Anyone here ever 'ice' skate on Synthetic Ice?

[ztirffritz]

I've been researching Synthetic Ice and trying to figure out what the experience is compared to the real frozen water variety. Has anyone here ever skated on the stuff? The best that I can come up with is that it dulls blades faster and is a little harder to skate on. I haven't been able to find any installations anywhere near where I live, but I'd like to try it someday.

It is likely UHMW PE (Ulta High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) . Though some others claim that they are using acrylic. There seem to be a bunch of people selling it, but I can't imagine that there are more than a few factories making the stuff. The vendors all say theirs is the best and all the rest are sub-par imitations. I don't know what to believe. Some say that their products require a liquid to be sprayed on it, others specifically say that their product doesn't require a liquid.

http://globalsyntheticice.com/default.aspx
http://www.syntheticiceusa.com/
http://www.kwikrink.com/

[DeusxMac]

Tried it once. As a lifelong ice skater, I did not like it. (td)
It did not have the dig-ability of real ice. That is, a sharp turn or stop on real ice will actually cut ice out of the surface, synthetic does not*; giving turns and stops a decidedly different, uncontrolled feel.

*They'd go broke in no time if it did.

[ztirffritz]

Deusx - when and where did you try it? The material that I've read says that it was really a crappy product through the 60s through the 80s, but that it improved quite a bit in the 90s. I really don't have much first hand experience or un-biased info to go on. I'm just trying to figure out if they are ALL lying, or if some of it really is a decent product. I started skating this past January and completely fell in love with it. I've only skated on a few rinks - mostly our local one - but it closes in the summer and has a shaky organization keeping it running. It is an entirely volunteer operation that runs the rink, the land it is on is for sale and the building is leased. I think that its future is questionable. The property is in a really bad part of town and hockey is an expensive sport. Rich people aren't likely to park their BMWs and Lexusi near the rink. I think that a relocation might help, but the cost of building a new rink is ENORMOUS. This synthetic ice seems like it might be a good stop-gap measure for another location in town.

[cbelt3]

'slide solution' ? Weird idea. Yes, hockey is a very expensive sport unless you live where you get natural ice at least 1/3 of the year, preferably 1/2 the year. For your application, it's worth looking into. No Zamboni, refrigeration charges, etc...

[ztirffritz]

cbelt3 wrote:
'slide solution' ? Weird idea. Yes, hockey is a very expensive sport unless you live where you get natural ice at least 1/3 of the year, preferably 1/2 the year. For your application, it's worth looking into. No Zamboni, refrigeration charges, etc...

The hard part is that because of the rink's location and shaky foundation (both figuratively and literally) most people in town have never even tried skating at this point. I've been told that it used to be a much bigger part of the community in the 60s and 70s. It would probably take at least a few years to get people to try it again and only a small percentage of those people would adopt it as a hobby like I have. I'm not sure if a business can be made to function around a market that doesn't currently exist and may not ever develop. There is a flourishing hockey community 90 min north of us and another 60 min south, so I have hope, but I don't have the $$$ to make it happen.

[freeradical]

Does thin ice count?

[Filliam H. Muffman]

I skated on it once in Sacramento. It is very slick but it has about 4 times as much friction as real ice.

[Numo]

I paid way too much for a cooler-load of artificial ice a couple of years ago. It's very long-lasting, but doesn't cool worth a darn.

[NewtonMP2100]

....only after drinking SYNTHehol....

[mikebw]

I seem to recall skating on it once; it's similar only in that it allows you to use real ice skates, but it's not really the same experience, so in the end you have to wonder what the point is. You can play hockey without skates and without expensive high density polymer surfaces.