If you are into hockey you have probably heard of slick tiles and synthetic ice. If you’re not sure, slick tiles are also known as dryland hockey flooring tiles. Although dryland tiles and synthetic ice are both excellent products that can turn most flat areas into great hockey-playing environments, they are not the same, and they are quite a bit different. What is best for you would depend on your needs and the space that you have available in order to install flooring. Here are some of the basic differences, you can make your decision based on these facts:
Slick Tiles Are Smaller Than Synthetic Ice Panels
Slick tiles, also known as dryland hockey tiles, come in squares that are one foot by one foot. They are easy to fit into small places because they are compact and a lot less bulky than synthetic ice panels. Where slick tiles are 1 x 1, synthetic ice panels are two feet by four feet. You can use synthetic ice panels in small places, but not real small. Synthetic ice is made to make up larger areas such as garages or warehouses in order to have enough room to play a real game.
Inline Skates And Ice Skates
You can’t use ice skates on dryland hockey tiles. Slick tiles are built to be much like ice, but not necessarily for the skates, but for the way the puck slides across the flooring. Yes, Sniper’s Edge makes some very durable slick tiles for hockey players, but the tiles will not handle ice skates very well. Not only could the blades of the skates ruin the tiles, but the resistance for the skates on that type of flooring would be so resistant it would be dangerous for people to try and ice skate on it. Although you cant use ice skates on it, you can easily play with rollerblades or sneakers.
Synthetic ice, on the other hand, was built to endure the blades of ice skates and allows for players to glide across the surface much like real ice. There is a little bit more resistance than on regular ice, but this resistance will help to build muscle and stamina for the player.
Self-Lubrication
Sniper’s Edge synthetic ice is built in such a way that when you use it you don’t have to spray any extra types of lubrication onto it. The way it works is that the panels are already equipped with a substance that helps to keep the flooring slick and smooth for skaters. The surface is so much like ice that many players end up loving it as much as they do ice. It doesn’t’ melt and does not have to be frozen to stay good.
Slick tiles stay slick in their own way as well, however, since they don’t get scuffed up by the ice skate blades they don’t need lubrication. They are built from scratch with a special kind of polymer that is built to last and handle the abuse that hockey players put on every piece of training equipment that they get near.
All In All
All in all the main difference between the two is whether or not you would like to use ice skates in on them. Both surfaces are great for playing, and training, however, for that on-ice feel with ice skates synthetic ice is the way to go.