What's the best floor for axe throwing lanes?
By Created: November, 2019 - Modified: September, 2023
Related Product: Rubber Flooring Roll Geneva 3/8 Inch Black Per SF
After all, you want to keep your patrons safe, even while they’re performing something that has just the right level of danger and cool factor to make it a must-try sport.
What Is Axe Throwing?
Axe throwing involves standing at one end of a 12- to 15-foot lane and hurling an ax toward a wooden target on the opposite end. Think of it like darts. ... but with a weapon that could split your skull in half.Obviously, throwing an ax involves a level of danger, so axe-throwing businesses take a lot of precautions. They provide safety instructions before patrons start throwing. They use heavy gauge chain link fencing to separate the lanes and to knock down errant throws.
And they must install flooring aimed at creating a safe environment. The proper axe-throwing lane flooring will prevent a ricochet of an errantly thrown axe back toward the thrower or toward spectators in the area.
With the right flooring, you’ll also reduce the possibility of damage to the walls from a bouncing axe and damage to the axe itself. Throwers attempt to stick the ax in the wooden target, but even a well-thrown ax may bounce off the target and fall to the floor occasionally, enhancing the need for high-quality axe-throwing lane flooring.
Here are some ideas for the best axe-throwing lane flooring options for your new bar!
Rubber Flooring
For those who want a durable type of flooring that also yields a high level of safety, rubber is the most popular choice as axe-throwing lane flooring.
In many buildings that house axe-throwing businesses, a cement floor is commonly found in the area’s layout. But the firmness of concrete could enhance the ricochet of an axe. Cement could cause damage to the axe head or the axe handle when it strikes the floor. And axes that strike the cement cause extensive noise in the area.
Versus concrete, rubber will dampen the noise from axes hitting the floor. Additionally, rubber flooring is extremely durable, meaning it will stand up nicely to people walking on it or to axes falling onto it. Rubber installs quickly over the top of cement or other hard floors.
Rubber provides a nice footing for people too. The last thing you want is someone holding an axe – and preparing to throw it with some force behind it – slipping halfway through the throwing motion, causing the axe to fly in a direction other than the intended target.
Finally, rubber is an excellent axe-throwing lane flooring when it comes to durability. You don’t want to have to reinstall the floor after six to 12 months. Selecting a rubber floor that has a decent level of thickness to it will give you a longer-lasting performance and a good value over time.
Flooring Use Cases
One common type of flooring that reduces the bounce of the axe against the floor is 3/8-inch rolled rubber. The thickness of this roll works nicely for an axe-throwing business, providing a durable style of flooring that looks great over time. Installation goes fast with a roll of rubber too.
Rolls of rubber have a low cost per square foot of coverage, which is nice in an axe-throwing business, where even a few lanes can require hundreds of square feet of floor covering.
Another option for an axe-throwing lane flooring roll that provides even a bit more of a bargain is the 3/8-inch rolled rubber regrind confetti product. Confetti rubber rolls make use of scrap material that’s left over from the first runs. These scrap rubber rolls are just as tough and durable as the first-run rolls, but they have a roughly 10% color mixed in with the black and they cost a little less.
For those who’d like a little extra padding just underneath the target, consider adding some interlocking rubber tiles, like the Interlocking Rubber Tile 2x2 Ft product over your rolled rubber. These tiles each measure 2 by 2 feet, so you can select the exact coverage area you need. Installation of these tiles over an existing rubber floor is easy, as each tile has matching puzzle-style edges that pop together securely, adding just a little thickness to the existing flooring wherever it’s specifically needed.
Advantages of Rubber Flooring
Some axe-throwing establishments will make use of rubber around the wooden targets at the end of the lane. This provides a higher level of safety should the axe miss the target, while also protecting the axe itself from potential damage. This area around the target is called the net.
As one final advantage of using rubber as axe throwing lane flooring, it’s easy to clean. It can be swept as needed. Should you need to clean it more thoroughly, the rubber can be mopped and allowed to air dry.
Axe throwing can be safe and enjoyable when you employ a form of thick rubber flooring in your establishment’s layout.