Thread: REVIEW: 08/09 190cm Praxis Backcountry

Skier Info:
6'1" & ~190#

Other Skis I Own:
191cm Movement Goliaths w/ Dukes; 183cm Atomic Janaks w/ Dynafits; 186cm Prophet 100s w/ Sollys; 195 Praxis Powders w/ Sollys.

Ski Info:
130-105-121
26m radius
Tip Rocker
Minimal camber
Quasi twin-tip
9 lbs. 4 oz.

Set Up:
Dynafit Vertical Fts mounted 105cm from the tip & Scarpa Spirit 4s with green tongues.

Testing Conditions:
Two days backcountry (Castle Peak in N. Tahoe and Cocaine Chute on the Dana Plateau) and one morning at Kirkwood. I nevertheless ran into an assortment of conditions--e.g., refrozen crap, ice, dust on crust, windboard, corn, slush, windblown powder, icy groomers, and wintery chalk. [This thread will be updated as I ski these more, but I'm pretty confident in my initial impressions.]

Flex:
Keith lists is as a 5 on his chart. I'd say it's mid-stiff in the mid section--maybe slightly stiffer underfoot than my Prophet 100s, but with slightly more tail and a softer tip.

Mounting point:
Keith advised mounting them 105-106cm from the tip. I went 105 and am fine with it. Sometimes it feels like there is a bit of tail, but I don't consider this a bad thing--i.e., it's good for scrubbing speed. I'd recommend people to mount them between 105 and 107cm, but I don't think that a centimeter or two makes a huge difference.

Soft Snow:
I only had maybe 8 turns in boot deep powder that had collected on the shady part of a Coke Chute and these skis killed it. But let's face, given the dimensions and tip rocker--you know these skis are going to kill it in the pow. They are, of course, equally at home in corn. I should also mention that these skis are super stable at speed in the soft stuff.

Hard Snow:
Hard snow performance was my main concern before I committed to these skis; but they were great. They have no problem keeping an edge on the steep and icy. I was able to legitimately carve turns on icier groomers as well, although when going super fast there was a bit of tip chatter. I'd say that they carved almost as well as my Prophet 100s, which ain't bad considering that I was riding Dynafits and AT Boots.

Funky Snow:
These skis kick ass in the crappy stuff that one encounters so frequently in the backcountry. This is part of the reason I went with the Praxis skis--having a rockered tip makes sense when one is likely to encounter breakable crust, rotten snow, wind-affected crap snow, etc. to avoid tip dive and hooky-ness.

Comparison With Other Skis:
Definitely superior backcountry skis to my Movement Goliaths and Janaks. I love the Goliaths, but they are substantially heavier and require too much muscle to turn at lower speeds. My Janaks flew uphill and were fairly strong downhill, but I never felt like I could totally charge on them. They also felt a lot more hooky in funky snow. The Praxis feel like a longer version of the 186cm Prophet 100s, although I think the Praxis are better in deep and funky snow.

Weight-wise, I noticed the extra pound per ski over my Janaks, but just barely. With the Dynafits, it's still a light rig. Also, I feel like the advantages of that extra pound--more length, extra stability, better wood-core flex, and burlier construction--outweigh the disadvantages. As I learned recently, having a well-built ski in the BC cannot be overstated. (The tail of one of my foam-cored Janaks broke two weekends ago, leaving me with a 5-mile, 4000 vertical-foot slog on 1 and 1/2 skis.)

Overall:
I'm very pleased with these skis. They inspire confidence at all speeds and in all conditions. I wouldn't get them to do a week-long icy tour (e.g., the Haute Route), but I think they make ideal Tahoe/Sierra BC skis and are more than capable of long day trips and over-nighters. I also think they'd make a pretty sweet all-around inbounds ski mounted with alpine bindings (though, were that the case, I'd prefer to have a full twin tip).

PROS:
+ Versatility
+ Stability
+ Bomber build

CONS:
- While Praxis has a ton of killer top sheets, the Waterfall graphic is not one of them (I would have chosen the woodgrain or the topo)
- Weight if you are a meadow-skipping weight weenie
- Possible delay issues in receiving the skis (I didn't encounter this problem as I bought ones that were already made at the shop)

Topsheets.


Tip rocker.


Small amount of camber.

Thanks for a solid review. If I have the cash next year, this may be my touring ski purchase.

Nice.
Been staring at my pair from time to time wondering whether to keep them or sell them since they arrived so late.
I may keep them after all.

Originally Posted by Core Shot

Nice.
Been staring at my pair from time to time wondering whether to keep them or sell them since they arrived so late.
I may keep them after all.

Keep 'em for sure. It sucks that they arrived so late, but these are sweet, sweet skis. And the BC in the Eastern Sierra is now officially going off and will continue to do so for the next 2 months.

Nice review. I was initially looking at these back in the day given their similar dimensions to my old Goats. While I agree the topo is $, I actually don't mind the waterfall either.

More importantly - is that last pic Coke Chute? Who did you hit it with? How is Dana looking in general (coverage-wise)? My foot is *still* messed up from the Radiums - going to see a doctor today since toes are still slightly numb....

^^^Yes; skied it with Tarkman1; Dana Plateau is well covered and will probably skiable for another 2 months; snow conditions were okay, but the current storm will change everything.

AKbruin: Nice to see someone out on their BCs. Lord knows it took long enough to get them. Mine have just been sitting in plastic for the last 2 weeks.

I have a pair of 180's (topo top sheet) and I mounted them with Dukes an hour ago. I will ski them the next few days in LCC. I'm not sure if I will actually get a chance to tour with them, but I'm going to try.

I mounted mine at 98.5 (based on my experience with the MTN Freerides) and damn if they don't look a bit too far aft. With the rocker though, I suspect they will be good.

Hopefully I will have something to report in a day or two.

Are they pretty true to size? Compared to your goliaths are they a cm shorter in length? If you can compare to a 190 goat that is even better. Seems like a silly question but different mfgs are all over the place in terms of actual length.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Core Shot

Nice.
Been staring at my pair from time to time wondering whether to keep them or sell them since they arrived so late.
I may keep them after all.

After all your bitching and moaning, you don't even mount the things when you get them?


That'll show'em who's boss!!!

Originally Posted by hway2

Are they pretty true to size? Compared to your goliaths are they a cm shorter in length? If you can compare to a 190 goat that is even better. Seems like a silly question but different mfgs are all over the place in terms of actual length.

Thanks

I believe they're pretty true to size. I put them on my rack next to the Goliaths and remember thinking that they looked exactly the same size. They actually ski a little longer than I expected. I'd say they ski slightly longer than my 186cm Prophet 100s (although this may be a sidecut issue--the Prophs have a lot more) but not as long as the Goliaths. I'd say that's a pretty good balance.

Never skied Gots. Sorry.

Originally Posted by Core Shot

Nice.
Been staring at my pair from time to time wondering whether to keep them or sell them since they arrived so late.
I may keep them after all.

CS, I love the Praxis Powders you sold me, if you decide to sell these, pm me.

bump for any more info thinking about possible getting a pair of these in 190 for next year

Originally Posted by liv2ski

CS, I love the Praxis Powders you sold me, if you decide to sell these, pm me.

Mounted my pair of 190cm Praxis Backcountry.

Skied them

Loved them.

Broke my tibia.

Game over (for the summer).

But I refuse to sell this ski. Having only skied it one day in Spring conditions I know it will do what I want it to do next winter.

Originally Posted by Core Shot

Mounted my pair of 190cm Praxis Backcountry.

Skied them

Loved them.

Broke my tibia.

Game over (for the summer).

But I refuse to sell this ski. Having only skied it one day in Spring conditions I know it will do what I want it to do next winter.

Damn it Coreshot, sorry to hear about the leg. I thought I noticed in another thread you mentioned the leg mishap. That is why I don't ski in Spring snow. The shit is way to grabby for my tastes. I am always waiting to hook an edge and fuck myself up, so first sticky session of the season I say bye-bye. Anyways, I keep looking at Keith's site waiting for him to say BC's are in stock. The wait is killing me.

Another review of these babies?

If you want a pair of Back Country's, look at the kick ass deals on Keiths website. I just bought a pair of 190 BC's and I am very stoked on the price.

Live2ski what pair did you buy? I just pulled the trigger as well on the waterfall carbon pair here is a link http://praxisskis.com/index.php?opti...id=3&Itemid=29 He has a few pics of rocker porfile on one pair of skis they look great can't wait to get mine

Fuck! $399 and the sweet woodgrain graphic? I have early buyer's remorse (kind of).

Originally Posted by fat yeti

Live2ski what pair did you buy? I just pulled the trigger as well on the waterfall carbon pair here is a link http://praxisskis.com/index.php?opti...id=3&Itemid=29 He has a few pics of rocker porfile on one pair of skis they look great can't wait to get mine

FY, sweet dood, glad you saw this, as I was trying to be subtle with the info, so ever jong wouldn't score on the deal.
I got a pair of the 190 Carbons with the sunrise graphic. Flat camber and just a tad more tip rise than your pair. I think they will be fucking sic, as Keith made them just a touch stiffer than last years.

Got my tracking number should see my 190 BC with carbon on Monday.

Originally Posted by fat yeti

Got my tracking number should see my 190 BC with carbon on Monday.

+1
I was going to try and do some pictures of the BC's with my Praxis Powders and add that info to the other thread requesting rocker pictures.
I can hardly wait for Monday. Kind of like Christmas in July.

Whats the deal with the Carbons? Can someone point me to info on those? How much weight do you save with them over the standard construction?

Harpo he put up the skis on his Kick Ass deals they are prototypes he may do some more. Actualy the carbon skis were heavier than the non carbon skis. Keith added the carbon for snap and to stiffen up the ski. I cant wait to get them I will post my thoughts when I get them tomorrow.

Just showed up I will post pics when I find the cord for the camera. The flex is nice and they look great especialy the tail rocker looks like the perfect amount. These are not a short 190 look to be very true to size maybe a touch longer. Now we just need winter.

How does the BC compare to your MTN Freerides? I'm trying to decide between the two...