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The mini skiMaking old skisnew againWhite slopes and white streets. Sounds of children laughingand shouting. Rosy cheeks and icy fingertips. Who couldforget the endless hours of fun and games in the snow onmini skis?Hamax has sold over 300,000mini skis in Norway since theearly 60s.Scan this QR code and seehow to use the mini skis.By Hilde Sander MelingPhoto OneFootPhoto HamaxThe history of the Norwegian miniski starts in the early 60s. A factorycalled Plast & Form (“Plastic & Design”)– which 20 years later became Hamax– made simple sledges and mini skis,which quickly became very popular.These short plastic skis are still sellingand still popular today. Since theirintroduction, Hamax has sold over150,000 pairs of mini skis in Norwayalone.Mini skis are also popular in Sweden.Manufacturers STIGA report that theyhave sold over 850,000 of their MicroBlades mini skis since they startedmaking them over 30 years ago. Miniskis had their heyday from the late 70sto the early 90s, and their popularityis probably due to the fact that theyare easy to use and require minimalequipment. Just strap them on, findsome snow, and have a blast! They offerwinter fun for young and old alike.New designNow there is a new mini ski set to takeScandinavia by storm. Simen Fornes (35)and Mathias Hansson (35) from Oslo,the men behind the company OneFoot,spent several years modernising theoriginal mini ski before they weresatisfied and dared to order their first5,000 skis for the product launch.“We melted, welded and soldered toimprove our own mini skis, and whenwe started to feel satisfied we sat downand designed a completely new ski. Thatall started in 2008,” says Simen Fornes.After arranging for the prototypes tobe moulded in Taiwan, they tested andtweaked their new product, improvingon some important details to make theski even better. Fornes and Hanssonmade many changes to improve theoriginal Hamax mini ski, and havepatented their design.Long process“We lived for our mini skis when wewere younger,” says Fornes.He and his friends spent a lot oftime on mini skis in those days, buthe was never completely satisfied withthe product – especially the straps thatwould get caked with snow and ice,making it impossible to strap them ontight enough. That gave him the idea todevelop the product.“I got the idea for a new ski back in1995, but it was only four years ago thatI finally sat down with Mathias Hanssonand we decided to go for it.”Entrepreneurial supportIn the summer of 2011, OneFootreceived commercialisation supportfrom Innovation Norway, and that’swhen the ball really started rolling. Inaddition to their jobs as a furnituredesigner and product designer, Fornesand Hansson designed this new miniski. It is now available in selected shopsin Norway and through their onlineshop at onefoot.no. If this winter is asuccess for them, you will see their skisin more European cities in 2013.52 Norwegian in-flight magazine53