My shooting / Skill pad experiences with different products / materials

[tregobo 4]

I have tried several different types of shooting pads (purchased one, built three). I am in a townhouse community so I need something that I can use in an open space, and carry back to my patio 20 yards away. There is no concrete surface that I can use, but there is a large open grass area (using on grass vs concrete is a big difference). I need a shooting pad for both stick handling, and shooting. Here are the different approaches I have taken - jump to the bottom if you want the quick summary (in chronological order).

1) Roll up plastic $120 (1/10" x 4' x 8.5') http://www.hockeyshot.com/HockeyShot-Roll-up-Shooting-Pad-p/shooting-pad-011.htm

The biggest waste of $120 I have ever spent. The thing does not lay flat (even after weighting it down over night). A real puck barely slides on it. I called the place I bought it from and they flat out told me that it is really meant for a green biscuit - which they sent me free of charge. It slides great on it - but a green biscuit slides great on just about anything. Being that it is a roll up, it is very thin. Makes it useless if your only open area is grass.

2) Marker Board $10 (3/16" x 2' x 4') - http://www.homedepot.com/p/3-16-in-x-2-ft-x-4-ft-Marker-Board-7012090/203377708#.UcCKnZyZZ8E

This was my first homemade attempt. I was pretty happy with it. Pucks slide really nice on it. Spray a little pledge on it and dry off and it has a real nice "ice-like" feel. It is quite thin, so on grass I needed to glue it to some plywood. After that it was great on grass. After a few weeks it started to warp (I keep it outside, somewhat covered). The surface is fairly durable, but after probably 500 shots or so the glossy layer is starting to scrape off.

3) Harboard Panel $10 (1/8" x 4' x 8') - http://www.lowes.com/pd_16605-46498-300_4294715686__?productId=3015239&Ntt=panel

The huge size vs low price of this made it appealing. Unfortunately it was a letdown. The pucks really do not slide as well as the marker board from 2). I have heard other talk about spraying something to make it slippery, but I am not really a big fan of the mess that makes. The other thing is that it is not much stronger than cardboard. It it gets wet at all it is done. I guess it would be great to use indoors with a green biscuit to work on stick handling (because it is so huge), but if it is to be used outdoors I can't see how it can last.

4) Melamine Board $10 (1" x 2' x 4') - http://www.homedepot.com/p/1-x-2-x-4-White-Melamine-Shelf-252297/202089063#.UcC80vk3vzg

This is finally what I was looking for. The puck slides on this board so well. If you rub some pledge onto it, it is as close to ice as I think you will find. It is 1 inch thick so it does not warp, and it is heavy enough to sit on top of grass. I bought two of these boards and lined them in an 8 foot row. I put a bungie cord at the end of one of them and it is perfect for one timers. I have taken close to 1000 shots with these boards, and no damage at all (other than the edges). I will make a youtube video of this setup soon.

In Summary:

9/10 - Melamine Board: Cheap, durable, excellent slide (especially rubbing pledge into it before starting), thick enough to work on grass.

7/10 - Marker Board: Cheap, good slide. Not very durable, and if using on grass you need plywood under it.

5/10 - Hardboard Panel: Best feature is that it is huge and cheap. Pucks do not slide all that well. It is very thin, and not durable. If it gets wet it is toast.

1/10 - Roll up plastic shooting pad: Very expensive, pucks do not slide well at all, hard to lay flat, too thin to use on grass. Waste of money (in my opinion)

[Souldriver 64]

Some good thoughts here. have you tried using an inline puck for some extra slide?

Right now I'm using a 1'x2' shallow metal pan that used to be used to catch the drip under a dehumidifier. TurbTurn it upside down on the grass and it's good for shooting. Not big enough for real stick handling, but just enough any type of shot even with an ice puck. My problem is finding something to shoot at. The backyard fence doesn't like hard pucks.

[tregobo 4]

Some good thoughts here. have you tried using an inline puck for some extra slide?

Right now I'm using a 1'x2' shallow metal pan that used to be used to catch the drip under a dehumidifier. TurbTurn it upside down on the grass and it's good for shooting. Not big enough for real stick handling, but just enough any type of shot even with an ice puck. My problem is finding something to shoot at. The backyard fence doesn't like hard pucks.

I really wanted to stick with ice hockey pucks since I have a bucket of them and my son tries to shoot a few hundred shots a week. Would not want to have to by a bucket of inline pucks.

We got an EZGoal with the backstop - expensive but ideal for our needs.

Here is a youtube of my son shooting on it, using the marker board pad (Crappy quality video):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8W9olQagK4

[flip12 715]

I have tried several different types of shooting pads (purchased one, built three)...

Awesome, thanks for the comparative review, lots of great advice in there. It's always so disappointing to try something and find that it just fails.

[Apes44 7]

if you can find those mats people use for the roller chairs in their offices, (preferably with out the little nubs on the bottom) those work really well no grease or anything needed. last forever too!

[tregobo 4]

Here is a better video of our setup using the melamine board - my son demonstrating (1'st yr peewee):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9js3rUvvRsw

[Souldriver 64]

Looks great I'm a bit jealous. Depending on how much of hassle it is would you make the board wider for him? You can get a little more stick handling area as well as lining up pucks for some speed shooting drills.

I would say have him practice with gloves on if you can. You get a truer feel to what you would really feel game time.

Also it may be the fact he isn't on skates or the video but he seems to be opening up a lot on slappers. He is bringing his stick up a bit high and is coming around a bit on the puck (baseball swing esq) instead of down through it. Have him slow down a little, raise the stick about waist high and come down straight, once he gets a good feel speed it up. Younger guys are prone trying things at too fast of a speed when practicing and not really concentrating on good form. I know I was guilty of that and I spent a lot of time trying to do too much to fast, now I take things slower then speed up and I learn new skills much easier. Works wonders for guitar playing too.

Sorry for that coach mode rant, I don't mean any offense. His wrister seems pretty wicked and accurate especially for someone his age, it must be that shooting board.

[flip12 715]

Looks great I'm a bit jealous. Depending on how much of hassle it is would you make the board wider for him? You can get a little more stick handling area as well as lining up pucks for some speed shooting

Also it may be the fact he isn't on skates or the video but he seems to be opening up a lot on slappers. He is bringing his stick up a bit high and is coming around a bit on the puck (baseball swing esq) instead of down through it.

Sorry for that coach mode rant, I don't mean any offense. His wrister seems pretty wicked and accurate especially for someone his age, it must be that shooting board.

I agree on the first point, was thinking that looks great but a wider set up would be perfect. I think that comes into play on the second point. I think he's compensating for his feet being on a lower plane than the shooting board. I think his form would be there on slapshots if he were standing on the board as well. Also, would this work as a Heiden slide board? You could do slow, concentrated strides...maybe don't push it until the gets older though!

Great looking set up, looks fun, which is to say, I'm jealous

[tregobo 4]

I agree on the first point, was thinking that looks great but a wider set up would be perfect. I think that comes into play on the second point. I think he's compensating for his feet being on a lower plane than the shooting board. I think his form would be there on slapshots if he were standing on the board as well. Also, would this work as a Heiden slide board? You could do slow, concentrated strides...maybe don't push it until the gets older though!

Great looking set up, looks fun, which is to say, I'm jealous

If I could leave it there permanently I would definitely make it 4ft wide - since I have to pick everything up each time it would be too much. The boards are really heavy.

He normally wears gloves, but was too lazy to go get them when I filmed.

Slapshots need some work, but here in the US they are not allowed until Peewee.

[flip12 715]

If I could leave it there permanently I would definitely make it 4ft wide - since I have to pick everything up each time it would be too much. The boards are really heavy.

Aha, and when he gets older he can set it up more if he likes. Still, it's a great setup for now.

[tregobo 4]

Aha, and when he gets older he can set it up more if he likes. Still, it's a great setup for now.

I forgot your question about the slide board. I think the 8' melamine board would work well for it. I have not used many slide boards, so not entirely sure.

[AIREAYE 248]

if you can find those mats people use for the roller chairs in their offices, (preferably with out the little nubs on the bottom) those work really well no grease or anything needed. last forever too!

Interesting, thanks for the tip. We always buy these things for my place.

Tregobo, excellent thread, good work summarizing these things!

[flip12 715]

I forgot your question about the slide board. I think the 8' melamine board would work well for it. I have not used many slide boards, so not entirely sure.

I didn't really know about them until the end of my competitive days, so, I've never actually used one. I first saw it in Sports Century, 50 Greatest Athletes in the episode on Eric Heiden. Watching him do it with perfect form, it looked so zen.

It looks like the standard ones sold online are 8' x 2'. I think you'd want a shorter width if you're setting it up for someone small/young--with that said, I'm not sure what would be a good age to begin training with one of these. I am wholly ignorant on that so definitely get some professional advice. And maybe ask some speed skaters. In this youtube video, she made her slide board with the same, melamine, and apparently hockey socks for shoe covers? Maybe she means the old knit socks. Another bonus though, no need for any of the goofy landmark-visiting shoe covers.

[Souldriver 64]

Ahh ok I see.

Yeah it kind of looked like some of it is from being in shoes and not skates too. I always found it way harder to take a slapshot without skates. That little bit of forward motion and being able to do that with the righ amount of knee bend is neelar impossible to replicate in shoes. No ones fault, just the facts of the situation.

But if youre saying they dont allow it till peewees and this is his first year those are some good shots if I do say so myself. Ever since I switched to a low kick composite from my wood sticks I still find it hard to get and good lift on a puck and he's doing that with ease.

[tregobo 4]

Ahh ok I see.

Yeah it kind of looked like some of it is from being in shoes and not skates too. I always found it way harder to take a slapshot without skates. That little bit of forward motion and being able to do that with the righ amount of knee bend is neelar impossible to replicate in shoes. No ones fault, just the facts of the situation.

But if youre saying they dont allow it till peewees and this is his first year those are some good shots if I do say so myself. Ever since I switched to a low kick composite from my wood sticks I still find it hard to get and good lift on a puck and he's doing that with ease.

I think the impact of not having skates is with the stick length. He insists on using his game stick (despite having an older stick that is shorter) so he is a sense using a stick that is about 3" longer than normal. I was thinking of building a 3" high platform for him to stand on, but that would be too much work. I need to insist on gloves and a short stick or else all his shooting will start to get counterproductive. I use a crappy wooden stick cut 3" less than my game stick, so he should be able to as well.

[Zjack38 46]

I use my dad old wood stick when I shoot, and it hasn't been cut down at all, so whenever I go on the ice it seems like my stick is feather light and really small, it's kind of annoying but I get used to it, and for some reason may slapshot is harder with the wood stick than my composite, it a 95 flex wood, and I'm 14 weighing 132.

[Chadd 916]

Very cool post, and info on the board. It's always nice to find an inexpensive solution for something like this.

[smcgreg 81]

As everyone else has said, nice job. I particularly like the ranking. I never would have considered the melamine, but will likely get one for the summer dryland work with my mite son. The video was convincing.

Your son's got a nice wrister. Good job.

Steve

[alex3 0]

This large board from home depot for $13.65 has been recommended on a few websites. Has anyone tried it out?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202090193?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=202090193&R=202090193#.UcM69PnvskU

[tregobo 4]

This large board from home depot for $13.65 has been recommended on a few websites. Has anyone tried it out?

Which board? Do you have a link to it?

This large board from home depot for $13.65 has been recommended on a few websites. Has anyone tried it out?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202090193?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=202090193&R=202090193#.UcM69PnvskU

That is a lot like the board I used in 3). I found that it did not have very good slide with a regular puck, and it was really bad if it got wet - almost cardboard like. Maybe the one from home depot is different.

[Souldriver 64]

I would say if the old stick has the same or similar flex point then give it a whirl. If it doesn't stick with what he has. another solution would be to cut it down for outside and pop in a plug for skate time. But I would rather the 2 stick system tbh.

In the end it won't kill him either way, it sure doesn't look like it has by the look of his shot so far .

[greyskull 21]

HDPE from a plastics supplier is the one.

Bit of silicone lubricant on that and it's fantastic.

[TeamBlue96 3]

Cool thread -- i'll shed some light on what i've done:

- Bought a huge sheet of 1/4 inch think plexiglass from Home Depot; spent about $40-50 bucks, sprayed some pledge wood polish/cleander on it, rubbed it in, wiped it off.

- Ice hockey pucks slide just like ice and roller pucks aren't a problem at all

- only draw back is that the wood polish/cleaner wears off over time (it does last a while) and that if you don't do a good job of rubbing it in, the underside of your blade gets a little greasy (just wipe it off!)

Much better than spending 1-200 on one of those crazy boards.

[MyBoxersSayJoe 133]

How would this be? It's a piece of 4'x8' melamine for $39:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/3-4-x-49-x-97-S11-White-Thermally-fused-Melamine-461877/100070209

[tregobo 4]

How would this be? It's a piece of 4'x8' melamine for $39:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/3-4-x-49-x-97-S11-White-Thermally-fused-Melamine-461877/100070209

That will probably work great, but it will be really heavy. If you have somewhere you can just leave it more or less permanently then it will be great. My issue was that my 12 year old son needed to carry it back to our patio when he was done with it.

One recommendation would be to go to home depot with a puck and just make sure it seems as though it will slide well on what you are about to buy (I got a lot of strange looks when I did this!). I say this in case there are different kind of melamine boards that may have different glide properties.