IncStores 12" x 12" Practice Dance Tiles

TL; Slicker than Marley, but more grippier than typical household flooring for dancing. Seams are reasonably tight (rather than snaggy and distracting as some brands' seams are). This product is not recommended for use in high-risk environments. On hard surfaces, you can do impact jumps. The unit is simple to put together. Skates across smooth surfaces (use rug grip strips underneath to prevent this). Once put together, it looks fantastic. To avoid damage to corner loops, the shipping package should be cushioned.

- The Extended Version -
- Why Did I Pick These Tiles? br>I'm a professional ballet dancer, and I bought a set of these for the (admittedly a little rough-and-tumble) rehearsals. and-ready) studio space I set up for teaching and taking classes via Zoom, as well as staying in shape at home during the Coronavirus pandemic. br>br>After weighing several options, I chose these because they struck a good balance between price (most dancers don't have a lot of money) and functionality *and* were available without a long wait. I also noticed that the seams between the tiles appeared to be quite tight, particularly in this finish (more on that later).

- Shipping, packaging, setup, and appearance are all important factors to consider. br>At the height of the quarantine, when everything was taking longer than usual, shipping on these tiles was included in the price and took only about 10 days. I received notifications that kept me up to date on the progress of my tiles from warehouse to front door, as is customary with Amazon orders. br>br>The tiles arrived in a large, awkward box, pre-assembled in sheets of four. If I order another set, I'll make sure to tell the delivery driver to leave them at the side door, which is the only one without any exterior stores. Because that's our default drop location, she had to schlep them up the porch steps on a dolly the first time I didn't think of it. br>br>If I had been more patient, I would have opened the box, unpacked it, and carried the tiles down the claustrophobic basement stairs in manageable stacks. Instead, I dragged the entire bulky box of 32 tiles down the basement stairs (note: I'm an impulsive idiot). These don't even come close to weighing two pounds. 2 pounds each—my job entails lifting adult humans, and while I'm fairly strong, I'm not up to the task of wrestling 70. 4 pounds of shifting tiles in a box that barely fit in my arms was probably too much for me). br>br>The Impulsive Idiot approach is not one I recommend. Save yourself some time and effort by following these instructions. Obtain a milk crate (you can even purchase one on Amazon - '), schlep as many tiles as you can comfortably carry, and repeat as necessary. br>br>When I first opened the box, I noticed that almost all of the little loops were broken off on one corner of the stack, as had some previous reviewers. (I could hear the little bits rattling around in there before I opened the box—I was trying not to trip over the cat, fall down the stairs, or otherwise meet an ignoble end in the pursuit of my chosen artform. ) )br>br>While the loss of a loop or two doesn't have a significant impact on the functionality of the tiles (though it would if an entire side were to lose its loops), the breakage could be easily avoided without much additional expense by adding literally any kind of packing material—even crumpled newspaper wads at the corners would help. The box didn't include any such packing materials. br>br>Putting together my floor was a breeze. I just set it down and stepped on it wherever it was being stubborn. I enjoy putting things together, and there's something satisfying about hearing these tiles click into place underfoot. br>br>A rubber mallet would have probably worked as well, and there was one in the next room, but I was too excited to try my floor to go get it. br>br>Once put together, the resulting floor looks quite nice, and I wouldn't hesitate to use them for a teaching or performance engagement where appropriate flooring wasn't available. br>br>The tiles are also held in place with a strong adhesive. I used to use an anti-virus program when I was younger. If you put a rug liner under them, it will bunch up and raise the seams, but the tiles will stay in place.

- III. Surfaces & Seams - br>The seams between these tiles (at least the black ones I purchased) are extremely close together. br>br>You'll notice them if one is misaligned due to an irregularity in the surface beneath it, but they're not snaggy or distracting otherwise. Even when dancing barefoot, the seams between these tiles are barely visible once fully engaged. br>br>This was crucial to me because some of the other portable floors I'd danced on had seams that I could feel through my flat ballet shoes. When doing turns or any other weighted sliding movement, the seams of your shoes can catch, causing blisters, slips, and falls, as well as unexpected joint torsion. It also has an unfavorable vibe to it. These tiles are designed to avoid those effects in the majority of cases. br>br>I believe the main difference is that all of the other portable floors I've seen are faux-wood. a parquet type with a distinct dark rim around the edge of each tile, about a millimeter or so lower than the main faux-wood faux-wood faux-wood faux-wood faux-wood faux-wood faux-wood faux-wood faux-wood faux-wood faux-wood faux-wood faux-wood faux-wood faux The flooring is parquet. br>br>A millimeter or two may not seem like much, but when you're balancing 160 pounds of dancer on about 2 square cm of foot (plus a couple of toes) and rotating at high speeds with a lot of torque, it adds up fast. These tiles' edges are flush with the overall surface. br>br> They have an irregular texture by design, but there are no snaggy edges to obstruct turns or sliding motions. In fact, it's better than I expected in that regard. br>br>However, these tiles aren't as grippy as *most* Marley-style tiles when in use. Vinyl dance surfaces have varying levels of friction, and I've only seen a few that are comparable to these tiles. br>br>However, their surface friction is a significant improvement over that of a typical household floor, such as finished hardwood, laminate, or resilient vinyl, and far superior to the ancient, terrifyingly slick, and paper-like surface friction of the ancient, frighteningly slick, and paper-like surface friction of the ancient, terrifyingly slick, and paper-like surface friction of the ancient, terrifyingly slick, and paper-like surface friction of the ancient, frighteningly s My basement is covered in thin linoleum tiles that hide the bare concrete. br>br>Recent changes: br>br> Humidity will affect the friction level of this vinyl dance floor, just like it does with other vinyl dance floors. In higher humidity, the tiles feel more grippy, which matches my overall observations. br>br>For turns, the texture is quite nice: not so slippery that you can't generate rotational force or feel like you'll have trouble stopping; You won't feel like you're driving with the handbrake on because it's not too grippy. br>br>In the case of tendonitis and other similar conditions, the relatively-relatively-relative-relative-relative-relative You're forced to use proper technique because of the moderate friction. You'll quickly find yourself standing on your heels and lifting your hips if you don't keep your weight primarily on the balls of your feet and reach down and away. It also forces you to be honest with yourself about your current range of turnout—you can't force it with this floor's friction, so you have to work with what you've got and build strength to expand your range, which is something we should all be doing anyway. br>br>The slightly uneven surface texture of the tiles helps to prevent a few drops of sweat from converging into a slip hazard, which is beneficial to me because I sweat like a cold glass of lemonade in July. Your mileage may vary because almost everyone sweats less than I do (thanks to genetics). br>br>The composite used to make these tiles also helps to keep the chill of a concrete basement subfloor away from your feet and legs, which is important (especially if you have large calves that take a long time to warm up).

- The Absorption of Impacts, or the Lack of It- br>I wasn't expecting these tiles to rebound or absorb impact, and they mostly don't. That isn't what they were made for. br>br>While the honeycombed structure of the backs of the tiles makes them less harsh than the bare concrete beneath them, I still recommend using caution (and your best plié) if you're going to do jumps while they're installed over a concrete base with no added shock-absorbent material. surface that is shrinking br>br>Atop carpet (especially with padding) or foam puzzle mats, they might actually work pretty well for jumps, but I suspect they'd pop apart if you landed on a seam in that setup. That's not a design flaw—these tiles are meant to be portable, so they have to be reasonably easy to disassemble, so that's just the nature of the beast. br>br>However, if you're setting up in a carpete

- Prevention of a 'Flying Carpet' br>Although these tiles form a fairly heavy unit when clicked together, they will still skate across smooth surfaces in some situations. br>br>Ballet dancers are taught to use the floor's resistance to propel their movements—akin to friction-based movement. Toy cars are being driven. br>br>Amazingly, I was able to send my entire assembled floor sailing while doing balancés. In most cases, it's *you* who travels, not the ground! br>br>I've also achieved the same result with a strong piqué arabesque (where you launch yourself beyond the toes of a straight leg to arrive in a balanced position on the ball of one foot), which was quite alarming. I didn't fall out of the arabesque balance as the floor scooted along and stopped, and I was able to finish the exercise, so that was cool, right? br>br>Anyway, if you're going to use these tiles on a smooth, hard surface, the solution is to use some anti-slip tape. Rug strips that don't slip. It's difficult enough to dance at home while avoiding furniture, pets, and loved ones without having the entire floor slide away! br>br>At first, I recommended shelf/rug liners, but then I came across these cute little stick-ons. on strips that are a cinch to work with. Simply type "rug anti-" into Amazon's search box. You can find a million options if you search for "slip" or something similar. I bought 24 for around 13 dollars and only used six—two in the front corner and one on the center front edge of the third and fifth tiles (my installation is seven tiles wide). Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos before putting the tiles down, and I don't want to disturb my setup now. br>br>The liners also work, but not as well as the liners do, and they tend to bunch up too easily. br>br>With the sticky grippers in place, my floor will not move until I peel it up.

- Efficacy – These tiles appear to be fairly long-lasting. Although the assembly loops can break off, the main tile part is quite sturdy, and it holds up well to repeated assembly and disassembly. br>br>I'm not sure how many times I changed the layout of my tiles before settling on the one that best met my needs, but every single tile in the set has now been clicked together and taken apart at least three times with no apparent impact on the loops or the little pinchy bits that interface with them. My husband used the videoconferencing system in my studio to teach a class this past weekend. I set up a table and chairs for him and kept my worries about my priceless tiles to myself; I'm happy to report that they were not damaged in any way. br>br>While it's probably best to avoid scraping chairs across them and the like, they seem to hold up well to gentle contact with chairs, tables, footstools, and the like. br>br>As long as I don't drop them on their edges while transporting them, I expect these tiles to last for a long time. br>br>- VII. To sum up, br>These portable dance floor tiles are less expensive than most other options on the market, are simple to assemble and disassemble, and provide a beautiful and functional surface for dancers working (or playing!). ) in out-of-the-ordinary circumstances I have no hesitation in adding to my collection, and I intend to do so soon.

Blake Benton

| May 24, 2021

My husband and I enjoy our practice dance floor so much that we invited our friends over to see it. They, too, enjoy it, so once a month we all get together and dance the night away in our basement. Thank you so much for your help; we will continue to buy from you.

Augustus Moreno

| Feb 15, 2021

I placed an order for 52 Squares. The floor itself is ideal for the purpose I've set it up for- It looks nice, has a low profile, and is easy to put together. I couldn't press the pieces together with my hands because they were too difficult, but I found that laying them out flat on a hard surface and gently kneeling on the seams snapped them together nicely and quickly. My - only- The problem is that ten of the 52 squares sent had a broken loop in one corner right out of the package. These all came from the same corner of the package, so I'm guessing the package was dropped or knocked on one of the corners and there was - The loops inside the box aren't protected by any padding. Because they were packaged and shipped by Amazon, the only way to get replacement parts was to return the entire box of 52 and hope that the replacement set would not be damaged in the same way. Amazon assured me that the replacement set would be delivered in a timely manner- Why, if it can be guaranteed for the replacement set, was it not guaranteed for the first set? Because the pieces still functioned (snapped together) despite one loop being broken, I decided to keep the original set rather than reboxing, lifting and carrying them, and driving them to the shipping center (which was not near me). (This is a personal preference. ) I wish the plastic loops were packaged with more care, and I wish there was a way to simply replace broken tiles without having to return the entire set. I also wish there was a simple way to reach out to the manufacturer and inform them of the problem. I couldn't find any way to get in touch with them. Overall- 4 stars for a nice floor The fact that one-fifth of them arrived broken (hence the three stars) was disappointing.

Osiris Stewart

| Jun 20, 2021

The tiles themselves are fine; they are plastic/vinyl and appear to be of good quality; however, the weight is nowhere near the advertised 2 lbs per tile. I ordered a pack of nine tiles, and the total weight of the package, including the box, was eight pounds. 9 lbs. So I'd say it's closer to 0 than anything else. I wanted something heavier so it would "stick" to the ground, and I wasn't sure why it was being advertised incorrectly.

Ruben Simmons

| Apr 23, 2021

My shoes became entangled in the peeling veneer. I attempted to return them due to the fact that I had paid $100 for them. They would accept new tiles, but not old ones. Customer service and tile quality are both poor. It's all about living and learning.

Joy Wu

| Jul 02, 2021

I've been attempting to snap the squares together for an hour, and my hands are bruised and sore. One of the pegs has a crack in it.

Duncan Hale

| Aug 05, 2021

This is fantastic. We purchased 32 squares to use in our basement as a small tap area. They arrived promptly and were simple to assemble. On carpet, it was difficult to get them to snap together, but we used a board under each seam dyeing assembly, which made it a breeze. The ground appears to be lovely! I only wish the final pieces were still available, but they've been sold out since we received this.

Case Clements

| Nov 22, 2021