Is bamboo harder than hardwood flooring?  Manufacturers would sure have us think so, and with Janka Hardness ratings reaching as high as 3000, it would appear to be true.  But there is one important fact that rarely gets mentioned: the Janka Hardness Test can be manipulated and made to present misleading information.

Assuming the bamboo flooring companies are not exaggerating the results (which they most likely are), the Janka test itself is an imperfect measure of bamboo’s toughness.  The arrangement of fibers in bamboo naturally resists round objects like the steel balls used in the test, acting like a trampoline that bounces them back out.  However, sharp objects, like a stone caught in the sole of a shoe, can cut these fibers, not only scratching the surface but also making the surrounding area more prone to dents.  Because of this, if a hardwood floor and a bamboo floor have identical Janka ratings, the hardwood will scratch and dent less than the bamboo.

Bamboo companies will also manipulate the Janka test by performing it on the “knuckle” or node. This part of the bamboo is much harder than the rest, and only makes up a small percentage of the entire surface.  This leads to higher scores, but a floor that is vulnerable to dents and scratches everywhere except these isolated hard spots.

Clearly, the most reliable flooring from a structural perspective is hardwood. Staybull Flooring can even compete with bamboo in the eco-friendly arena, so consider recycled wood flooring before you spend money on unreliable bamboo.