It’s late September and the snow has already begun to dust mountain tops across the country. For us skiers and other winter adventurers, the excitement is beginning to mount and it couldn’t come soon enough. Speaking of Mounting.. Let’s get right into this little dittle about our new gorgeous, simple, and space efficient ski racks, our Nubbins. (This is a ski rack article, but keep in mind that our Nubbins are also designed for snowboards.. Since a snowboard is essentially a ginormous ski, they are measured, mounted, and displayed the same way with our Nubbins.)
No Waste Is Good Waste
Our Nubbins were born out of our Grassracks Zero Waste Initiative. The environment has always been priority 1 for us so in addition to using sustainable materials and practices, part of that is being as efficient as possible with our material and the energy put into making products. While our sheet nesting is incredibly efficient, we were inevitably left with small pieces of otherwise unusable bamboo that we refused to have as waste, so we designed our smallest and most minimalist rack to date.
Before we get too far.. we mentioned that our Nubbins are made from small “drop” pieces of gorgeous bamboo. The process is pretty interesting and here is an entertaining 51 second video about that.
Weird Shapes
Since most of the gear we deal with is oddly shaped and has awkward features like fins, trucks & wheels, or handlebars, skis and snowboards are unique in that they have one relatively 2-dimensional side. So, while other gear needs to be held by arms and given space on all sides, skis and snowboards are able to be mounted flat against the wall, this has 3 advantages..
3 Advantages
- Incredibly space efficient. On a typical ski rack, skis lay at an angle on a rack so they would protrude into the room at the depth of the rack plus the width of the gear. With Nubbins, the space needed is ski thickness plus bindings. For reference, skis on a normal rack protrude about 10” with bindings. With Nubbins this depth is cut down to roughly 4.5”, depending on your bindings. (For snowboards the difference is more drastic going from roughly 16” on a typical rack to a mere 5” with Nubbins.)
- 100% visibility. Most racks are pure function and it sucks and we hate it. We always design with gear visibility in mind so you can see your favorite gear thus releasing your serotonin and feel wintery happiness. While our Hallsteiner Series Ski Racks do a great job at being space efficient and showing off your gear, our Nubbins are king of the mountain at displaying your shred babies. They really excel at making the most of your board art, as can be seen above.
- Simple and minimal. Like all of our products, our Nubbins are outrageously easy to install. What is slightly different is just how small and unobtrusive they are. Their focus is to get the job done and stay out of the way so your skis can show off proudly on your wall. That’s all there is to say about that.
Want to see how easy the Nubbin Installation is? Check this out.
Ski Storage
Ski storage may seem easy but can be a problem, especially when we start to add poles, bags, helmets, gloves, etc. It may seem a bit daunting to figure out how to keep it all organized. Leaning your snow sticks against the corner may seem like a great idea until the first time they fall, leaving you to repaint your wall and fix a nasty ding on your ski’s sidewall or edge. For the safety of your gear, the organization of your room, and your own personal satisfaction it makes sense to look into a rack that is right for your home.
Versatile Ski Storage
Nubbins are different from our wall racks in how they store skis and that they don’t have the Utility Hooks found on most of our wall racks for skis, snowboards, surfboards, bikes, etc. Since the goal is to organize all of your gear, that may seem like an oversight, but our Nubbins are perfect for holding things like bags, jackets, helmets, and poles. For me, I like everything to have it’s own place (and Nub), but often times things like poles and bags can hang easily off Nubbins that are used to mount your skis.
Strong, Gorgeous, Eco-Friendly, Upcycle Bamboo
Our choice to use bamboo was easy. Its beautiful color and grain makes it an easy, eco-friendly addition to any home. Our sanding process then brings out every fiber that makes the material so strong, both on the face and cut edge. We apply a butcher block conditioner to each Nubbin to protect it from moisture and give it a deep, rich color.
With Winter fast approaching and the pandemic forcing us into our homes more than we’d like to be, now is a great time to create your ultimate ski gear home base. An organized and orderly storage and display system will not only maximize your space and protect your gear, but will keep your stoke high in between every adventure! Check out which Grassracks product is right for you so you can Bring Your Adventure Home!