What does being the “Best Off Ice Puck” even mean? (Part Two)

 

(First article found here https://www.xenopucks.com/blogs/news/beingthebestofficepuckpt1)

 

The “Best”… is always up for discussion. Throughout history people have vigorously discussed and contemplated the “Best” Leader, the “Best” Quarterback, the “Best Off Ice Puck”, etc.…

Spend five minutes listening to these conversations and you will start to understand that much of the disagreement is context dependent. For instance, “Back in the day Quarterbacks had to be tougher because of the rule changes” or “Xenopucks are perfect on a flat smooth surface and slide wonderfully”. These statements are dependent on variables that cannot be held constant.  

Xenopucks will explore these less tractable portions of being the “Best Off Ice Puck”.

 

Intangible Problems

What is the roller hockey puck used for?

This refers to what you want from the puck. Is it to train, to play games, to sauce at the beach, or something else? For example, the Xenopuck is a premier training tool for anyone that plays Ice Hockey (Pavel Barber). For playing roller hockey games there is endless variety (https://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Roller_Hockey_Pucks/catpage-ROLLERPUCKS.html). Beach sauce hockey is a South Florida favorite and usually uses soft lightweight plastic pucks. The point is that one puck will not rule them all.

Do you want a realistic ice puck feel?

If you are a Xenopuck user, then the answer is probably yes! The term feel itself is very subjective and hard to quantify. However, for training purposes, it is very important to have something realistic. In fact it may be a good idea to train harder than you play. Muscle memory is a definite factor in hockey skill level. At a certain point, skating becomes like walking, stickhandling like eating, and passing like breathing. No more thinking just doing. It is imperative that you have a realistic training regime, and the feel of the puck will be a major factor.  

Most important part of the puck to you?

Lots of people will have a preference for what they find most important about an roller hockey puck. Some people like the puck to be stable, while others enjoy the volatility that comes with a Xenopuck on rough surfaces. Having a puck break during a training session can be a real downer, so some prefer durability. This may also depend on the activity you are doing and what level you play at. Everyone has their favored use case for the puck and this variety is part of what is so beautiful about hockey.  

How important is the look of the puck?

Some people just need their off ice puck to look good. This is highly subjective. Some may like the sleek futuristic design that the Xenopuck gives off. Others may enjoy the many different components that come along with different designs. As much as it pains us to admit, the aesthetics can affect what you think of as the “Best” puck out there.

 

Conclusion

Our goal was to establish some concrete thoughts on what it means to be the “Best Off Ice Hockey Puck”. We hope that this can be used as a brief guide on the roller hockey puck world.

In essence, the tangible factors of low friction and high durability can be thought of as baselines for any dryland hockey puck. Without them, the off ice puck is subpar if not worthless.

Intangibly the questions start to complicate things as preference and expectation enter the fold. Some things to consider are, what is the off ice puck used for? Do you want a realistic ice puck feel? What specific functionality of the puck is most important? How important are the aesthetics?

To end here, we will give a brief overview of the Xenopuck and how it fits into this equation.

The Xenopuck

Built for the ice hockey player who cannot get enough ice time. It was designed to replicate ice pucks but with a significant difference in slickness. It weighs the same 6oz and slides with incredible speed on concrete, wood, asphalt, carpet, and more. It is highly durable and will withstand most of the heaviest clappers, even against a post.

If you haven’t guessed by now, the Xenopuck is a great training device. It scores very high as a training aid and very low for game play. At being realistic, nothing else compares and can even replicate the volatility for hard passes. At times it can be more challenging thereby increasing development. Finally, we touched on this a little, but the Xenopuck is a handsomely sleek looking device. Beauty can be seen in the clean simplicity of it’s alien like design.

 

We want to hear your thoughts on what we are missing, please reach out to us.

 

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