Can synthetic rinks damage blades?

[sampaguita]

Will it damage blades more than ice?

What moves can you do safely on synthetic ice?

[Skate@Delaware]

They dull your blades a lot. As for moves & stuff, you can do anything on the synthetic surface that you can do on real ice. Keep in mind there is more friction so you don't glide...which means jump landings are pretty much at a stand-still unless you bend really, really deep in the knees.

[sampaguita]

Interesting...jumps won't ruin the surface then?

[hopskipjump]

Here is a link - yes - it looks like all jumps and spins can be done - http://www.ezglide350.com/faq.php

[Skate@Delaware]

I used to skate on synthetic ice. Just skating on the surface will eventually scratch it. The plastic is sort of like that of plastic cutting boards so imagine that over time your knife scratches up that surface. It's the same with synthetic ice and skate blades.

You can do anything on them but spins will be slower and skating requires a harder push because you cannot glide as well. It is great for building up your legs but it does dull your blades because of the increased friction/resistance. If you can try it, do so. If you are going to do it for a season, you will be sharpening your blades about every 5-10 hours of skating. We used cheaper blades on our skates for that reason (and put our good blades back on when our regular rink re-opened).

[1210]

I've skated on it before and it felt really weird to me. They had synthetic ice up in the mall at one point

[bclayton]

There are a lot of things to take into consideration regarding how your skate blades dull while skating on both natural and synthetic ice. There is friction when you skate on either surface however natural ice provides its own "enhancement" during the process of skating while synthetic ice may have to have an enhancer (homeicesupplies.com/Polyglaze4.html) applied or with the new technologies available where the panels are already infused with low levels of a glide lubricant. If you skate on any synthetic ice surface without enhancers you will in turn heat-up your skate blade which will allow your edges to wear down much quicker. The key is to going with a product that provides an adequate surface for skating and also a quality glide enhancer to give you that "buttery" feel when you skate. There are several products and manufacturers in the market, one such is PolyGlideSyntheticIce.com which offers both products for skaters looking for the full package. Synthetic ice is a great way for any youth hockey player to train (see polyglide-synthetic-ice.blogspot.com) and improve their game.

[Skate@Delaware]

Of course, if people at public skates keep throwing trash on the ice (candy wrappers, foil things etc) THAT kind of stuff can ruin your blades really fast. And then there are the other things that happen regardless....like clipping your other blade and getting a nick (especially if you skate synchro), popping on a hairpin/bobby pin (did that, it was an ugly fall), or a fuzz ball from a sweater (I'm guessing it was a sweater). No damage to the blade, just my pride.

I wouldn't recommend skating on a synthetic rink unless you have rental skates or really cr*ppy old skates that you don't care about. Cause they will get dull and worn. But yes, they do build up your muscles in a serious way. BUT the mechanics of the movement-very different animal and going back to the real thing is an adjustment!