Praxis Quixote - Jumped the Shark or Legit?

[skibrd]

I asked him this year if he could make a CCR RX and he said he could do that with any ski

Hum... guess I have two months to figure out if it’s worth ordering a custom pair now.


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[3PinGrin]

Got out on my Quixotes today for only the second time and they were awesome. Tracked up powder with some undisturbed patches here and there, about 4" of new with chopped up firmish underneath but not icy bumps. Lots of soft chop and soft groomers. Bluebird day in the 20s, awesome to warm the bones after numerous sub-zero days.

The Qs destroyed everything and felt very intuitive this go round compared to my first day on them. Used a little more of a relaxed stance and laid off the tips a bit. Very quick turns in the trees and just laid the chop open as long as I pointed them and stayed on my edges. So smooth, so fun!!

Tele NTN mount with boot center on the line, felt perfect.

[eskido]

Been basically daily driving mine this year with all the snow we’ve been getting and I just absolutely f n dig em. Really really love how a ski this good in pow is still sooooo good when things get tracked and will still rail on groomers. Got em in some really steep trees recently along with some pretty steep bumps (albeit soft) and beyond impressed, just such good all around sticks pretty much anywhere anytime. Never used em on anything boiler but I try to make better decisions than that.

[skibrd]

These are seriously the tale of two skis. In Steamboat they were awesome, I could ski anywhere, anything, just fly around without a care in that world.

I bring them back to Wyoming, the tails hang up on everything, they don’t float in pow, and I can’t ski them in steeps.

Also, the camber is almost gone. If I ski them too many days in a row, it disappears until I give them a few days rest. Weird?


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[Chugachjed]

That’s super weird. Mine are OG first production run and have a lot of days but they’re still like new.

[skibrd]

That’s super weird. Mine are OG first production run and have a lot of days but they’re still like new.

I’m not sure if it’s the camber, it’s probably just in my head, but I was really happy after 4 days in Steamboat and now I’m back to grabbing my Shiros over the Qs. Maybe it’s because I have a choice, I didn’t in Steamboat, only my Qs were with me.

I’ve seen two other pairs that have a ton of days that the camber is gone. I definitely like them more when they don’t have any camber, they ski like a fixed Shiro (the stupidly large tip is trimmed down).


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[Chugachjed]

Mine still seem to have the same amount of camber as new. I’m a big dude too. Maybe I’m not skiing hard enough? Oh well I’m weird I like the camber. My go to skis this season have been some Adrien Coirier coreupts that have a ton of camber. We’ve had a low snow year and the Qs haven’t been getting out as much as years past. Got 3 days on them this week and a couple last week though.

[sruffian]

Thinking about q's as I need to retire 10 year old bibby's and some thrashed gpo's from daily use.

I've skied lots of days on 190 bibbys and 192 gpo's. I also own protests, so deepest of days is not my concern. Tour on 187 gpo ul for soft snow (which they were damper to be honest)

If I'm reading everything correctly - the q's in a 188 should be comparable to the 'length feel' of a 192 gpo, right?

The q's are gonna charge a bit harder than a gpo, not be as jibby as a bibby (though I've been skiing 2010-11's), track comparably if not better than a bibby in chop, and at -1 not sink in pow if I use them as a travel ski. Does that all sound right?

[Shu Shu]

The q's are gonna charge a bit harder than a gpo, not be as jibby as a bibby (though I've been skiing 2010-11's), track comparably if not better than a bibby in chop, and at -1 not sink in pow if I use them as a travel ski. Does that all sound right?

All true (with the obvious custom build option caveats...)

[Muggydude]

Sounds right to me

[skibrd]

I took my Qs to Steamboat as my one ski travel ski and had a blast. Inbounds and out, hard snow, bumps, trees, pow, all good. Not stunning at anything, but good at everything, which is all I want out of a travel ski.


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[undertow2]

I took my Qs to Steamboat as my one ski travel ski and had a blast. Inbounds and out, hard snow, bumps, trees, pow, all good. Not stunning at anything, but good at everything, which is all I want out of a travel ski.


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skibrd is spot on... I have custom 194 Qs and 192 GPOs... They are my swiss army knives of skiing... I have a load of skis and many of them excel in certain areas/conditions but fall short in other areas... My GPOs and Qs do so many things extremely well and really have no weaknesses...

And yes the Q as a whole charge harder and float better and are def a better big mountain ski that are still not demanding... I still will never give up my GPOs...

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[3PinGrin]

Love both my 184 Bibby and 182 Quixote. They both charge hard but are pretty easy to ski. I would say the Quixote is more edgy and the Bibby a little more slarvy with the Quixote edging out the Bibby in chopped up crud as long as you work the edges, so I think your assumptions are good ones sruffian. Both very universal tools as stated by others and both an absolute hoot in powder. I would choose either ski again as a soft snow all-arounder without hesitation.

[skibrd]

The Qs for me in deep light Steamboat pow, that storm late Feb/early March that caused the huge slides around Aspen area, were awesome. My Protests might of been better, but they are also 10mm wider and a bit longer. And for the 3 or 5% of pow performance I lost over the Protests, I definitely gained in performance everywhere else. I literally grabbed the Qs each morning and never thought twice about them, partially because I didn’t have a choice and partially because I didn’t want anything else.

The Qs also saved me in Jackson one day big time. I had my Armada ARV JJ 116s and was getting my ass kicked, it was 6-8in if heavier snow on smoothish ice/crust. I switched to the Qs and they just cut through the heavy stuff like butter.

They really are impressive skis if you just ski them and don’t think about the crazy design.


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[meter-man]

Hmmmmm.

I quite liked the 190 bibby, but the 188 Q was way more ski. I bet they measured about the same. Q skis longer and prefers the fall line more than the bibby.

Thanks for this, SC. I'm considering replacing my 190 Bibbys with Qs as I'm a more directional skier, and wanted a bit more surfiness in my resort pow ski. Just didn't know about sizing, but this probably solves it for me. 187 Protests were too short for resort for reference. Cheers!

[sruffian]

Been skiing the 188 q's so far this season. Bought them on here, they are from the original run so should be #4, map, veneer.

They're valiant fuckin steeds. They are one hell of a crud buster, feel glued to groomers, and quite loose in soft stuff. Have yet to find a speed limit or sink them (mounted -1 cus i liked my gpo's there). I've been pleasantly surprised by how well you can drive the tips at moderate speeds as well - e.g. cruising through trees or bumps at moderate speed, you can bend them predictably without beating yourself up, they do not feel like a handful. Can ski neutrally and slide em around if you want, too. Ski faster and they are somewhat lively (less poppy than a bibby or gpo) and have a nice surfy feel. Ski even faster and they are a fuckin blast - I thought my old 2011 bibby's were a great crud ski but these things feel unstoppable.

I've taken them out on a few heavy pow days (early season tahoe). Easy to throw sideways, super fun to haul ass through tight terrain on. For me - they feel significantly more stable than a gpo when skiing tight fall line terrain. Comparable w bibby on how easy to throw sideways. Less poppy than either, high speed limit than either.

I think tabke kinda hit this on the head - it's a great fall line ski, excellent variable conditions / crud buster, and still loose and decently surfy in soft snow. Really doesn't compute how stable they are and how surfy they act - I do think that's the asym at work.

One small note on the asym - I ate shit three or four times during the first days on them when flat spinning or under-rotating small jumps. Detuned the fuck out of them and that went away. To echo someone earlier - just get on them and ski, don't think about the asym.

Me - 5'11 180-190 depending on season. I ski relatively directionally but like to spin a bit, really enjoy slarving.
Skis I like - 190 bibby, 192 gpo, 187 praxis concept, 122 bmt (touring), 187 moment meridian (last year's daily)
Skis I don't like - wailer 112s, 184 deathwishes (these were alright - just too short / folded up on me)

[grinch]

Been skiing the 188 q's so far this season. Bought them on here, they are from the original run so should be #4, map, veneer.

They're valiant fuckin steeds. They are one hell of a crud buster, feel glued to groomers, and quite loose in soft stuff. Have yet to find a speed limit or sink them (mounted -1 cus i liked my gpo's there). I've been pleasantly surprised by how well you can drive the tips at moderate speeds as well - e.g. cruising through trees or bumps at moderate speed, you can bend them predictably without beating yourself up, they do not feel like a handful. Can ski neutrally and slide em around if you want, too. Ski faster and they are somewhat lively (less poppy than a bibby or gpo) and have a nice surfy feel. Ski even faster and they are a fuckin blast - I thought my old 2011 bibby's were a great crud ski but these things feel unstoppable.

I've taken them out on a few heavy pow days (early season tahoe). Easy to throw sideways, super fun to haul ass through tight terrain on. For me - they feel significantly more stable than a gpo when skiing tight fall line terrain. Comparable w bibby on how easy to throw sideways. Less poppy than either, high speed limit than either.

I think tabke kinda hit this on the head - it's a great fall line ski, excellent variable conditions / crud buster, and still loose and decently surfy in soft snow. Really doesn't compute how stable they are and how surfy they act - I do think that's the asym at work.

One small note on the asym - I ate shit three or four times during the first days on them when flat spinning or under-rotating small jumps. Detuned the fuck out of them and that went away. To echo someone earlier - just get on them and ski, don't think about the asym.

Me - 5'11 180-190 depending on season. I ski relatively directionally but like to spin a bit, really enjoy slarving.
Skis I like - 190 bibby, 192 gpo, 187 praxis concept, 122 bmt (touring), 187 moment meridian (last year's daily)
Skis I don't like - wailer 112s, 184 deathwishes (these were alright - just too short / folded up on me)

Interesting. Thanks for that. Slowly the great reports trickle in. They sound like an option id really like

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[frorider]

i'm buying 2 airbag packs this year so yeah someone buy my 194 quixotes.

[pembyguy]

i'm buying 2 airbag packs this year so yeah someone buy my 194 quixotes.

Keep the best skis out there and make good decisions


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[Muggydude]

Had my Qs out today in about ~7 inches of new, on top of 10 inches day before. Man these skis are effortless. They are honestly so easy to throw sideways it’s ridiculous, but maintain great stability. Confirmed their spot as favorite variable powder resort ski today. Only downside I see is that they lack a little float because I downsized to 182s. I’d like to see how the 188s compare. I have deep pow skis though so they are perfect for powdery bumped up Colorado runs and trees


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[theetruscan]

can we take a moment to celebrate how great these skis are?


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[skibrd]

can we take a moment to celebrate how great these skis are?


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We can celebrate how great they are for 90% of the time, can we hate on them for the 10% they are truly terrifying?


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[Muggydude]

Never had a scary moment on mine


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[galibier_numero_un]

We can celebrate how great they are for 90% of the time, can we hate on them for the 10% they are truly terrifying?

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Never had a scary moment on mine


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Tabke moment.

My Tabke moment came in whiteout conditions with dust over crust. Without visual cues (my balance sucks in a whiteout), I would lose the skis' sweet spot and was in a world of hurt.

Two successive days of this (and switching to my Down CD 114s to enjoy the day) and my Qs were up for sale. It's a pity, 'coz 90% of the time I loved them. I'd love to ski a non-asym version of that ski.

I think someone commented a while back that the Moment Wildcat fits the bill.

Not that it matters, 'coz upsizing to a second pair of GPOs (182 -- > 187) seems to have filled that slot nicely.

[edit] I'm back to the CD 114s after 4 days in Utah. The 187 GPOs are a bit long for me in tight spaces. In the main Praxis thread, @grinch proposed a 182 GPO - Heavy Hitter/Veneer/flex 4 as his ideal inbounds ski. I think he's on to something (we have very similar tastes), and I can see possibly adding carbon. I loved the general characteristics of veneer + carbon with my 182 Qs.

... Thom

[pembyguy]

Made skiing coastal nut butter fun again.
Took a coupe of turns to remember how to ski them. The faster you go the better they perform. Great today in heavy isothermal mank with rain crust topping. Great carving on spring type slush.

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