Broken 16 381 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 (edited) The cheap plastic blades that are made for street hockey are the best sticks for the driveway. They last a while but do wear down over time. Be sure to get a real hard one not a flimsy blade. Not sure how well they actually replicate ice, but with these sticks you can use any ball (even a tennis ball, and dont have to worry about the annoying friction-roll). I've always hated playing with any kind of puck on a driveway surface, always seem to jump up and roll on its side, etc. Thats just me. That wiffle ball trick sounds interesting, but I feel like you'd be constantly stuffing shards of tennis ball back inside it after every shot. That was my first thought, but if you cut the tennis ball in long strips and crammed them in there, I don't think you would lose anything out of the holes. Maybe very rarely on a freak occurance or something. I'm gonna try it sometime this week. I'll report back. Edited May 4, 2010 by Broken 16 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Camerica19 0 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 I'm looking for a puck/ball that I can use on an outdoor surface (ie asphalt or concrete) that best simulates what an ice hockey puck feels and moves like on the ice. After doing a bit of research I've found the propuck, fly puck, and smart hockey ball seem to be good candidates and I was hoping to get some opinions on these brands as well as any others you folks may have tried out. I want to be able to stickhandle, pass, and shoot (hard) so it needs to be durable. Thanks for the help gang also, I don't know if this is in the right forum but it is technically hockey related so I'm hoping it can stay here. Pro tip: Get a wiffle ball. Then cut up a tennis ball into little pieces. Put the tennis ball pieces inside the wiffle ball. It handles extremely well. Almost like a puck, and it is very cheap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sharkfan20 32 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 I don't know if this is street hockey or roller hockey. But I would get a pro puck, if its roller and try stick handling it on a roller rink. I play roller hockey every sunday, and thats what we use for pick up games. It sometimes rolls allot, but its good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echolalia 2,961 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 I just happened to be at a pro shop tonight and they had the flypuck. I was hoping to get a propuck because those are able to withstand being shot, but I bought was available. Its 6oz so it has that similar with an ice hockey puck, and the surface is slick so its able to slide over a number of surfaces (wood floors, carpet, and the hockey-skate approved tiling thats in ice arenas are all the surfaces I've tried it on so far, and it slides well on wood and carpet, not the blade-safe tiles). Obviously it doesn't slide nearly as far as on ice but its still kind of impressive. The flypuck also has a tendency to hop up on its side, but its much better at staying flat than a number of other pucks I've tried. Finally, when they say don't shoot it, they mean don't shoot it. I accidentally dropped it out in the parking-lot and it has a small dent in the corner of it Overall I would give this guy an 8 out of 10. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rbkhockey43 52 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 I like the fly puck, but I shoot it on a skill pad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bdavis 28 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 I used to play with a puck that had little roller wheels in it. That seems to work pretty well. My friend that played goal always had welts on his arms though, so I would suggest some protective equipment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WorkingOvertime 536 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 One of my coaches told me the most "real" ice hockey feeling you can get is stuffing a whiffle ball full of tennis ball shreds. I never tried it because it seemed like too much work and an idiotic thing to say. This works pretty well. I used to use Z-Balls (a plastic ball with fluid), but I'm not sure if they're still available. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Travis 576 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 When I play outdoors, I usually use a very hard plastic ball. I'm lucky my old neighborhood has a professional outdoor roller hockey rink (benches, nets, doors, boards, smooth, hard concrete), so when I'm there and don't want to use the ball, I've switched up between a roller-ballbearing disk and the hard plastic ball. I can't remember the brand of the balls we use, but in my opinion you want the hardest plastic as possible. WARNING: We play with SOME protective gear (shin guards, cup, gloves, helmet. That plastic ball or ballbearing disk stings like hell (I play defense so blocking shots SUCKS). I would love to know where this is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echolalia 2,961 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 Has anybody trained with weighted pucks? How did that work out for you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hooon 1,089 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 (edited) Has anybody trained with weighted pucks? How did that work out for you Yes but it was when I was much younger, about 14 or so. I had some forearm strength issues, and my shots were pretty pathetic. More like weak little lobs. I was a big kid at the time, and my coach really wanted some power behind my shots, both slap and wrist. He gave me one of those to practice with in the driveway and basement and sometimes in practice. While it is annoying as hell (at least it was when I was 14), I used it for about a month after school and the results were fantastic. My shot became one of the harder shots on the team, and its something that I still attribute to that puck. The normal puck will start to feel a lot lighter. That being said, I have no idea what the results would be for an adult, or someone who already shoots pretty competently. I haven't used the thing in about 10 years. EDIT: Also, don't expect it to help with accuracy in any way. These are great for increasing shot strength and power, but do nothing in the way of accuracy. I might even go so far as to say they can be temporarily detrimental to accuracy. When I would come back to the ice and use a real puck, my shots were fast, but pretty wild. Think Fulton Reed. Edited May 4, 2010 by hooon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pravius 0 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 The cheap plastic blades that are made for street hockey are the best sticks for the driveway. They last a while but do wear down over time. Be sure to get a real hard one not a flimsy blade. Not sure how well they actually replicate ice, but with these sticks you can use any ball (even a tennis ball, and dont have to worry about the annoying friction-roll). I've always hated playing with any kind of puck on a driveway surface, always seem to jump up and roll on its side, etc. Thats just me. That wiffle ball trick sounds interesting, but I feel like you'd be constantly stuffing shards of tennis ball back inside it after every shot. Try these: http://www.prohockeyequipment.com/store.cfm?&Dept=Ice&do=detail&productid=481&channelid=FROOG We use them when we play rolley Hockey and qork quite well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supface 53 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 http://www.hockeygia...eenbiscuit.html not designed for shooting but looks like it's really good for stick handling Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
j.hoop 64 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 (edited) i play on the weekends with my brothers and friends, lately we've been going to the highschool down the street and playing on their tennis court. we use a neon orange puck that has raised white plastic "bumps" on it, uniform and symmetrical around the top and bottom of the puck that allows it to slide very smoothly on the ground. its perfect, has excellent weight that is easy to stop and settle down with ease and flies very nice, very easy to stick handle and shoot once you get used to it. the only drawback is it hurts to get hit with so pads are probably a necessity for goalies. Edited May 4, 2010 by j.hoop Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cupforwings 138 Report post Posted May 4, 2010 don't use the roller hockey pucks outside because they don't slide too well on cement... We just play with a street hockey ball. You can get them at any hockey store or dicks. Those have the best handling ability... If you don't have one of those I would just use a tennis ball. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites