Canada is a hockey nation. America is certainly becoming one. This game is our culture. For as long as I can remember, my children have played hockey. As your typical hockey dad, I was heavily involved in minor hockey, and even to this day I still love going to the rink to watch my kids play. Throughout this time I have seen hockey change drastically. It has become a year-round sport with spring leagues, summer camps, personal trainers, specific sports teams, and even synthetic ice for year-round training at home.
People have all kinds of opinions about synthetic ice. Some love it and can’t get enough of it. Others hate it and never want to try it again. Let’s be real here, it can be hard for an adult caught up in his ways to believe that he can actually skate on plastic, especially for adults and purists. The questions are endless. “Do you wear regular skates”? “Can you stop?” “How close is it to real ice?” “What is the maintenance?” “How does it compare to ABC and XYZ company?” “What makes your product better?” “Why is yours so expensive?” “Why is yours so cheap?” And it goes on and on. The debate will continue. I can tell you this. Both of my sons grew up training at home on synthetic ice and they are two of the nicest and strongest skaters you will ever see. So yeah, I’m biased, but it certainly helped my kids and they love it.
First of all, it doesn’t matter which brand you buy, none of it is “cheap” in the mind of the consumer. You’re taking your hard-earned money and putting it into your kids’ skating future, whether they’re hockey players, ringette players, bobsledders, or figure skaters. You are likely to lose thousands of dollars whether you buy the best product or the worst. Frankly, it pays to do some research and understand a few things that will make or break the purchase and user experience. And it’s okay to buy a cheaper product or the more expensive one as long as it meets your application and expectations, and you understand it from the beginning.
According to the survey research we have completed, one of the main reasons people are hesitant or simply don’t buy the product is because they simply cannot get what they believe to be credible information from the supplier. For example, when a consumer asks “why should I buy from you instead of your competitor?” and the answer is “well, I’ve been in the industry for 30 years.” Well, that’s not really an answer, is it? Think about it. GM has also been in the car business for a long time, but that didn’t stop them from declaring bankruptcy and needing a complete overhaul of the company. It is an indicator, it is not the only indicator.
The consumer expects good information. The problem is that they may not always know what good information is. They don’t know what they don’t know. So what do they do? Often they will set the price by default. Price is something they understand and it’s something they can easily compare from one product to another. The problem with that though is that they just don’t always, or maybe never get the quality of the product and the skating experience they expect. So what is a consumer to do?
Well, let’s think about this logically. You hardly ever get the best product for the lowest price, that’s a fact. So what about the lower end of the market in terms of product quality and price? What would they get for the lowest price? Well, worst case scenario, they’ll get something to stand on skates on and shoot the puck. At best, they’ll get a skateable product that might actually be quite suitable for the small rink at home. Once again, consumers have to manage their own expectations. Meanwhile, product sellers have to do it with integrity and reliable information backed by facts…not just ego and opinion. There is a market at the lower end of the product scale. However, the reality is that these products will never be the best nor should they be marketed as such. That would just be irresponsible. The likely price range for this category will be between $6.00 and $8.00 per square foot and frankly there will be a significant difference even between $6 and $8 per square foot product, so just use this as a guide.
The next tier, for simplicity, let’s call it mid-tier performance, will be the vast majority of products available by a large number of companies. These are their products HMWPe (High Molecular Weight Pe) and HDPe (High Density Pe) which are normally extruded sheets that are mass produced but machined into a panel that when assembled can probably be used for skating. Results will vary widely, of course, because there is a wide range of product materials within these categories. There are also differences in the way materials are made, from injection molding and extrusion in the lower to middle range of this category to sintered pressed material at the high end of this category. We can debate the differences and it would be a long debate, and it is this same debate where the eyes of consumers cloud over when talking about molecular weight, coefficient of friction, etc. The simple thing that the consumer should know in general is to buy an intermediate that has a molecular weight specification of 500,000. If you do that you will be able to skate on it and it should last a long time. Expect to pay between $9.00 and $12.00 per square foot. This will become the majority of purchases by owners looking for a decent product for skating at home, and in all likelihood they will be a satisfied consumer. Again, though, don’t assume that a $9.00 product is the same as a $12.00 product. One may be extruded, another may be pressed sintered, so durability, quality, and skating performance can still vary widely. Ask the seller for a certificate of authenticity for the material, which will quickly separate the package because most won’t have it or are unwilling to display their “proprietary material.” I always suspect that.
Now forward and up. The last category of products to consider are high-end products. There may only be three or four products truly worthy of being in this category; sorry for sellers who think theirs is the only one on the market worth considering, but it simply isn’t. Most homeowners don’t even need to consider this if the size of their home is going to be less than 200 square feet. Save your money and go for a low-end or mid-range product as already described. You really can’t appreciate a better skating product if the surface area is so small that you’ll never reach full stride. On the other hand, larger home rinks like 1000 square feet or more, or certainly commercially operated synthetic ice surfaces really need to pay attention to just this category. If your business income depends on skating quality and skating surface product durability, stay away from anything but this category! In this category there are essentially two types of material. One is classified as VHMWPe (Very High Molecular Weight Pe) and the other is UHMWPe (Ultra High Molecular Weight Pe). These products are normally pressed sintered because the molecular weight is very high. As a buyer, if you are not sure what you are getting, simply ask the seller for the material specification sheet and also ask to see the manufacturing quality certificate, such as ISO 14001 or ISO 9000 or similar. This will at least ensure that you get what you should be getting in terms of consistently high-quality material within these ratings. Again, the debate may arise as to which material is best suited for long-term skating, but you can expect to pay $18.00-$24.00 per square foot for these materials. Even in the high-end category, prices can vary. The material will be different, but so will the joining system of the joints. There are at least five very different systems, but effective in their own way. The joint connection system should be based on a proper understanding of the application. There is no system that is best at everything, so ignore those who claim that theirs is.
So there you have it. Three product categories somewhat simplified as a way for buyers to better understand what they are getting into. Hopefully this can help you at least place yourself in one of these categories to help you make better, more informed decisions and set buyer expectations. It may be worth finding out and talking to companies that actually sell all three categories; at least then you can get better information.