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Phase: Review

Nike Grind Board Bag

A competitively designed surfboard bag utilizing recycled Nike Grind materials.

Photo of Casey P Smith
4 5

Written by

Born from recycled materials with the aim to keep waste out of our landfills and oceans, the Nike Grind Board Bag provides a sustainable and elegant solution that helps keep your surfboards protected when you’re on the move. One of the most environmentally conscious groups of people deserves a product that is environmentally sourced and is part of the solution, not the problem.


The board bag will be able to store and protect a single surfboard with the fin(s) attached, or detached. It features a reinforced zipper, a water-resistant lining, a storage pouch for fins, wax or tools, and a carrying strap and handle. The entire bag will have a padded lining to protect from impacts, drops, and pressure, while the tip and tail will be reinforced to protect the most vulnerable part of the board.


Our goal is to disrupt the status quo of viewing resources as single-use and inspire others to look towards recycled or renewable materials to create products. 

Which Nike Grind materials will your idea utilize?

  • Rubber Flashings
  • Rubber Granulate
  • EVA Foam Injection Scraps
  • EVA Foam Flashings
  • EVA Foam Sheets & Blocks
  • EVA Foam Components
  • Mixed Apparel Textile
  • Mixed Footwear Textile
  • Footwear Fiber "Fluff"

How specifically will these materials be incorporated into your solution?

The exterior fabric of the bag will be created from refined textile from footwear fiber “fluff” and other textiles, resewn into larger sheets. The main protective layer for the board will incorporate raw EVA and PU foam shredded into smaller pieces and sewn into individual “quilted” compartments. These compartments, roughly 4”x4”, will cover the entire bag and reduce the probability that the foam will condense in some locations leaving other areas vulnerable. This will also eliminate the necessity to further refine the foam materials. Footwear fiber “fluff” will also be used as a lightweight, protective filling in these compartments to minimize the movement of the foam and increase protection and the aesthetic feel of the bag. Thicker molded “end caps” made from rubber granulate will be sewn on the tip and tail of the board bag to further reinforce these vulnerable locations. The inside will be lined with a water-resistant material to prevent the foam from becoming saturated and keep water and sand inside the bag. A custom handle molded from rubber granulate will provide an ergonomic and easy way to transport the bag.

Please include a visual (can be either 2D or 3D) representation/prototype of your concept. (required)

Conceptual design Conceptual design
Bag handle rapid-prototyping to test ergonomics Bag handle rapid-prototyping to test ergonomics

What is the current stage of development of your idea?

  • Research & Early Testing
  • Prototyping

Describe your target market. Who will benefit from your product?

Our target market is the outdoor lifestyle community. It’s a group that is passionate about the environment and will see both the practical and environmental utility of our product. Furthermore, this community will be receptive to other products related to the board bag that we will unveil as we scale.

How will you scale your idea? Please describe in detail your plan to scale your concept.

As interest in our product increases, so will our production. We will begin to ramp up manufacturing of our bags. After crossing a certain threshold of capital, we will expand our product portfolio. Several other outdoor lifestyles make use of bags that have very similar qualities to that of a surf bag. As such, those markets will be able to benefit from our Nike Grind based technology. These includes protective travel bags for skis, snowboards, bikes, and windsurf boards.

How is your idea innovative?

Our idea takes a common need for durable, ergonomic, and economic board bags, and applies a renewable approach that should be popular with our consumers. Also, we are not marketing a product, we are marketing an environmentally ethical lifestyle for the outdoor community, with many different products on the horizon. Through purchasing our surf bags, consumers can truly say they care about the world around them.

What inspired this idea?

The rising tide of outdoor products designed using environmentally conscious solutions created a community of passionate individuals that are helping give back to the world they love. We wanted to participate in this movement.

Tell us about yourself and your team. What is your background and experience?

We are a proud team of engineering students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. We are all outdoors-people, who surf, ski, bike and are general lovers of protecting the earth and are constantly looking for innovative, sustainable solutions.

In what city are you located?

San Luis Obispo

In what country are you located?

USA

Please describe how becoming a Top Idea will support the growth of your concept.

Advancing as a Top Idea is key in the further development of our product. We are eager to get our hands on Grind materials, so that we make begin the process of prototyping our idea, understand possible refining methods, and understanding the physical properties of the materials. Moreover, being selected provides an opportunity to build relationships within the Nike and Ideo community – resources valuable in developing ethical and high quality products.

4 comments

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Spam
Photo of Robert Boyd
Team

Great Visuals! I would definitely cop one.

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Spam
Photo of Casey P Smith
Team

Thanks! Appreciate it!

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Spam
Photo of Lauren Ito
Team

Hi Casey P Smith ,

Great to see you in the Challenge! I'm curious, what might next steps be to prototype your concept?

With the deadline fast-approaching at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, please ensure all of your final updates are completed by then.

Excited to learn more!

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Spam
Photo of Casey P Smith
Team

Hi Lauren!

Thanks for checking out our project! The next step for prototyping our concept (assuming we don't yet have access to Nike Grind Materials) would be finding some comparable foam to EVA and some textile to begin creating prototype "quilted" pouches to do some impact assessments in order to figure out how thick the padded lining will need to be. Refining the design down in SolidWorks and on paper will also allow us to progress towards a final prototype!

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