One of the single largest myths out there about synthetic ice is that one connection system can do it all. That is absolutely not the case. If it was a perfect world and all installations were on a laser levelled cement surface it would still not suffice for any one system to do it all. A couple products come close but at the end of the day there is no one synthetic ice connection system that does it all.

Almost any company that offers a synthetic ice product for sale carries a “dovetail” or dovetail like product. These product typically go together like puzzle pieces. They are great for home owners or even light duty commercial applications. The achilles heel of this connection system is that they do not have much or in most cases lack vertical pull out strength. Vertical pull out strength is measured as the force required to separate vertically a dovetail synthetic ice panel joint. A couple companies have attempted to improve the system with various degrees of success but the fact remains that most of these products are not well suited to outside environments or even inside environments where the temperature fluctuates widely.

SmartRink sells a dovetail panel like almost every other synthetic ice seller out there. But we also sell an H-Spline system, a flat tongue spline system, a flat tongue and dowel system, and a Hybrid-Lock system. Each of these synthetic ice connection systems have advantages and disadvantages. Some are better suited to certain applications and environments than others. Some offer incredible pull out strength and some offer the ability to easily lock and secure hockey lines and markings. At SmartRink it simply is not acceptable to think that one panel can do it all.

I can tell you first hand about application horror stories where the client was told a certain system would work and how it failed miserably. You just want to ever be in that situation – especially for a commercial synthetic rink where it may be your business that depends on how the synthetic ice connection system performs.

There is no magic here. There is a great deal of marketing and sales BS going on out there. People need to research all the variables. The synthetic ice connection system is one they need to be thinking about.

If you find yourself in this situation, please contact us at SmartRink and see how we can custom fit your application to one of our many type of synthetic ice connection systems.