Hycraft Carpet Reviews & Comparisons

When shopping for wool carpet, you simply cannot overlook Hycraft by Godfrey Hirst Carpets. With more than a dozen unique ranges and over 130 unique colours to choose from, Hycraft offers the largest selection of natural wool and blended wool carpets in Sydney & NSW. Every single Hycraft carpet offers natural benefits including but not limited to:

1. Very Soft – Hycraft carpets are all very soft and comfortable compared to lower-quality synthetic carpets.
2. Regulated Humidity – Natural wool is known to hold up moisture to 40% its own weight and hence regulates the humidity of your interior.
3. Regulates Air Quality – Natural wool traps dust and other respiratory irritants in its fibres and can be vacuumed out easily.
4. Fire Rated – All Hycraft natural wool and the blended options are tested to be fire resistant enough to be installed in commercial areas.
5. Contract Suitable – All of Godfrey Hirst Hycraft products have a minimum of Contract Medium Duty – 2 Stars which makes them durable enough for moderate commercial use.
6. 15 Year Residential Warranty – Every Hycraft carpet comes with a warranty that covers manufacturing defects for 15 years, compared to most other brands that only offer 5 – 7 years.

Whilst Godfrey Hirst is great at marketing and bringing light to the advantages of its Hycraft products, there are also some key drawbacks to specific wool carpet ranges that they sell. Our expert product reviews and comparison will arm you with the necessary buying knowledge to ensure you get what you pay for.

Top 5 Hycraft Wool Carpet Brands

Let’s explore the advantages and disadvantages of Australia’s largest natural wool carpet brand. We will cover the five most popular and top-selling carpet ranges from Hycraft in this review.

1) Carramar Carpet Reviews

Carramar is by far the most popular 100% wool carpet by Hycraft. It offers a gorgeous medium-sized level loop pile in a honeycomb pattern in earthy tone shades. Carramar carpet reviews have shown excellent performance and comfort, but what are the hidden drawbacks?

Advantages of Hycraft Carramar Carpet

1. Durability – The Carramar carpet range comes with a 6 star Residential Extra Heavy Duty rating and Contract Medium Duty – 2 Star , making it suitable for both heavy residential and moderate commercial usage. This is backed by a 15 year residential guarantee.
2. Crush Resistance – Similar to durability, crush resistance means Carramar carpet is very resilient to flattening and matting over time from furniture and foot traffic. This means the wool loops maintain their shape and beauty over years of usage.
3. Extra Wide – Carramar comes on an extra wide roll at 4 metres wide. This means there are fewer unsightly joins required for large areas that exceed the standard 3.66m width. This makes Carramar a great wool carpet for living areas.
4. Fire Rated – Carramar is certified by CSIRO as a fire resistant carpet that can be installed in almost all commercial and multi-residential applications. Aside from National Construction Code compliance, fire-rated carpets are also much safer.

Disadvantages of Hycraft Carramar Carpet

1. Loop Splitting – Whilst the loops look great on the floor, they look less great when installed onto steps. This is because the loops appear to separate, and can sometimes show the latex backing when bent around a step.
2. Cat Unfriendly – Hycraft carpets are generally quite pet-friendly, however cats tend to love scratching at the loops which can cause excess shedding and wear away the fibres.

2) Chatsworth Carpet Reviews

Chatsworth by Hycraft Carpets is considered the bigger brother to Carramar. This range offers a thicker, heavier, and chunkier level loop pile in very similar colours. Chatsworth justifies a higher price by offering a higher fibre pile – that means a more luxurious, softer carpet underfoot.

Advantages of Hycraft Chatsworth Carpet

1. Luxurious Comfort – At 12.5mm thick, the Chatsworth carpet range is one of the most comfortable wool carpets available. Once laid with a quality underlay, one might forget the difference between a soft mattress and Chatsworth carpet.
2. Durable & Crush Resistant – Once again, the loop pile structure of Chatsworth means the wool carpet comes with superior durability against foot traffic. It shares the “Residential Extra Heavy Duty” and “Contract Medium Duty” ratings of Carramar. Likewise, they are resistant to crushing and matting.
3. Fire Rated – Like all 100% wool carpets, Chatsworth carpet is also fire rated for commercial and multi-residential usage. Chatsworth offers safety and comfort in one package.

Disadvantages of Hycraft Chatsworth Carpet

1. Premium Priced – Chatsworth is one of Godfrey Hirst Hycraft Carpets’ more expensive options as it does offer a very high-weight wool carpet. If you wish to compare the price of carpets, we have a guide that can help.
2. Labour Intensive – Furthermore, carpet installers may charge additional as thicker loop carpets are much more labour-intensive to transport and install. If you are looking for a quick quote, feel free to reach out to us at FloorVenue.
3. Loop Splitting – Chatsworth shares the risk of its chunky loops separating around stair nosings as it must be bent over the edge. Large chunks actually make loop splitting more noticeable.

3) Queenstwist Carpet Reviews

Queenstwist is one of Hycraft’s most premium twist pile carpets, which means their yarns are cut and twisted together instead of looped back into the backing layer. This makes the Hycraft Queenstwist carpet softer and more cushioning underfoot compared to loop pile alternatives. Furthermore, Queenstwist is a very thick carpet at 13mm putting it on the premium end of the spectrum.

Advantages of Hycraft Queenstwist Carpet

1. Softer & Comfier – The biggest advantage of Queenstwist carpet is the softness it has to offer through its thick and lush twist pile. Buyers and experts both consider Queenstwist to be the most comfortable wool carpet that Godfrey Hirst Hycraft has to offer.
2. Very Hardwearing – Queenstwist is surprisingly durable as it achieves a Contract Heavy-Duty – 3 Star rating. This makes it suitable for moderate and heavy commercial usage as well as all residential purposes.
3. Suitable For Stairs – Queenstwist offers a lush twist pile that maintains its gorgeous design even when bent over 180 degrees, making it suitable for stairs. Loop pile carpets and less durable options lack a consistent look when laid on steps.
4. Fire Rated – Godfrey Hirst Hycraft’s Queenstwist is 100% natural wool. All 100% wool carpets are naturally fire retardant.

Disadvantages of Hycraft Queenstwist Carpet

1. Lower Crush Resistance – The main drawback of Queenstwist is that their higher thickness and twist pile makes it easier to flatten under heavy furniture or consistent foot traffic. This can become noticeable in the long term.
2. Watermarking – Also known as “permanent pile reversal”, watermarking gives the carpet an illusion of being wet without actually being wet. Queenstwist wool carpets may experience fibres changing directions as natural wool retains memory of its original direction.

4) Ravine Carpet Reviews

Ravine is one of Hycraft’s more affordable wool loop pile carpets that does not sacrifice the luxurious atmosphere it brings into your home. This range comes in a dozen hand-selected colours to suit all four seasons. What differentiates Ravine carpet is the multi-level loop pile that adds character to the surface.

Advantages of Hycraft Ravine Carpet

1. More Affordable – As aforementioned, Ravine is one of the less expensive wool options which makes it convenient for those who are running on a budget. Note that the cost per square metre can vary depending on the shape and size of your rooms.
2. Crush Resistant – The lower height loop pile of Ravine is very resistant to furniture and foot traffic crushing which means they maintain volume and comfort underfoot for longer without flattening.
3. Extra Wide – Ravine wool carpet comes in a 4m wide roll which means you can cover a larger room without unsightly joins. This is similar to the Carramar range discussed above.

Disadvantages of Hycraft Ravine Carpet

1. Cat Unfriendly – Once again, Ravine shares one of the biggest weaknesses of all loop piles. In case you skipped to Ravine carpet reviews, know that cats will tear at loop pile carpets like there’s no tomorrow.
2. Possible Shedding – Most wool carpets naturally shed fibres over the first few months after installation. This is normal and will require vacuuming (no dyson vacuums and use a beater bar according to Hycraft product warranty) to rid the shedding wool fibres.

5) Blended Wool Carpet – Odyssey & Pegasus Reviews

Odyssey and Pegasus are the two most popular blended wool (80% wool, 20% synthetic nylon) carpets and share a cut plush pile structure which means they are extremely thick and soft underfoot (at the expense of lower crush resistance). Odyssey carpet offers a thicker and heavier pile than Pegasus carpet, which is softer underfoot at a slightly higher price per square metre.

Why choose 80/20 blended wool carpet over 100% wool carpet? FloorVenue carpet experts reveal that there is no real benefit other than a slightly lower material cost. Some may argue that blended wool carpet is more durable, however, the Contract Medium Duty – 2 Star ratings of blended wool matches those of 100% wool options.

Advantages of Hycraft Odyssey & Pegasus Carpet

1. More Affordable – The primary advantage of blended wool carpet is the affordability of the materials. Pegasus carpet in particular is one of the most affordable natural wool (blend) carpets out of the Godfrey Hirst products.
2. Extremely Soft – Both Odyssey and Pegasus carpets come in a plush pile which is even softer than twist piles (sorry Queenstwist) and hence are known to be the most comfortable out of all Hycraft carpets.
3. Suitable For Stairs – Pegasus and Odyssey carpets are both rated as suitable for stairs which means they are covered by warranty even when installed on steps. The Hycraft 15 year warranty will not protect carpets that are not suitable for stairs.
4. Hypoallergenic (Allegedly) – Some Asthma experts recommend blended wool carpets for those with asthma. Whether or not this claim is to be trusted, FloorVenue experts advise against any carpets and to choose a hard floor if asthma is a concern.

Disadvantages of Hycraft Odyssey & Pegasus Carpet

1. Higher Shedding – Being a plush pile means the fibres are less durable and may experience more shedding than other types of carpets. This will happen a lot more in the first 3 – 6 months of installation.
2. Lower Crush Resistance – Another drawback that is common to plush pile carpets is crushing and matting. Furniture will likely leave markings on the carpet in the long term unless regularly shifted around. Odyssey carpet will be more prone to as the pile height is higher, giving more volume to crush.
3. Watermarking – Plush pile carpets are even more prone to watermarking (permanent pile reversal) than twist pile options like Queenstwist. This means the carpet fibres of Odyssey and Pegasus may start changing direction to create unsightly colour changes across the floor.

Conclusion – Is Hycraft Wool Carpet Any Good?

We have explored the pros and cons of Hycraft’s five most popular ranges, however, there are many more that we haven’t covered. Overall, we can agree that Hycraft offers a stunning and versatile range of natural wool and blended carpets. Hycraft represents the premium end of Godfrey Hirst products. Should you trust and buy Hycraft wool carpet? Ultimately… Yes, if it is within budget.

It is important to conduct your own research and even more important to have a free consultation with FloorVenue’s carpet experts before buying anything. FloorVenue has been servicing Sydney and NSW for over two decades running. We’d love to help you choose a carpet and install them for you!