hockey floor tiles

There seems to be a lot of talk about hockey floor tiles these days, but are they any good? We can give you the rundown on how they work and the different things that you can do with them, and you can come to your own conclusions. As for them being any good; absolutely they are terrific and could be a great investment for anybody that wants to train to be a champion.

Slick Tiles vs. Synthetic Ice

Before we get too far into this topic, let’s get a couple of things straight. Hockey flooring is not all the same. Slick tiles, also known as dryland hockey flooring, are not the same as synthetic ice. Synthetic ice is made for ice skates, dryland tiles are not. Both surfaces are a lot like real ice, but they are not a lot alike. Synthetic ice comes in panels that are around two feet by four feet in size a piece, and dryland tiles come in one by one square shapes that are much easier to install and can fit into much tighter spaces. Both are very good tools and can be an essential part of strengthening your game, but they are different.

Slick Tiles Also Known As Dryland Tiles

Slick tiles, also known as dryland hockey tiles are made to be as slick and smooth as regular ice on a hockey rink. Although you can’t use ice skates on them, they are smooth enough to practice passing and shooting as well as stickhandling drills. They seamlessly connect together with specially engineered edges so that there will not be any resistance on the flooring when you take shots with the puck. Many dedicated hockey professionals practice on a regular basis with dryland flooring and a shooting tarp. The best part about the tiles is that they are not difficult to assemble and you don’t have to have a lot of room to use them.

Synthetic Ice Panels

Synthetic ice panels allow you to build your own lifelike hockey rink. The flooring is so similar to real ice that you will only have a small difficulty getting used to it. Although it is near the same, there is a little bit more resistance when you skate on it because of the way they are made. You can build a small area and build up to a large area over time because of the way that the panels hook together. Sniper’s Edge Hockey synthetic ice is the best kind on the market because of the quality that goes into them.

Practice And Real Games

Although on tiles you have to use rollerblades or shoes, and on synthetic ice, you can only use ice skates both types of flooring are great for practice and games. Either flooring will allow you to shoot goals and have a smooth surface for the puck to glide across. Whether you are passing with a team or using a puck rebounder to practice shots your efforts will be just as good as if you were playing on real ice. If you are a serious hockey player and want to stay on top of your game, hockey floor tiles are definitely worth the investment.