Does synthetic "ice" damage your blades?

SmallAminal · Jun 18, 2018

There is a synthetic ice rink open for the summer nearby and my skater would like to go. I am wondering - will synthetic ice wear the blades down differently/faster or potentially cause any damage? I heard that they put some treatment on top of the "ice" to make it slippery - will that do anything to the blades?

I have never been on synthetic "ice" myself so no idea of what to expect.

Is it better to use rentals or spare skates? We were hoping to use the time as part of the lengthy break-in process for the new skates, but I don't want to damage the blade.

Thanks!

Sam-Skwantch · Jun 18, 2018

It ruins the hollow on your edges and requires skate sharpening to fix them.

See if you can find a cheap “just for fun” skates or use those rentals. Is there a used sports equipment store in your area?soinds fun

SmallAminal · Jun 18, 2018

Sam-Skwantch said:
It ruins the hollow on your edges and requires skate sharpening to fix them.

See if you can find a cheap just for fun skates or use those rentals. Is there a used sports equipment store in your area?soinds fun

We have a cheap used pair and old skates that we can use as well. Of course my skater wants to wear the new ones though....will discourage it based on your feedback!

Ic3Rabbit · Jun 18, 2018

Sam-Skwantch · Jun 18, 2018

SmallAminal said:
We have a cheap used pair and old skates that we can use as well. Of course my skater wants to wear the new ones though....will discourage it based on your feedback!

We have several synthetic facilities and training apparatus in our area. They are mostly hockey related but we have seasonal outdoor rinks synthetic “ponds” pop up too. Believe me...the synthetic ice wears out the edge and really makes the blade become dramatically unlevel. That increases the amount of sharpening it takes to fix them which will dramatically reduce the life of your steel. Just not worth the trade off of cost and impact of the maintenance involved with fixing the wear on your good skates.

I’m sure you’ll still have fun and be very happy that you still have the nice skates (in great shape) to use when you return to the frozen pond

VegMom · Jun 18, 2018

My skater hasn’t gone in synthetic ice for this reason. But a frozen pond tore up his blades pretty bad. 1 week on the pond was the same as 1 month on an indoor rink. I honestly can’t imagine synthetic being worse than that. But maybe it is.

One note coach said was that synthetic ice can make jumps easier. She said there’s less glide so it’s more like doing the jump off ice. So... could be a confidence booster for some skaters.

Ic3Rabbit · Jun 18, 2018

Synthetic and real pond ice both wreck blades.

Does synthetic "ice" damage your blades?

SmallAminal

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

SmallAminal

Ic3Rabbit

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Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

VegMom

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️

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