2020 High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge finalist

1. Skibaxx
Skibaxx: Rediscover Your Wilderness

2. Problem
We have seen a decrease in the appreciation and use of the great wilderness found right in our backyards, the Wasatch
Range. As we progressed through school, there was an increase in the number of people who simply stopped enjoying
the outdoors. People were biking and hiking less, and most importantly, we found that young people were skiing less. My
partner and I, being outdoor and skiing enthusiasts, thought it was time to make an impact and reverse the negative
trend we have been witnessing. One of the greatest barriers and burdens to skiing is getting your skis from your home
and/or car to the resort. Typically, skis and poles are carried by slinging them over a shoulder or held perpendicular to the
body at chest height. We decided that the ski carrying problem was what we would tackle. We sought to create a
convenient solution that would improve overall health, raise environmental awareness, all while providing an affordable
and sustainably sourced product. Skiibaxx provides a revolutionary way to transport skis, our hope is that by making
skiing easier, more accessible, and faster, the average person will be more inclined to ski.

3. Solution
Skis on average weigh 15 pounds, this combined with their awkward shape allows for an incredibly hard time when
dealing with and transporting skis. Skiibaxx aims to fix this problem by providing ski enthusiasts with a simple
convenient wearable solution. The emphasis of the design was to create equal weight distribution to allow for the load to
be balanced so that the wearer would experience the least amount of strain on the body. Following months of testing
different concepts, we had come to the final, satisfactory, initial ideation of what we wanted our product to be. The
Skibaxx 1.5 “Freedom” edition was the solution we wanted to create. This version of the ski transport system was created
with the soles and bootboards of a repurposed ski boot serving as our “bootplate”, with the bootboard being secured to
the sole of the boot with epoxy to optimize rigidity and durability. The completed bootboard was additionally trimmed
and sanded to maximize its ergonomics. Using flat screws and washers, the bootplates were attached to the previously
sewn harness. Throughout testing, this rendition of Skibaxx was easily more stable, comfortable, and adaptive than any
of the previous versions.

4. Market
A skier day is defined as a single use of a ski pass at a ski resort, and of the approximately 59 million skier days in the
United States of the 2018-2019 season, 5,125,441 came from Utah. Additionally, SnowSports Industries America
estimated that nearly 7 million skiers ventured into the backcountry during the 2016-17 season. The go-to device, skins,
typically cost between $100-$200, not including the necessary $200-$300 touring bindings needed to use skins, we saw
an opportunity for a different product, a cost tolerant option to provide the same skiing experience. Skibaxx was
designed to provide an alternative to touring that allows you to use the same boots, skis, and bindings that would be
used in a ski resort. The design of Skibaxx allows it to be applied anywhere, whether it's cutting commute costs and time,
or accessing off-piste and in-bounds terrain with ease. As the epicenter of western skiing, with 6 separate ski resorts
within an hour’s drive, including the largest one in the United States, as well as millions of acres of backcountry access,
Salt Lake City’s skier culture serves as the perfect market to release Skibaxx into.

5. Prototype