Synthetic Ice

[HockeyDaddy]

I am interested in purchasing some synthetic ice for my son to stand on with skates and practice shooting this summer. I have looked at many sites and products, but this one seems to be the best value.

http://www.polyglidesyntheticice.com/Po ... pg-pro.htm

My price range is around $200 and two sheets of this would do the trick for my 9 year old.

Does anyone have any experience with these kinds of products? Any suggestions?

[shoeshine boy]

if you're only expecting him to shoot a little bit a couple of sheets is fine, just don't expect him to be able to skate at all.
I have a friend with more money than God and he had his own synthetic mini-rink in his back yard. it was about the size of a neutral zone. it took awhile to get used to the skating, it really helped to start out with a couple scooter pushes to get going but once you got the hang of it it was fun. stopping was easier than I thought it would be but going backwards was EXTREMELY difficult. the puck glided very well though so if it's just for shooting or passing you should be fine.

[HockeyDaddy]

I like this company because you can slowly grow the size of your surface as money comes available. I really want to have enough room for him to stand with skates on so that he is used to the height difference that skates provide as opposed to shooting with shoes.

It is very interesting that skating backwards was difficult. In your opinion, would this type of surface make you a stronger skater or would it cause bad habits?

[Sabres_Fan]

Honestly... Skate on this before purchasing.. I have before and its terrible.. Nothing like ice.. Its like skating on tupperware with pam on it.. You cannot glide, cut, turn good and it DESTROYS YOUR SKATES!! you have to always be moving your legs because when you stop moving your legs there is so much friction you just stop (which is why it ruins skates)

[Sabres_Fan]

I played D for years and I could not for the life of me skate backwards at all ( I am an excellent ice skater).. When I finally was able to turn from frontwards to backwards I just stopped since there is just way to much friction.. I dont wanna be a negative Nancy but Id read some legit reviews before I purchase this

[HockeyDaddy]

Thanks for the comments. Maybe just purchasing a shooting pad is the best thing to do just so that he can practice his shot all summer? I wanted to get this product so that overtime I could possibly add to it and and build a small synthetic rink in my garage, but it sounds like its not all its cracked up to be.

[shoeshine boy]

the big thing it does is make you a better skater because you HAVE to use proper form in order to keep skating. I do agree with Sabres Fan that it ruins your skates. whenever we skated on it A) we had plastic shavings EVERYWHERE and B) it dulled the hell out of our edges. not a big deal since I have my own skate sharpener but still.
for the average joe it's great for a shooting pad but that's about it. my friend eventually ditched his because the maintenance just got to be too much for him. his rink was elevated and he used some of those plastic walls like they sometimes use in highway construction as boards. all told the setup cost him around $25K. pocket change to him but not so to most folks.

[em1330]

the big thing it does is make you a better skater because you HAVE to use proper form in order to keep skating. I do agree with Sabres Fan that it ruins your skates. whenever we skated on it A) we had plastic shavings EVERYWHERE and B) it dulled the hell out of our edges. not a big deal since I have my own skate sharpener but still.
for the average joe it's great for a shooting pad but that's about it. my friend eventually ditched his because the maintenance just got to be too much for him. his rink was elevated and he used some of those plastic walls like they sometimes use in highway construction as boards. all told the setup cost him around $25K. pocket change to him but not so to most folks.

This had to be ridiculous and I am so jealous. I know it failed in the end and wasn't the best skating surface but just to see this project come together would have been mind boggling to me.

[Pops16]

They have a skating facility near Harmar that uses synthetic ice. I can skate backwards ok, and it was near impossible to skate backwards on the synthetic. I fell A LOT. However, it does teach you to maintain a low center of balance and it will improve your skating. I'd just use an old pair of skates to skate on it as it will tear up runners.

[Letang Is The Truth]

they had this crap at the home show this year. little kids were zipping around everywhere on it

[HockeyDaddy]

They have a skating facility near Harmar that uses synthetic ice. I can skate backwards ok, and it was near impossible to skate backwards on the synthetic. I fell A LOT. However, it does teach you to maintain a low center of balance and it will improve your skating. I'd just use an old pair of skates to skate on it as it will tear up runners.

I would be really interested to test it out. I might have to make the trip.