Owning an ice rink doesn’t have to involve electricity, coolants, bulky equipment, or even a Zamboni. Modern synthetic ice gives skaters a smooth, consistent glide without the need for power, coolants, or resurfacing.
It’s durable, low-maintenance, and designed for everyday use in homes, training centers, and recreational spaces. You can skate on it all day without having to stop for resurfacing.
If you’re new to artificial ice, this guide will walk you through the essentials. You’ll learn what it is, how it’s made, how it performs compared to real ice, and what to expect before installing your own rink.
What Is Synthetic Ice?
Synthetic ice is an engineered skating surface designed to mimic the glide and feel of real ice without requiring refrigeration, water, or constant resurfacing. Though nothing fully replicates the real thing, Glice comes as close as it gets.
Today’s high-quality panels are made using advanced polymer technology that has significantly improved glide performance over earlier generations. Skaters can expect a reliable surface suitable for hockey training, figure skating practice, and recreational use.
Its popularity has grown worldwide, with thousands of installations across more than 100 countries in venues such as resorts, entertainment centers, and community facilities. The technology has also become accessible for personal use, making home setups like garage hockey rinks a practical option for many skaters.
What Is It Made Of?
Artificial ice is made from a high-density polymer (polyethene plastic) specifically engineered for ice-skating. The material is molded into tiles and treated, resulting in a surface that simulates the sliding properties of traditional ice.
Depending on the manufacturer, different types of lubricants are added to the material to allow for a smooth glide. They can either be sprayed on the surface of the tiles or mixed directly into the polymer material during the manufacturing stage.
While those who are unfamiliar with the concept often ask, “Does synthetic ice melt?” but, given the superior plastics used to manufacture Glice, it’s clear that melting is not something you have to worry about when investing in a synthetic ice rink.
How Is It Manufactured?
Artificial ice is made from ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), a dense, durable polymer chosen for its low friction and high abrasion resistance. Manufacturers typically use one of two production methods: extrusion or sintering.
Although both begin with the same base material, the way the polymer is processed has a major impact on glide quality, durability, and overall performance.
Extrusion
In the extrusion method, UHMWPE resin is heated until molten, then pushed through a die to form a continuous sheet. As the material cools, it solidifies into panels that can be cut to size later.
While extrusion is simple and cost-effective, it’s difficult to maintain uniform temperature and density throughout the sheet. This can lead to subtle variations in hardness, surface flatness, and lubricant distribution. The result is a panel that may feel slightly inconsistent during skating and can wear unevenly over time.
Sintering
Sintering is a more controlled and technically precise method. Instead of melting the polymer, manufacturers use extremely high pressure and carefully regulated heat to compress UHMWPE powder or pellets into solid sheets.
Because the material never becomes fully liquid, its internal structure remains more stable and uniform. Sintering also allows performance lubricants to be evenly dispersed throughout the panel rather than sitting only on the surface.
The outcome is a denser, flatter sheet with consistent glide characteristics, better edge retention, and a longer lifespan.
Overall, sintered panels are considered the industry gold standard for high-performance synthetic ice due to their superior structural integrity and more predictable skating feel. That’s why we use it here at Glice. It requires more sophisticated equipment and higher production costs, but the results justify the investment.
The controlled heat and pressure create an exceptionally strong panel with a consistently smooth surface, and the process allows lubricant pellets to be fully integrated into the polymer rather than sitting unevenly on top.
This uniform distribution is what gives sintered panels their reliable glide and long-term durability, something extrusion simply can’t reproduce.
Only a small number of manufacturers worldwide have the capability to sinter UHMWPE at scale. Glice operates one of the few facilities designed specifically for this purpose, with tightly regulated temperature, humidity, and cleanliness to ensure each panel meets exacting standards.
This level of control is a key reason our panels are used by elite hockey training centers, including CCM’s test facility, as well as large public installations such as the synthetic rink in Mexico City’s Zócalo.
What’s It Like to Skate On?
If you’re wondering how synthetic ice compares to real ice, you’ll be amazed after first pushing off onto a high-quality synthetic surface. Though it feels slightly different than real ice, you’ll quickly adapt to the change, completely forgetting that you are skating on ultra-slick plastic.
There is a fine line between creating a slick surface, yet allowing for enough friction to enable you to stop, change course, and show off your maneuvers.
Manufacturers over the years have worked on designing the optimal skating surface. However, the quality of the glide does differ between them. Having spent years on scientific research and testing to develop the most superior product, Glice offers the closest comparison.
While some require a topical lubricant to be regularly applied, higher-end products like Glice are designed to release the lubricants from within the product as you skate. This process gives you an incredible glide that is undeniably top notch.
Glice imbeds the lubricants deeply and evenly within each sheet, providing the ultimate glide to be found in artificial ice today. Blades cut into the plastic (just like they cut into ice), releasing the emollients onto the surface. This unique design of releasing lubricants as your blades cut into the surface improves over time. The more you skate, the better your experience.
What Does It Look Like After You Skate?
Imagine a plastic cutting board with little hairline scratches left over the surface from your sharp knife. This is similar to what you’ll see on artificial ice after it’s been used. Glice synthetic rinks are specifically designed to allow your skates to lightly scratch open the surface, thereby releasing additional gliding lubrication.
This trait is unique to Glice; it’s a process that took years of research to devise and perfect. The extremely light scratches are just deep enough to help improve the surface every time you skate. This in turn improves your skating experience! The fine scratches on a Glice rink are a sign that our system is working. And the only difference you’ll notice in your glide is that it gets better and smoother the more you practice.
How Durable Is It?
With such a wide range of synthetic ice qualities available (and more and more cheap synthetic ice options arriving on the market), it’s important to do your homework and fully understand what you are purchasing. Find out what can be done on the rink, where it can be installed, and how long your synthetic rink will last.
When it comes to synthetic ice rinks, you absolutely get what you pay for. Skimping on quality can result in you having to purchase multiple rinks over time. The level of quality ultimately depends on a few factors.
For example, does the plastic go through a sintering or extrusion process? How the connection system is designed and the thickness of the sheets are also of consequence, as they will determine how flat a rink lies and whether the edges or corners will lift or buckle.
With Glice, not only is our connection system the best in the industry, but our commercial synthetic sheets are so durable you can park your car on top of them!
What Are the Benefits of Artificial Ice?
Artificial ice looks and feels like real ice, while offering multiple benefits that will save you a considerable amount of cash and time. It’s an all-season product that allows you to skate year round, no matter the weather!
Having your own rink at home allows you to skate whenever you want, giving you a competitive edge over others in your sport. There is no traveling to and from rental facilities and paying by the hour. There is no down time during practice, while you wait for the Zamboni to recondition the ice.
You won’t have to worry about special equipment, exorbitant electric bills, coolants or loud compressors. Praying for cold weather and wasting water will also become a thing of the past. Your skates will need to be sharpened a little more often, but your expensive boots and blades will be kept dry. No more rusting blades and eroding leather—another added plus!
Further reading: Is Synthetic Ice Bad for Skates?
Installation and Design: What’s the Process?
Start with a flat surface and simply place your synthetic sheets in place. Setup is simple and fast, since all sheets are assembled by a connection system. It’s worth noting that manufacturers differ in the design of connectors, which makes a remarkable difference in your glide.
When you are looking to purchase a synthetic ice rink, be sure to choose a product that has a tight tongue-and-groove system (like Glice offers) to prevent lifting or shifting. A simple puzzle piece system will not offer you the seamless skating experience you’re expecting.
Glice’s tongue-and-groove and Smart Lock system prevents unnecessary trips and falls. The lack of noticeable grooves (thanks to the tight connection) also prevents dirt and debris from collecting in-between the panels.
Who Is It For?
Synthetic ice is designed for nearly every type of skating discipline. Hockey players, goalies, figure skaters, recreational skaters, and even athletes in niche sports like Eisstock curling train on it regularly.
The surface supports edge work, stops, turns, stickhandling, spins, and most jump techniques, offering a close approximation to real ice for both practice and play.
There is only one limitation to keep in mind. High-impact toe-pick jumps in figure skating are discouraged because the toe pick can puncture the polymer and leave deep marks that are difficult to repair.
Aside from that specific move, virtually anything you can do on natural ice is suitable for synthetic ice.
Care and Maintenance
Safety and maintenance are two important factors any skater should consider before choosing a rink. While many artificial rink products differ in their maintenance guidelines, the overall requirements are essentially the same.
- Vacuuming regularly
- Mopping and conditioning occasionally
- Power washing annually
These are the three common honey-dos on the list. That’s it! Synthetic rinks are a far cry from the required maintenance of traditional ice skating rinks. Of course, make sure you understand the exact procedures of your rink depending on the product you choose.
Rink and Pad Sizes: How Much Do You Need?
A few sheets are a great start for beginning goaltenders (13×9 ft). If you have the yard space, you can even build your very own NHL-sized hockey rink, complete with ice markings and dasher boards.
The Glice rink in Zócalo, Mexico City is the largest synthetic ice rink in the world, spanning a whopping 43,000 square feet! The size and shape of your rink is entirely up to you.
Get in Touch to Learn More
Choosing a Glice rink means investing in a surface built to last, with performance and durability that make it the only system most customers ever need. If you’d like to understand more about the technology, installation options, or maintenance needs, our FAQ is a great place to start.
You can also reach out to our team anytime for tailored guidance or project support. With fast delivery and straightforward setup, your Glice rink could be ready to use in just a few days.