Is there anything that feels like a puck on ice?

[JAG 20]

I've seen many posts of people asking about shooting boards and tiles and synthetic ice, etc... and the reviews and input on these training materials varies widely.  

I currenly live in a house with a finished basement, and the floor is tiles.  Street hockey pucks and green biscuts glide on the floor very similarly to a puck on ice, however the weight of the pucks on the floor is SIGNIFCANTLY lighter.  It's amazing the difference I feel when going from stick handling in the basement to stick handling on the ice an hour later.  I feel like all the work I do in the basement is NOT translating well on the ice. 

When I use a real ice hockey puck in the basement, the weight is similar, but the puck does not glide, and often jumps a lot on me.  I have no probem shooting, though.  

I really don't want to buy hundreds of dollars worth of shooting boards and tiles to only find I will have the same experience on those as I do with the tile floor. 

What do you guys use? Do you find a significant difference in the feel of a puck on a shooting board/tiles compared to a puck on ice? Have you noticed a difference in different brands of boards/tiles?

Thanks 

[Jamarquan 201]

3 minutes ago, JAG said:

I've seen many posts of people asking about shooting boards and tiles and synthetic ice, etc... and the reviews and input on these training materials varies widely.  

I currenly live in a house with a finished basement, and the floor is tiles.  Street hockey pucks and green biscuts glide on the floor very similarly to a puck on ice, however the weight of the pucks on the floor is SIGNIFCANTLY lighter.  It's amazing the difference I feel when going from stick handling in the basement to stick handling on the ice an hour later.  I feel like all the work I do in the basement is NOT translating well on the ice. 

When I use a real ice hockey puck in the basement, the weight is similar, but the puck does not glide, and often jumps a lot on me.  I have no probem shooting, though.  

I really don't want to buy hundreds of dollars worth of shooting boards and tiles to only find I will have the same experience on those as I do with the tile floor. 

What do you guys use? Do you find a significant difference in the feel of a puck on a shooting board/tiles compared to a puck on ice? Have you noticed a difference in different brands of boards/tiles?

Thanks 

Pucks on shooting boards, especially mine, are slick. Try seeing if 'training' green biscuits and street hockey pucks exist. They will be heavier and feel more like a puck.

[kmfdm86 112]

Haven't tried it, but maybe give this a shot? Almost twice as heavy as inline pucks.

http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Smart_Hockey_Off-Ice_Training_Pucks/descpage-SHPK.html

[rawkstar 45]

Melamine board from Home Depot ($23 for a 48x19.5 inch board) and then spray pledge on them ($5 a can) will feel just like ice at a fraction of the shooting boards price and be way sturdier, you can get a bunch of them if you need a bigger surface.

 

alternatively if you feel like it's too easy just tape some weights to your stick to make it harder. There was a video of datsyuk practicing with some super busted stick and a bar weight stick to the bottom of it. That might be too heavy at first, I just taped pucks to the bottom of the stick and it made it quite a bit harder to stickhandle. You'll be amazed how much faster and easier you'll be able to stickhandle if you practice with weights.

[JAG 20]

10 hours ago, kmfdm86 said:

Haven't tried it, but maybe give this a shot? Almost twice as heavy as inline pucks.

http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Smart_Hockey_Off-Ice_Training_Pucks/descpage-SHPK.html

 

I'll look into these.  Thanks.

 

2 hours ago, rawkstar said:

Melamine board from Home Depot ($23 for a 48x19.5 inch board) and then spray pledge on them ($5 a can) will feel just like ice at a fraction of the shooting boards price and be way sturdier, you can get a bunch of them if you need a bigger surface.

 

alternatively if you feel like it's too easy just tape some weights to your stick to make it harder. There was a video of datsyuk practicing with some super busted stick and a bar weight stick to the bottom of it. That might be too heavy at first, I just taped pucks to the bottom of the stick and it made it quite a bit harder to stickhandle. You'll be amazed how much faster and easier you'll be able to stickhandle if you practice with weights.

 

I have a old stick that I taped 2 pucks to.  I've been using it for a while, and while I feel my hand speed is much better, the puck feel is WAY off... mainly because the pucks aren't behaving the same way they do on ice.  So when I hit the ice, my hands are FLYING! But the puck isn't moving at the same speed.  I don't know if that makes any sense or not. 

[JAG 20]

Ok, so after a little bit of research I've found a few things that might help my situation (and maybe some of you guys too). 

A standard ice hockey puck weighs 6 oz.  

A green biscut weighs 4.6 oz.  They say the difference of weight is made up for with the friction of a concrete surface (because they assume most people will be using them on concrete).  However, If you're using a green biscuit on tiles, a shooting board, melamine board, or anything slicker than concrete, the puck will feel lighter.  

Green biscuit also makes 2 other models of pucks.

The Green Biscuit "Snipe" puck is the heaviest weighing at 5.2 oz. This puck is designed to be shot (as the regular green biscuit is not, because it will chip and break when making contact with hard surfaces).  

Then there is the Green Biscuit Pro.  This puck weighs 4.8oz.  It also has rubber edges to simulate a puck better.  It is also recommended you NOT shoot this puck.  It is designed for stick handling and passing.  

Of all the options, the puck that kmfdm86 posted, the Smart Hockey Off-ice Training Puck is the heaviest at 5.6 oz.  

I will purchase each of these and see how they are.  I'll report with my findings...again, if anyone cares.

[Coldclay 53]

Smart Hockey Off-Ice Training Pucks is the closest thing to a standard NHL rubber puck. It works just as well as a green biscuit (well the biscuit may slide a little bit better, but barely) and for stick handling, we use both inside the house on tiles and they work fine. You can see some footage on my instagram clay008 but we never shoot with the green biscuit or the Smart Hockey Off-Ice Training Pucks, we go to the garage and shoot regular rubber pucks at the net, so I have no idea how the plastic pucks will shoot.

[innotastic 12]

that smart hockey puck is your best bet. i got a couple and they shoot just the same. 

[puckpilot 312]

I have training tiles and even with them, nothing feels like a puck on ice. Green biscuits slide similar to ice but are light. Regular pucks slide ok but not like ice.

So IMHO, you'll probably experience similar issues. I'd recommend that you take a spin on some tiles before buying. You might not feel that it's worth the price for the difference.

Otherwise, what I found works best for training is to just vary the weight of the pucks I handle.  I stickhandle a little with say the green biscuit then switch to a regular puck. Then to a light puck then a heavy puck. Rinse repeat. 

The idea is to not train your body to get use to a certain weight, it's to develop your feel for handling something at the end of your stick what ever weight that thing may be.

As others have mentioned a weighted stick is an option. And one thing I did was make a 4lb puck using an round tupperwear container filled with pennies. 

Stickhandled that for strength, the light pucks for speed, and like I said, pucks of different weights to develop feel. So you could give this a try and see if it works for you before opening your wallet.

My two cents. It's worth what you paid for it. :p

[Skink32 1]

Honestly......get a sheet of the cheapest polished aluminum you can....pucks glide  on it like ice...makes a lot of noise, but I used it when I was young....now my son does....