It's nice having hard water and being able to walk out on the lake, although I stayed well away from the outlet of the lake crossing it, although towards the end I did hear the ice shift, although I still think it's pretty hard -- but I don't know, I didn't cut a hole. Still I'm very careful out on ice, as I wouldn't want to fall through, especially with nobody around. It's February, but winters aren't as hard as they once were.