So, you’re looking into alternative ways to ice skate. It only makes sense. Going to the ice skating rink regularly can grow rather costly at a very quick rate. Even if you’re lucky and live in a town with a cheap ice skating rink, going as little as twice a week can end up being close to one hundred dollars a month. Multiply that by twelve and that becomes around twelve hundred dollars for the whole year. One way to make sure that you’re saving some money on this is to just use synthetic ice to skate at home.
Artificial ice does have a higher upfront cost than just going to the skating rink, but because you’d likely be setting up your artificial ice rink on your property you’d be able to use it whenever you want without paying any additional fee. Also, because you don’t have to drive to the ice rink, you’re also saving some money on gas. With that being said, it’s good to know exactly what you’re getting yourself into before you make the investment. So, what exactly can you expect out of skating on this kind of ice?
The Benefits of Artificial Ice
Artificial ice has many benefits that real ice just can’t offer. One of the biggest benefits is that artificial ice is entirely modular. When you have a rink full of real ice, if there’s a crack in the ice that can require an entire process that involves thawing and refreezing all of the ice in the rink. Artificial ice is made up of tiles, so if one of them gets damaged all you need to do is replace that tile and you’re back to skating as usual. That’s a huge improvement when compared against one another.
Because artificial ice is modular, it’s also easy to move. If you have your artificial ice rink set up in your backyard but you need to host something like a children’s birthday party or maybe a friend or family member’s wedding, all you need to do is take the rink apart and put it in your garage or office. You could even wrap it up in a tarp to make sure it doesn’t cause a mess. True ice rinks simply aren’t that easy to work with. If you needed to use a space with true ice in it for something else, you’d need to melt all of it then start the process of freezing all of the water again.
On top of all of that, as we’ve already covered, synthetic ice can end up paying for itself in the amount of money that you save from not needing to go to the skating rink. It can actually pay for itself even faster depending on how many people you take with you. Of course, if it’s just you that goes to the ice skating rink, you’ll see that 1,200 dollars a year in savings. But what if you take your spouse? Or your children? Each additional person that no longer needs to go to the skating rink saves you an additional 1,200 dollars a year, assuming that you go twice a week.
Then there’s the training aspect. If you’re a hockey player this is especially important. Artificial ice provides some drag and isn’t as easy to skate on as true ice. It’s not a huge difference, but it’s enough to notice. That means that you’re getting some simple resistance training whenever you skate on artificial ice that can translate into being faster when you get back onto true ice. That’s a big deal if you’re skating competitively, whether you’re a hockey player or a figure skater.
The Drawbacks of Artificial Ice
Since we’ve gone over the benefits of artificial ice, it’s only fair that we go over the drawbacks. We feel that it would be dishonest of us to not at least let you know about some of the drawbacks that come with the use of artificial ice. Of course, everything is a matter of perspective so even some of the things that made it into this part of the article could be viewed as benefits to other people, but let’s get into it.
Of course, there is the most glaring issue with synthetic ice, and that’s the upkeep that comes with it. Artificial ice must be cleaned from time to time to get all of the dirt and debris off of the rink. That includes shavings that are created by skating on the ice itself. Some types of synthetic ice also require the addition of lubrication to ensure that you can glide around easily on it, and that usually needs to be redone every few months. This isn’t the worst thing because of course, you’d be expecting some kind of upkeep on something like this.
There’s also the fact that artificial ice wears down your blades a lot more quickly than true ice. Many people report that artificial ice wears down their blades roughly twice as fast as true ice, which can be seen as a huge deal. If you don’t like to sharpen your own blades, that means that you’ll likely be developing a much closer relationship with the blade sharpening person than you wanted to, as well as lining their pockets twice as much as you would have been. Otherwise, that just means that you’ll need to spend twice the time sharpening your blades. That time can add up.
There’s also something that we mentioned in the previous section that’s worth covering here, too. That would be the issue of the lessened glide factor that artificial ice has to offer. While that can provide some extra resistance training that is incredibly useful for competitive skaters, if you’re just looking to skate for fun this could be seen as a drawback. You need to practice a good deal before you can move on artificial ice the way that you move on real ice, so many people would consider it a drawback. Not everyone appreciates having to do extra training just to be able to move at the level they were already at.
Is it Worth Installing an Artificial Ice Ink in Your Home?
Now to our verdict. We’re going to look over a few factors that we’ve already covered so you can better decide if this is going to be a good choice for you. It can be a tough choice depending on your motivation for installing this kind of ice rink and making the right choice can mean a lot to you in the long run.
If you’re training to be a competitive ice skater, regardless of if that means you’re a hockey player or a figure skater, artificial ice is essential. It allows you to get training at home even when your team isn’t meeting up. Making sure that your ice skating skills are polished year-round means that you’ll be much better prepared when winter makes its way back to your part of the world. It’s nearly impossible to get good training as a competitor off-season unless you happen to live near a year-round ice skating rink that facilitates this kind of practice.
Now, as far as people that just want to get an artificial ice skating rink for fun. Really, this is up to you. If the tradeoffs seem fair, you might want to go for it. If not, you can just move on to another idea. Generally, especially with fitness-related stuff, it’s always worth spending the money on things that you’ll actually use. Even with that in mind, deciding whether or not to invest in an artificial rink for purposes other than training is especially difficult because the tradeoffs get a lot less favorable if you’re just looking for a fun time.
Our opinion here? If you really feel like you’ll use it as much as you think you will, it’s probably a good idea. Getting your workouts in the most fun way possible for you will ensure that you’re actually working out, and that will show improvements in your health over time. If you’re less confident or you just really don’t know if this is a good choice for you, you could always hold off for now and look into it again later if you change your mind. You don’t have to make your choice right now, and it’s more than ok to come back to this later.
Getting the Most out of Your Artificial Ice Rink
There are, like with everything, pros and cons that come with having an artificial ice rink. Fortunately, sometimes those trade-offs are worth it and make this a very worthwhile investment. Whether you choose to invest right now, later, or even if you decide altogether that it’s not right for you, it’s a good thing that you’re looking into these details before you purchase you can be sure that you’re being a well-informed buyer. That allows you to make purchases a lot more confidently and will help you to be sure that you’re getting the most bang for your buck.