed when that super-soft turf flattens after a month of actual use? Just from my own experience, it’s a lot. Which translates into a lot of wasted money and effort.

Our White Glove Patio Furniture Install team was talking to a customer in La Jolla who installed ultra-plush turf around his pool area. That’d feel amazing on bare feet, right? For a while, it did. Three pool parties later, those high-traffic paths to and from the house were looking really matted down and compressed. He needed a hardier turf for that space. Don’t make the La Jolla Pool Grass mistake!

Types of Artificial Grass Available

Alright, whether you’re looking for a simple spring lawn refresh or a total patio overhaul, let’s dive into the world of fake grass types. And no, it’s not as simple as “the green kind” (though I have genuinely been asked if it comes in blue).

Artificial grass comes in various materials, each with distinct properties that make them suitable for different applications. The durability of your artificial grass is heavily influenced by its material composition, with each offering unique benefits in texture and resilience. [ insert external link ]

Primary Turf Material Types

The internet’s full of options and possibilities, but today’s professional artificial turf installers recommend three main types of high-performing turf materials. They’re the top options for different reasons, according to market reports.

• Polyethylene (PE): here’s one of the top-performing, most often used, and well-reviewed artificial grass materials. Not too stiff, not too soft, but just right for most residential applications. It’s a good balance between durability and comfort. The fibers are soft to touch, making it pleasant for bare feet on your patio.
• Polypropylene (PP): the budget-friendly option, but probably not the best option for high-traffic areas. It’s softer than other materials but less durable, making it better for decorative areas with less foot traffic.
• Nylon: this artificial grass material is extremely durable and resilient, bouncing back even after heavy furniture has sat on it. That durability is due to its stiffness, which is often less comfortable on bare feet. It’s also the most expensive option, but for extremely high-traffic areas, the investment can be worth it.

Nylon-based artificial grass is the kind you could feel comfortable laying down in a backyard dog run with multiple active pups. Even after years of daily zoomies, it can still look fantastic and fresh. Talk about durability!

Blade Shapes and Configurations

Now, we’re getting deep into the weeds of artificial grass selection. (See what I did there?) Just like material type, artificial grass comes in different blade shapes which can impact how it performs under regular heavy traffic:

• M-Blade/W-Blade: These have a curved, multi-dimensional shape that helps them stay upright and appear more natural.
• V-Shape: Offers good resilience and a more uniform appearance.
• Flat/Straight: Less realistic but often more durable in high-traffic situations.
• Diamond-Shaped: Premium option that combines durability with a natural appearance.

For high-traffic patios and spaces, I generally recommend an M-blade or W-blade configuration in polyethylene or a nylon blend. These shapes help the blades bounce back after being stepped on.

Thatch Layer Considerations

Another important aspect is the thatch layer—those curly, shorter fibers at the base of the turf that imitate the dead grass layer in natural lawns. A good thatch layer:

• Provides additional support to keep blades upright
• Creates a more realistic appearance
• Adds cushioning underfoot
• Helps hide the backing from view

For patios, a moderate thatch layer is ideal. Too little, and you’ll see the backing when it’s compressed; too much, and it can trap debris, making cleaning more difficult.

Durability and Wear Resistance

When it comes to high-traffic areas, durability isn’t just a nice feature—it’s essential. I’ve had customers come back disappointed because they chose based on softness or appearance alone, only to find their beautiful turf looking sad and flattened after just one summer of use.

Face Weight: The Magic Number

One of the most important specifications to check is the face weight, measured in ounces per square yard. This tells you how much actual fiber material is in the turf (excluding backing).

Here’s a quick reference guide:

For high-traffic patios, I wouldn’t recommend anything below 70 oz if you want it to maintain its appearance for more than a few years.

Density Testing

Here’s a little insider trick I use when evaluating turf samples: the “finger test.” Push your fingers down into the sample all the way to the backing. How easy was it to reach the bottom? How quickly do the blades return to position when you remove your hand?

The more resistance you feel and the quicker the recovery, the denser the turf and the better it will withstand traffic. For high-traffic patios, you want something that firmly resists your fingers and springs back immediately.

Choosing Synthetic Turf Pile Height for Resiliency

So, what’s pile height? It’s basically the length of the grass blades, and it impacts much more than just appearance. Pile height affects how the turf performs, how realistic it looks, and how easy it is to maintain.

Pile Height Guidelines for Different Uses

You’re basically trying to balance appearance, durability, and maintenance. A longer pile height generally looks more natural. But a shorter pile height is more durable and easier to keep clean and fresh.

For most artificial grass patio applications with regular foot traffic, a common recommendation is the 1.25-1.75 inch range. You get enough length to look natural while still being able to withstand people walking on it regularly. Longer blades might look more lush at first, but they’re more prone to matting down and looking worn the more it gets walked on.

Artificial Grass Decision Tips: Color, Texture, and Natural Variations

You’re choosing the best artificial grass for durability, but I’d bet money you still want it to look and feel as natural as possible. Some of the best ways to do that is through thoughtful color, texture, and variation choices.

With that in mind, here are some tips to finding durable synthetic turf that still looks great:

• Look for turf with some color and thatch variation – nature doesn’t really do perfect consistency
• Color coordinate with your region’s natural varieties – nothing makes artificial grass stand out like being a completely different shade than what’s around your space
• Thatch layer can do wonders – both for dditional durability and an extra layer of visual realism

Understanding the Cost of Artificial Grass

You’re not making any purchasing decisions without understanding the cost, return-on-investment, and future costs.

Initial Investment Ranges of Turf Types

For high-traffic patios, economy options rarely make sense in the long run. The sweet spot for most homeowners is in the mid to premium range, depending on usage intensity. Yes, the initial cost can be painful, but you’ll want to conisder the long-term impact of your choice.

ROI Considerations

Your new artificial grass return on investment goes beyond the direct costs. Make sure to understand how you’ll be saving money and time in the long-run:

• Water Savings: Artificial grass almost entirely eliminates watering needs
• Maintenance Time: No mowing, (almost) zero weeding, and negligible regular landscape maintenance
• Appearance Consistency: Looks good year-round regardless of weather
• Usability: Creates consistently usable outdoor space in all seasons

For many homeowners, these benefits justify the premium cost of higher-quality turf, particularly in patio areas that serve as extensions of their living space.

Financing and Warranties

Many quality artificial grass companies offer financing options, making premium products more accessible. Plus, since you’re looking at laying artificial turf in a high-traffic area, warranty length will be an important factor.

Want more information on synthetic lawn solutions? Feel free to contact us.

• Economy options: 5-8 year warranties
• Mid-range options: 8-12 year warranties
• Premium options: 12-20+ year warranties

Always read the warranty details carefully. Some only cover UV degradation but not wear and tear, which is crucial for high-traffic areas.

Artificial Grass Drainage, Backing, and Installation

Once you get into drainage, backing, and installation, you’re really past the “choosing the best artificial grass” phase. But these all have a significant impact on how long your artificial turf will continue to look beautiful on your patio.

And once again, I can’t stress enough how important it is to consult a synthetic turf specialist like Artificial Turf Supply. Poor drainage on your fake grass leads to residual moisture, puddling, or warping… all things that will ruin your turf investment. The wrong backing can have similar consequences – mold, mildew, tears, or an uneven finish on your turf.

And don’t even get me started on installation. Proper artificial grass installation is a many-step process with dozens of little, sneaky ways that it can go sideways. Any little mis-steps can lead to an uneven surface, weeds that sprout through, moisture. And you have to take into consideration your soil make-up, local weather, and other factors.

If you’re confident in your backyard DIY skills, you have my heartiest well-wishes. Many folks successffully install their own turf. Unfortunately, many others tell a different story. I’d leave this level of installation the pros.

Final Thoughts: Making Your Decision

There’s always more to learn about being an artificial grass owner these days: does artificial grass really save me water/money, is it good for the environment, how to properly install fake grass, how to maintain synthetic turf, or what to consider if you have kids or pets. But each of those really deserves its own article.

And since today is all about choosing the best artificial grass for your patio or other heavy-traffic outdoor space, here’s what you need to take away with you.

Durable Artificial Grass Decision Matrix

Now, this is a somewhat simplistic approach to the decision, but it’ll get you where you need to be to start making tough turf decisions.

1. Identify primary use: Is this mainly decorative, for entertaining, for pets, for children, etc.?
2. Determine traffic level: Light, medium, heavy, or extreme?
3. Establish your budget window: What’s your comfortable range per square foot?
4. Prioritize your must-have features: Durability, appearance, feel, eco-friendliness, etc.
5. Request samples of your top 3 contenders: Live with them in your space for a few days.

Or, if you’re the type who’s thinking, “Can you just tell me what NOT to do?”, here ya go:

• Don’t automatically prioritize softness over durability for high-traffic areas
• Don’t simply choose based only on initial appearance without considering aging
• Don’t skimp on installation quality to save money
• Don’t overlook drainage requirements specific to the location
• Don’t select pile height that’s too tall for the intended use

It’s not about simply choosing what’s “best” – it’s about choosing what artificial turf is best for your patio or outdoor space goals and needs*. This way, you’ll get to enjoy your synthetic turf, as well as your outdoor space, for years to come.

How to Spot High-Quality Synthetic Grass

It looks, feels, and performs like grass – but it isn’t grass. You want to be discerning, so how can you tell whether your artificial turf will go the distance?

You don’t need to mow it or patch it, and it requires very little maintenance. But before you can enjoy the freedom of a mud-free, no-mow lifestyle, you need to make sure you’re choosing a high-quality synthetic turf that will last the distance.

Quick-find guide:

Poor quality synthetic grass: how to spot it

Features of high-quality synthetic grass

Quality Comparison for Artificial Grass

Figuring out the quality of synthetic turf is easy if you know what you’re looking for. Low-quality grass is usually the result of shortcuts in the manufacturing process, and this leaves some obvious indicators. Here’s how to spot them.

Spotting poor quality synthetic grass

Look at the back of the grass

Latex or polyurethane coatings are used to lock the tufts in place. A good, consistent heavy layer of coating is essential to keep the grass fibres in place where a poor-quality grass will have a cheap or little coating, if grass fibres are visible through the coating it may be a problem. Without enough good quality coating on the back, the fibres may come loose, and you will suffer fibre loss in your grass particularly where heavy use, play, or animals are concerned.

The coating affects how well the grass holds together, so a poor-quality job will mean that the blades, or tufts, will fall out easily. You can check the strength of the yarn by pulling a blade from the middle of a sample. The easier it comes out, the lower the strength. Just make sure not to pull the blade from the sides of the sample, because those ones will come out easily regardless of the quality.

Colour striping

Sometimes during the manufacturing process, the wrong coloured yarn can sneak in or the supplier may mix yarn batches which have slight differences in colour/shade. This results in a stripe of colour different from the rest of the grass that will be very obvious when the grass is laid down. Usually, this is caught by quality control, but a cheaper or lower quality supplier might stock this grass. In order to avoid this, check the grass for colour consistency.

Low-quality resins

Synthetic grass blades are made from resins. Poor quality synthetic grass is produced using a low-quality resin, which over time, can fade or even melt. No thank you!   It pays to check out the supplier’s product warranty and ask for reference sites and case studies.

Avoid buying low-quality grass by asking for a sample

Some of the identifying factors of low-quality synthetic grass can’t be spotted in the shop. Ask your supplier for a sample, so that you can take it home and test out the quality for yourself.

Artificial Grass Quality Checklist:

Dense Fibres (that look like grass)

The general rule of thumb is the thicker and wider the yarn or fibre, the longer it will last. Just like nature, strong grass blades are wide. One way to cut costs is to use lightweight thin yarns or fibres. Whilst these might feel soft to the touch they will crush flat and wear out much faster than thicker heavier yarns or fibres. While there are different widths available depending on the final look, the width of the fibres can also indicate the strength of the grass overall. Take a blade and hold it up to the light to check its density. A good quality blade will not let any light through.

Ask the supplier what the micron and dtex of the yarns/fibres are and also what the face weight or weight of the yarn on a square metre of the product. If one is much lower than others it’s a fair indication of the quality of materials and how long it will last.

Backing Cloth

When synthetic grass is made, the yarn or fibre is tufted into a backing cloth. There are different types of backing cloth depending on the purpose of the end product, which takes into account things like durability, stability, and stiffness.

Good quality heavy backing cloth will last longer, be more stable, and last the life of the grass. Again, one way of cutting costs is to use lower spec, lower weight backing cloth which can shrink and wrinkle due to a lack of stability.

Again, ask the supplier what weight and type of backing cloth they are using.

Check certifications

If you are using your synthetic grass for sports, or anything with constant or repeated play, make sure that it comes with the right certification for your needs. Choose a supplier that meets the standards of the world’s sporting authority on your chosen activity.

UV Protection

In New Zealand and Australia, it’s imperative that you make sure your turf comes with a UV warranty. We have high UV exposure here, making synthetic materials prone to fade and degradation.  Most of TigerTurf’s landscape turfs come with a 10-year UV warranty.

Quality installation matters too: what you need to know

You can have the highest quality, most perfect synthetic grass – but if it isn’t installed properly, you’re going to run into some issues. The main things to keep an eye on are:

Base Preparation

Most of the cost of your new synthetic lawn will be in the preparation of the base. The old topsoil and organic matter must be removed and replaced with approx. 100mm of compacted aggregate. This creates a stable free-draining base on which to lay your new lawn. Be sure to understand how much soil and aggregate your contractor plans to install, what aggregate size they are using as this is the best way to cut corners and save money.

Ballast

Your synthetic grass needs to have the correct type, size, and volume of sand applied within the turf itself. The sand helps hold the fibres upright enabling them to spring back when walked on. The sand also provides ballast or weight, this is what holds your grass in place and eliminates movement, wrinkles, or creasing. The sand must be the correct size, clean and dry, and free from contaminants that will damage the fibres.

It doesn’t allow weeds to grow

If synthetic grass is properly installed, weed growth will be significantly reduced. Weeds can sometimes appear due to birds dropping seeds on the turf which then take hold, these can simply be pulled out by hand as the roots will only be in the sand within your grass.

Edges | Plinths

Timber plinths around gardens are a nice way to separate the grass from gardens and ensure a border for the leaves and soil to stay in the garden and off the lawn. If your lawn has a slope of 10 degrees or more it is good practice to have a plinth or border to attach the grass to at the top of the slope to stop the grass creeping or slumping down the slope over time.

No bumps or edges

A good installation will blend in with the environment around it, and it won’t be obvious that it’s synthetic. It will also be structurally sturdy enough to withstand regular use without mounds or patches forming as they would with real grass.

Excellent drainage

It’s pretty gross to stand on a soggy patch of anything, so a good quality installation will ensure that liquids drain effectively. This all depends on the way the turf interacts with the base layer. The turf itself will have perforated holes in it so that water can escape, and for the base layer, we recommend a minimum 75-100mm compacted metal base with perimeter drainage if required.

Choosing the right artificial turf for your needs can be a bit of an undertaking, so it’s important to know what to look for in terms of quality and functionality. Really, one of the best indicators of quality is your suppliers themselves – if they have a lot of options and certifications, then it’s more likely that they will be attentive to your needs. That way, you’ll receive a product that will last – and that you can enjoy – for many years to come.

Are you interested in learning more about Natural Turf Grass? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!