Synthetic “ice” skating

[bcla]

I tried the rink at our local Six Flags park last weekend with my kid. When I got a message about it a couple of months ago I though it might be real ice. I had a chance to see it in person but couldn’t get a return time until last weekend. It’s actually plastic, interlocking sheets set up in what’s normally a bumper car house.

I’ve skated on real ice before. The best conditions are always after it’s been resurfaced, but one place didn’t seem to do anything more than send someone out with a shovel. It wasn’t ideal, but it was still real ice.

Last weekend I finally got a return time and tried it out with my kid. They had real skates with real blades. I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right but I couldn’t get moving very well. But it still seemed slippery and sometimes my skate would slide sideways. We went again today and the conditions were better. I was actually able to glide. I looked up how these work, and they need some kind of waxy silicone lubricant to function well. I could tell there was some stuff of the sheets, and an employee confirmed that the rink had been recently been lubed.

I know real ice is ideal, but all of them cost a bit and this place was essentially free for us. Anyone tried skating on this? I only have two tries at it, including one where I could barely glide.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I've done it once. It was a bit strange, but fun. They had music and served hot chocolate trying to make it as authentic as possible, so cute. That was the first time I'd seen anything like that, but I noticed recently there was another synthetic rink around somewhere, I can't remember where right now. They must be gaining in popularity.

I grew up ice skating and still do if the opportunity presents itself. There was a pond near my house that everyone skated on when I was growing up, you'd have lots of different people young and old, some playing hockey or figure skating, etc. It was so beautiful with ice on the trees and downed branches (that you sometimes tripped on!). We also had a lot of skating rinks locally. The Frog Pond on the Boston Common is scenic and fun in the winter. We even had an ice rink in our yard when our kids were little, and they took lessons, so big around here.

 

[Disney_Alli]

I figure skated for years and did a demo in a mall once on the synthetic ice. The biggest tip for the "plastic" ice is to be sure your skates are REALLY sharp. We went to get ours sharpened immediately before the demo to ensure maximum sharpness.

 

[diznygirl]

The first time I tried one I fell flat on my face because of the lack of glide. Totally unexpected. Once I got the hang of shorter strokes I stayed upright the rest of the time. There is a real ice rink close by that I'd prefer over the fake stuff.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Wow never heard of that kind of rink....I have never tried ice skating, only roller skated. I guess I waited to long in life to try it. I love watching. it is so graceful.

 

[bcla]

The first time I tried one I fell flat on my face because of the lack of glide. Totally unexpected. Once I got the hang of shorter strokes I stayed upright the rest of the time. There is a real ice rink close by that I'd prefer over the fake stuff.

I looked into how it's supposed to work. Some sellers of these surfaces claim that theirs don't need any surface treatments, but most still sell them. From what I've experienced they do work, but when there's a good layer of this stuff it kicks up a lot of shavings that stick to users' clothes. There was also an issue that some of these will attract dust, although newer ones seem to resist that. A good layer of this also seems to create little grooves similar to real ice.

I don't have my own skates, so I really don't have much of an option other than to use the skates provided. Some of the criticism of this type of surface seem to be that they dull the blades faster than real ice. I have no idea if they have the equipment/personnel to sharpen the blades.

 

[firefly_ris]

My BIL bought and set up a mini rink in his basement for at-home hockey practice. I believe the brand he got is Glice. I haven't personally used it but it seems to work well for practice, though not a perfect replica of skating on actual ice.

 

[RangerPooh]

The college that my husband previously worked at would bring one in as part of their "winter"/end of the semester gathering for faculty, staff, and students. We attended last year and tried it out. It was harder to move than on traditional ice, but not a bad substitute. Fewer people could use it at once, but since we don't get much in the way of ice/snow that lingers here in the south it's a nice alternative.

Would I pay to skate on it? Nope. Would I if I've never experienced real ice skating? Maybe, but doubtful.

 

[powellrj]

Our town set one up this year, but I have never seen it.

 

[NotUrsula]

Synthetic ice is MURDER on skate blades, so much so that when my daughter's team got an invitation from the city to appear at the opening ceremony for a synthetic temporary outdoor rink here, they turned it down because it was too risky for their skates, since they had a competition scheduled just a few days later.

Estimates that I have heard say that for figure skating, 20 minutes on synthetic will wear down a blade edge, as opposed to upward of 30 hours on real ice that has been groomed for skating. (Natural pond ice isn't great for top-end figure blades, either.) Rental skate blades tend to be a bit harder than performance blades, but even with that, if they are not sharpened at the end of every skating day on synthetic, it's likely that you won't be able to get them to move very well.

 

[bcla]

Synthetic ice is MURDER on skate blades, so much so that when my daughter's team got an invitation from the city to appear at the opening ceremony for a synthetic temporary outdoor rink here, they turned it down because it was too risky for their skates, since they had a competition scheduled just a few days later.

Estimates that I have heard say that for figure skating, 20 minutes on synthetic will wear down a blade edge, as opposed to upward of 30 hours on real ice that has been groomed for skating. (Natural pond ice isn't great for top-end figure blades, either.) Rental skate blades tend to be a bit harder than performance blades, but even with that, if they are not sharpened at the end of every skating day on synthetic, it's likely that you won't be able to get them to move very well.

We went there again today since we had a better experience yesterday. I thought it would be OK, but it was worse. I knelt down and felt the surface, which seemed to have less of the glide lubricant. I looked at the skate blade, and it wasn’t properly ground for two edges. It did look like it had been sharpened before, as part of the toe pick was ground down. One edge had absolutely no sharpness. Yesterday the surface conditions were better, and I think my skates had sharper blades. I was really at the mercy of the equipment.

 

[NotUrsula]

We went there again today since we had a better experience yesterday. I thought it would be OK, but it was worse. I knelt down and felt the surface, which seemed to have less of the glide lubricant. I looked at the skate blade, and it wasn’t properly ground for two edges. It did look like it had been sharpened before, as part of the toe pick was ground down. One edge had absolutely no sharpness. Yesterday the surface conditions were better, and I think my skates had sharper blades. I was really at the mercy of the equipment.

Unless it's the very last pair of rentals available in your size, I recommend thumbing the blade edge when you are handed the skates, to check that there is actually an edge on them. If not, ask to switch to a different pair. Better yet, if you are a regular, get to know the attendants and let them know that you appreciate being given a pair with decently sharp blades. As long as you are polite about asking, they will generally respect you for it -- people who work at rinks are nearly always active skaters, and they tend to be kinder to people who show some knowledge of the equipment, even if they don't own their own skates.

(If you skate regularly, you might want to consider buying some skates of your own, even if they are only a rental-quality pair. You'll not only save money on rental fees, but will have control of the blade sharpness that way, and will also have a consistent experience every time you skate. DH & I are only dilettante rec skaters, but since DD is a competitive skater, we also now have our own skates. They are not at all the quality of hers, but are still much more comfortable than rentals.)

 

[bcla]

Unless it's the very last pair of rentals available in your size, I recommend thumbing the blade edge when you are handed the skates, to check that there is actually an edge on them. If not, ask to switch to a different pair. Better yet, if you are a regular, get to know the attendants and let them know that you appreciate being given a pair with decently sharp blades. As long as you are polite about asking, they will generally respect you for it -- people who work at rinks are nearly always active skaters, and they tend to be kinder to people who show some knowledge of the equipment, even if they don't own their own skates.

(If you skate regularly, you might want to consider buying some skates of your own, even if they are only a rental-quality pair. You'll not only save money on rental fees, but will have control of the blade sharpness that way, and will also have a consistent experience every time you skate. DH & I are only dilettante rec skaters, but since DD is a competitive skater, we also now have our own skates. They are not at all the quality of hers, but are still much more comfortable than rentals.)

Well - the deal is that this is a Six Flags park and the skating rink is just part of their holiday setup. We have a pass to get in, so there's no additional cost. The skating time and the skates are provided with admission. I don't know if it's worth getting my own skates. It might have been worth it if a nearby rink was still operating.

Their equipment isn't really all that good. Many of the blades have noticeable rust spots, and I noted that the last pair I wore had extremely dull blades. There was basically no "hollow" down the center like there should be. There was an edge on the outside of each blade, but that's probably because the inside is used the most and gets dull faster.

For anyone wondering, this is what a skate blade should look like:

Ours were rounded off on one side. I'm thinking it might have been sharpened before the season started, but they didn't sharpen them at all for the month or so that the rink has been operating. As someone noted, these synthetic surfaces absolutely destroy skate blades.