Ernest’s Cardboard Skateboard Takes Flight

So far in the Ernest Cardboard Chaos video series, we’ve tackled snowboards, surfboards and pushbikes. We’ve been super stoked about each of them, but this brand new video takes our cardboard challenges to awesome new heights (literally).

Introducing … [drumroll] … the Ernest Cardboard Chaos paper skateboard with a legend who needs no introduction (literally)!

But before we could ask the legendary pro boarder to ride, we needed to craft the best paper skateboard possible. So Ernest Packaging Solutions president, Tim Wilson, and director of consulting services, Mike Martinez teamed up with professional skateboard builder Paul Schmitt from CreateAskate.org to create three different boards to test. Each had his own approach to materials and construction for a board.

With three individual boards created, it then was time to get each street tested. We hit the local skatepark with our friends at Signal Snowboards, our partners in Cardboard Chaos!

The result?

After a few wild rides to the edge, the skateboarders loved the boards and were amazed at how they rode just like traditional boards.

The Ernest team then took what it had learned at the park and headed back to the lab to perfect the board’s design.

“The corrugated board felt good as a board underfoot, but it would fracture when we pushed to the extreme,” Mike said. “When I noticed that the fractures appeared to start in the fluted sections of the cardboard, I decided to try plain paper. After several rounds of testing, it held up very well without any breaking or tearing, so I proceeded to build it that way.”

One of the trickiest parts was figuring out how to apply the resin in a way that would insure good penetration into the fibers of the paper.

“We settled on rolling the resin in layers and using the vacuum system to make sure that the resin would be forced into the fibers of the paper,” Mike said. “That ended up working very well.”

Once the final board was ready, we knew we needed a skateboarding legend to christen it. This pro legend is a big believer in making products (including skateboards) that are 100% recyclable and environmentally friendly, which fully aligns with our commitment to sustainable products.

“There has to be a change in the [skateboarding] industry,” he said. “But people are so scared to try new stuff.”

The Ernest Packaging and Signal crews spent the day with the legend while he tested the board on his personal ramp. What did he think of the board? You’ll just have to watch the video to see.

The Cardboard Chaos videos are always a blast, but they also serve a bigger purpose. We want to show people that when they think outside of the box, we can make innovative products and packages that are sustainable and eco-friendly. We’ll go the distance for our customers!

There’s so much waste that ends up in landfills. Much of that waste comes from packaging, and we at Ernest work with clients every day to reduce their packaging waste and find sustainable solutions.

It’s time for your packaging to take a new ride and soar. Contact us to talk about innovative, sustainable packaging solutions.