melted down plastic bags create sustainable skis with a marbled effect

hit the slopes on recycled plastic

student lars ljungkull and founder of normal goods studio has created these skis from plastic bags for his industrial design senior project at iowa state university. ljungkull began by melting down the recycled plastic in an attempt to develop a sustainable top sheet and base for the skis. he chose to use plastic bags because the HDPE they are made from is similar to UHMWPE, which is used in performance skis. after discovering the inherent beauty and strength of the resulting material, he set out to make the skis entirely from it.

images courtesy of normal goods

through a series of tests, ljungkull learned more about the material before finishing with a functional pair on the fourth prototype. due to the relative softness of the recycled plastic material, it was necessary to add a birch plywood core to allow for ideal flex. steel edges were also co-molded into the skis for performance.

after the fourth prototype, ljungkull contacted hinterland skis to collaborate on a pair of skis. the student then produced the eighth-inch thick top sheet for the skis which hinterland used to create a pair of carbon fiber performance skis.

collaboration with hinterland skis prototype

steel edges and a small wooden core were added for rigidity

the melted down plastic bags create a marbled effect

the final skis after four earlier prototypes

1/6

prototype A

prototype B

prototype C

prototype D

base of prototype D

close up of prototype D

project info:

name: plastic bag skis
design: lars ljungkull / normal goods

manufacturer: hinterland skis

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom