Review: Praxis Powder ski

[awf170]

I figured you guys might be curious to how this turned out.

Basically I got to Cannon at around 10:30 so everything was already tracked but I figured I would give these one run just for kicks. Ended up doing 5 or 6 tram laps with them, and finally ditched them around one but could have easily skied them the rest of the day (binding slid out of place)

Here are some specs:
175cm 121,125,115



Reverse Camber and Reverse sidecut. Basically if stand flat on the ski only the section underfoot touches. And there is no sidecut at all anywhere on the ski as you can tell by the dimensions.

Here are some quick condition reports:

Deep Crud: Ridiculous. Basically I could blast through anything with ease. Stupidly easy even on my very first run.

Small bumps: Not bad. Sort of weird to be on edge since they are so wide underfoot, but really not that hard to ski. You can't really ski them like bumps, but if you stay on top and blast through them it really isn't that difficult.

Tracked/ icy woods: Obviously harder them a normal midfat ski but really not that bad. Pretty tiring but never scary or out of control like I thought it would be. Making quick turns is super easy since there is no sidecut. Almost feel like really short skis when it is all hardpack since only the middle of the ski touches. Really not that much harder them a normal midfat ski. Probably just as easy when it is very tight.

Groomers: I thought this would be very scary. Really not that bad. Obviously you can't carve a turn, but you can make a lot of short skid turns. I would imagine it is very similar to skiing on snowblades. On my first run I forgot I couldn't carve a turn and tried to lay down a big arc. That almost ended very badly...

Powder woods: Just couldn't get the hang of it. Supposedly this is what they are best at, but I just couldn't feel it. Only skied a few hundred ft of it though so I'll probably get used to it. Still not that bad, but wasn't at the amazingness I was expecting. I bet after a few deep runs at Jay it will feel great.

Overall they were pretty darn easy to ski. Basically as long as there is still fresh piles of snow around, not too much ice, or big moguls they really aren't that hard to ski. A lot better all around then I thought they would be. Pretty easy to just get right on them and ski. Now going back to a normal midfat ski, that was interesting. I could not figure out how to ski my normal skis the rest of the day. That sucked.

Edit: I'll be skiing them all day tomorrow so I'll probably have a lot better idea by Sunday on how much I liked them.

[awf170]

Err... if anyone is interested here is a continuation of the review.


I skied these all day today over basically every type of soft snow condition. Basically IMO these things are the best EC tree ski imaginable. They are so stupidly easy to turn as long as the snow is soft (it's instant trouble if isn't though) Even once the woods was completely tracked out these were still better than my Scott Aztecs (78mm waist, basically the same ski as the dynastar 8000) I'm truly amazed that I would actually like skiing a 125mm waist ski in completely tracked out snow.

If anyone is seriously interested I can write a lot more.

[bvibert]

Interesting review Austin. Thanks for taking the time to write it. I've never read any other reviews from anyone using any skis like those here in the east. I'd be interested to hear more...

[snoseek]

Me too....

[davidhowland14]

i think you need to buy powder skis more often.

[awf170]

Originally Posted by davidhowland14

i think you need to buy powder skis more often.

Huh? Because of the recent dumpage of snow?

Originally Posted by bvibert

Interesting review Austin. Thanks for taking the time to write it. I've never read any other reviews from anyone using any skis like those here in the east. I'd be interested to hear more...

Basically these skis are so different than normal skis. You just ski them in a completely different way. You would think this would be difficult but for some reason it feels natural. Basically after a few runs you just start to understand how to ski them and totally forget about carving a turn. You just slightly pressure the front of the boot (instead of driving into it like a traditional ski) and pivot the middle of the ski instead of using angulation. When in tight woods this takes a lot less effort and is quicker then carving or even skidding a turn. Cutting speed is so easy even with very little space. Because of the reverse camber/sidecut your edges never catch an edge when smearing a turn.

Now there are obviously some downsides to a ski this fat/unique. First off, being on edge for a long time is very tiring, they are just so wide underfoot that they torque the hell out of your leg. Secondly initiating a smear takes a decent amount of energy. It's hard to explain but these are easier to ski in tight woods when you have energy but are lot more tiring when you are tired. I know it doesn't make sense... Thirdly, hitting an hardpack downright sucks, and throws you right out of your groove. You can only imagine how nice hardpack feels when you only have about 80cm of really wide, reverse sidecut touching it.

So when it comes down to it I will probably ski these skis when there is 6+ inches of snow on top of a soft base, 12+ inches on a hard base, and any corn snow skiing that doesn't involve bumps (mostly Mt. Washington)


On a side note I would really like to try a traditional fat ski (100mm+ waist) to compare to these. My guess is these are a lot better ski for what I like to do though they aren't nearly as versatile. I really couldn't care less about versatility as long as it isn't painful or scary to get back to lift.

[ajl50]

I never suspected that the Praxis would be good in the woods- I assumed they were more for the above treeline open bowl/steep powder.
Good review.

[awf170]

Originally Posted by ajl50

I never suspected that the Praxis would be good in the woods- I assumed they were more for the above treeline open bowl/steep powder.
Good review.

They're basically good in any powdery condition according to TGR. Though most people say they are a way better tree ski then a wide open bowl ski, especially in such a short length. There are actually a few people that ski the 195's at Stowe.

[awf170]

...and here is a picture of me skiing said skis. I think they are actually wider than me.


(photo by eatskisleep)

[eatskisleep]

They look so wide in person...