Increasingly, locals, brands, and nonprofits in Utah are stepping in to make sure those old skis, snowboards, bindings, and boots don’t just rust in the garage or rot in landfills. Here’s a look at some of Utah’s companies and groups giving old snow gear second lives.
Lone Pine Gear Exchange
Lone Pine Gear Exchange (LPGE) is one of the standout businesses in Utah when it comes to gear reuse, repair, and sustainability. A popular service at LPGE is their consignment and used gear sales. People can bring in used outdoor gear, including skis, snowboards, boots, bindings, poles, outerwear, gloves, etc., and LPGE helps price it, sell it, and you get the payment (or you can use store credit). Their seasonal “ski swap” gives customers the opportunity to drop off consignment gear and buy gear at some of the steepest discounts. In addition to consignment and sales, LPGE has an in-house repair service. The repair shop can fix soft goods like jackets, pants, and gloves, and provides ski and snowboard and binding tuning services.
Geartrade & Jones Snowboards — Re-Up™ Program
Based in Salt Lake City, Geartrade is an outdoor industry circularity that provides outdoor enthusiasts and world-class brands with the tools and knowledge to engage in the growing economy of recovery, resale and reuse. They are partnered with Jones Snowboards and their Re-Up™ Program. This program has allowed Jones Snowboards to recycle old snowboards of any model or brand and use up to 95% of the materials to make new Jones boards. With this partnership and full-service trade-in and resale capabilities with Geartrade, both companies are aligned on the larger goal and vision of keeping snowboards out of landfills and on the slopes longer.
Recycle Utah
Recycle Utah has been a long-time champion of ski and snowboard recycling programs. Their current reuse program accepts skates, skis, poles, and snowboards for reuse, resale, or recycling. Items that are still in decent condition are placed in bins at the Recycling Center. Skis and boards can be purchased for $10, and poles for $2. Items beyond a certain point are recycled, leveraging partnerships with companies like Jones Snowboards and Ski Trucks. Customers can also buy in bulk for creative projects. Like ski fences, chairs and tables.
Ski Trucks
In addition to gear trade-ins and a recycling program, Ski Trucks has a team to create handcrafted furniture, bringing new life to retired skis and snowboards and transforming them into unique and functional pieces for your home, cabin, or lodge. Customers choose from a dedicated selection of skis and boards specifically set aside for furniture builds, and the team at Ski Trucks supports full customization from material type to paint color to varnish.
Utah’s snow culture is enormous—but so is the footprint left behind if gear is simply thrown away. What’s exciting is seeing local entrepreneurs, shops, nonprofits, and manufacturers stepping up: turning what was once trash into something useful, valuable, or beautiful.
If you ever see an old board or pair of skis in your garage, don’t toss them—they might be someone else’s gear, someone’s new table or chair, or a recycled material in the next ski. Supporting these Utah businesses means supporting sustainability, affordability, and creativity—one old ski or snowboard at a time.
