With the Custom Net Calculator from Practice Sports, we’ve made it easier than ever to buy custom sports netting.

Select Your Sports Netting Mesh Size

The first step to building a net is to select your mesh size. Your mesh size will depend on the sport that you’re creating your custom netting for. Baseball and softball, for example, requires a mesh size of 1 and 7/8 inches. Tennis, lacrosse, and cricket have a mesh size of 1 and ½ inches. Large ball sports like basketball, volleyball, and soccer can use a mesh size of up to 4 inches. Golf requires a mesh size of 7/8 of an inch. Keep in mind that the smaller the mesh size, the more expensive the net, because more material is required to build the net.

Select Your Net Style

Once you’ve selected your mesh size, based on the sport you’ll be using it for, you can then select your net style. Choose from a fully enclosed tunnel, most commonly used for baseball and softball, a barrier net, generally used as a backstop for a variety of applications, or a hitting cage, primarily used for golf, but can be also be used for a variety of sports and activities.

Select Your Net Dimensions

Next, enter the dimensions for your custom sports net. For a tunnel, you’ll need to know your length, height, and width. If you’re building a batting cage, be sure to keep your net at least a foot away from walls and ceilings, and at least three feet away from lights and windows.

Barrier nets only require height and length. If you’re building a hitting cage, you’ll need to know how wide you’d like your cage to be, how wide, and the depth of your cage.

When determining the dimensions of your sports netting, keep in mind that you never want your net “trampoline tight.” A net that’s too tight can create unsafe playing conditions, and the increased tension can greatly reduce the lifespan of your custom net.

Once you’ve entered your dimensions, click on calculate.

Select Your Net Materials

At this point you’ll see the available materials and base pricing for your net.

There are quite a few choices listed, but really, selecting a netting material is less complicated than it looks.

There are two basic material types, nylon and poly. Poly is less expensive, but less durable than nylon, which means it doesn’t have as long a life span as nylon. Poly, however, is a waterproof material. We primarily recommend poly for backyard or home use.

Nylon, on the other hand, has a longer lifespan than poly, due to its durability, but by itself is not a waterproof material. If you’re going to be using nylon outdoors, be sure to add NetSeal, a latex dip that helps protect the net from moisture.

Once you’ve decided between nylon or poly, you’ll also want to consider how thick the twine of the net is. Twine thickness is referred to as gauge, and has a number associated with it. An easy way to think of gauge is the higher the number, the thicker the net, the longer the lifespan.

For baseball and softball nets, we generally recommend a minimum of #21 gauge for little league age players, and a minimum of #36 gauge for high school players. For commercial or high use facilities, we recommend a minimum of #60 gauge nets.

There are fewer gauge options for the other sports, but the rule is the same. The higher the number, the thicker the twine diameter is, the longer the lifespan of your net. For a closer look at mesh size, netting material, and netting gauge, check out our Net Examiner.

Once you’ve selected your custom sports netting material, and the appropriate gauge that best fits your needs and budget, you can also select from a number of add ons.

For instance, if you’re purchasing a tunnel, you may want to consider adding a door, an additional impact net behind the batter, a lead-core bottom rope to help the net hang a little more evenly, or additional rib lines along the length of the ceiling to help prevent sag.

We also offer the option of sewing in additional snap hooks onto the border rope to help the installation of your custom netting run smoothly.

Remember, there’s no easier way to buy custom sports netting, for tunnels, barrier nets and backstops, or hitting cages for golf and other applications than the Custom Net Calculator from Practice Sports.

Update: Check-out a brief overview Video on custom nets.