A pair of specially designed shoes, each with a sharp steel blade mounted on the sole. Used to glide across a smooth ice surface, both forwards and backwards at amazing speed. lots of fun, but not when drinking. Several varieties exists, among them: hockey skates, designed for quick starting, stopping and crashing into people and figure skates, longer than hockey skates, and with a pick in the front, are good for jumping into the air and going real fast backwards.