Praxis Quixote - Jumped the Shark or Legit?

[glademaster]

Trigger pulled:

182 skinny Q - heavy/nylon - flex 3 - screaming bear.

(Also got the wife a small GPO).

Very excited!

Congrats! I hope you enjoy skiing them as much as I enjoy my pair. I'll be interested to see how much yours weigh, mine are in the 1850-1900g ballpark with the same length, flex and core, but with carbon and veneer added.

Thanks for supporting an awesome ski builder.

[steveski]

Congrats! I hope you enjoy skiing them as much as I enjoy my pair. I'll be interested to see how much yours weigh, mine are in the 1850-1900g ballpark with the same length, flex and core, but with carbon and veneer added.

Thanks for supporting an awesome ski builder.

Yeah it was tempting to add veneer, but this is planned as a 100% lift access ski so I opted for regular nylon top sheet. I've never had a veneer praxis ski so I suppose I'll continue not knowing what I'm missing out on. I'm very curious to see what the weight comes in at as well.

[galibier_numero_un]

Yeah it was tempting to add veneer, but this is planned as a 100% lift access ski so I opted for regular nylon top sheet. I've never had a veneer praxis ski so I suppose I'll continue not knowing what I'm missing out on. I'm very curious to see what the weight comes in at as well.

There's still time.

Veneer is magic. My Enduro/CARBON/Veneer/#4 Qs were just as damp as my 182 and 187 GPOs which are/were Enduro/Veneer #4 (no carbon).

In comparison, my MAP/Carbon/Nylon/#4 GPOs are quite a bit more jittery than the above 3 builds.

Technically, this isn't an apples to apples comparison because of MAP vs. Enduro. My understanding is that there's minimal difference between the two (Aspen in Enduro vs. Paulownia in MAP).

I've never done a comparison between the two cores in an otherwise identical ski, but my experiences are enough to convince me to never order a custom Praxis without veneer. The financial pain is temporary, but the joy lasts a long time ;-)

Veneer is cool for weight savings (BC), but I'd argue it's just as important for damping in an inbounds ski.

... Thom

[steveski]

Although veneer does seem to be a handy way to offset a decrease in weight with some added dampness, I'm certain that the core choice is much more important for ski feel.

While normally weight savings is a good thing, I purposefully didn't want to end up with a ski i would be tempted to put a heavy touring binding on (ie shift) and then likely never tour with. With binding options in the <300g category being so good these days even my vipecs are going to see less action.... If I was going to tour on this ski, I would certainly choose veneer.

[galibier_numero_un]

I'm not sure how to prioritize veneer's weight savings vs. dampness.

I was shocked at how it calmed down carbon (on Enduro).

No doubt, you have a lot going for you in the dampness department with heavy cores.

... Thom

[Muggydude]

Currently somewhat debating whether I want to go Heavy/Carbon/nylon or enduro/veneer for FRS skis. I love veneer, but kinda want the heavy core. Ideally I’d have both, but extra $150 has me shying away

Anyone have time on heavy/nylon or heavy/Carbon/nylon layup? And can compare to heavy/Carbon/veneer, or enduro/veneer?

[carpathian]

Betel, Muggs

I disliked 192 GPOs on the line because the tip would sink.
I loved 187s GPOs at -1.
So I went -1 on the Q and I'm pleased. Keith endorsed the move.

The more new school your style, the more you want the line.

I just can't deal (physically or mentally) with tip dive in a 115mm plus ski.

I took out a pair of the 193 Quixote with the bindings mounted -3 and was having some tip dive issues. In general I can't stand center mount skis and like having maximum float up front aaand the snow was kind of wonky... I will give these another shot here soon. I was told by the owner , ChugachJedi, that you have to not drive the tips too hard and let them do their thing. I could see the potential in the ski.

[galibier_numero_un]

I took out a pair of the 193 Quixote with the bindings mounted -3 and was having some tip dive issues. In general I can't stand center mount skis and like having maximum float up front aaand the snow was kind of wonky... I will give these another shot here soon. I was told by the owner , ChugachJedi, that you have to not drive the tips too hard and let them do their thing. I could see the potential in the ski.

Interesting, tip dive is something I wouldn't associate with Quixotes (mounted at -1). I had horrendous tip dive in my short-lived experiment with ProTests.

Having said that, it was two days of dust over crust (snow conditions in your video) that resulted in my selling them ;-) I skied them with two different stances - one being my natural/preferred (center forward) stance which works great on soft snow and the other being the "required" center/center-rear stance for hardpack.

This center/rear stance is foreign stance to me, and I have to consciously force myself into it. If I don't, then left and right skis have a mind of their own. PowTron told me this is how you have to ski the asym. Billygoats and I found both skis reacted the same way in this regard.

So, in a whiteout I found myself busting through to the crust, and my soft snow stance was a bit too far forward, and each ski wanted to take off in a different direction. I'm a bit more balance challenged in a whiteout than the average bear (I think) and reestablishing my stance took a turn or so.

My guess is that the folks who love these skis have a natural tendency to ski more upright/centered (the way Tabke does) than I do. There ain't nuthin' wrong with that, but it's not me. 95% of the time these skis were amazing and very quick in the trees. The 5% was a deal killer for me, and yet I miss them.

... Thom

[sruffian]

Interesting, tip dive is something I wouldn't associate with Quixotes (mounted at -1). I had horrendous tip dive in my short-lived experiment with ProTests.

... Thom

Always love your attention to detail, Thom

Crazy though! Protests are unsinkable for most ppl, while I've found Quixotes and GPO's more willing to submarine on me than bibbys, bgs, etc.... I'd say that's the more common experience fo sho

Qs are a cold dead hands ski for me. The no 1 ski I regret selling were 192 gpo's...

[stealurface831]

The no 1 ski I regret selling were 192 gpo's...

funny you say that. i wanna buy some 192 gpos. might have to wait for the custom sale.

[undertow2]

Always love your attention to detail, Thom

Crazy though! Protests are unsinkable for most ppl, while I've found Quixotes and GPO's more willing to submarine on me than bibbys, bgs, etc.... I'd say that's the more common experience fo sho

Qs are a cold dead hands ski for me. The no 1 ski I regret selling were 192 gpo's...

Have both custom 194 Qs and 192 GPOs and both have their place but the GPO is the best Swiss Army knife ski I have owned... That ski is totally my cold dead hands ski...


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[galibier_numero_un]

Always love your attention to detail, Thom

Crazy though! Protests are unsinkable for most ppl, while I've found Quixotes and GPO's more willing to submarine on me than bibbys, bgs, etc.... I'd say that's the more common experience fo sho

Qs are a cold dead hands ski for me. The no 1 ski I regret selling were 192 gpo's...

I have to wonder about those Protests. Too many people who like the same skis I do love them

They were some sort of custom, and came in at 10.5 Lbs for a 187. Flex felt like my other flex #4s. That size normally specs out at about 10 Lbs. even, I believe.

Maybe these had a heavy core?

They moved on to @Dub2, and then elsewhere and I'd love to hear comments about them from their subsequent adopters.

Paging @Dub2 to the White courtesy phone.

... Thom

[sruffian]

Have both custom 194 Qs and 192 GPOs and both have their place but the GPO is the best Swiss Army knife ski I have owned... That ski is totally my cold dead hands ski...


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Yup I took them on an Alaska trip and never wanted for another ski... for a grab it and go ski it just mad more conditions more enjoyable than a Bibby, bg or any 108ish all mountain nonsense

The q's will just rage in a way the gpos never could while still being fun in the trees


Sent from my iPad using TGR Forums

[glademaster]

I have to wonder about those Protests. Too many people who like the same skis I do love them

They were some sort of custom, and came in at 10.5 Lbs for a 187. Flex felt like my other flex #4s. That size normally specs out at about 10 Lbs. even, I believe.

Maybe these had a heavy core?

They moved on to @Dub2, and then elsewhere and I'd love to hear comments about them from their subsequent adopters.

Paging @Dub2 to the White courtesy phone.

... Thom

To further confound things, my skinny Quixotes are a "cold, dead hands" ski for me.

I also owned a pair of Protests for two seasons, one where I lived at the base of Alta, and the other I was living at the Solitude base, so I got plenty of days on them, and I never really jived with that ski. I loved the long taper in the tip for getting into techy lines, but I didn't really enjoy them as much as I should have in deep powder. Protests like to plane more than porpoise, in my experience.

[steveski]

To further confound things, my skinny Quixotes are a "cold, dead hands" ski for me.

Can second this. Have about a dozen days on skinny Q, heavy core flex 3. Absolutely love them. They lock in and lay trenches in soft groomed way better than expected. Very loose and pivot easily in soft snow.

[Shu Shu]

I've had the recent pleasure of skiing my GPOs and Qs back to back with my Concepts in about 20cm. After not skiing my GPOs for a while I've realized how much my style and instincts have evolved to take advantage of how easy it is to smear the tails of the Q as well as Pivot on the Concepts. The first few runs on the GPOs were harrowing tree runs where I almost ate bark more than once, I felt like I really needed to slow things down a notch and that they required a bit more a conscious effort to deal with the tails. Its not the dreaded Praxis tune either, there is just a much more solid feeling amount of tail out back on the GPO. That being they are still GPOs so not a hard ski by any means, just in comparison.

Of the three I think the Qs would slightly edge out the Concepts as my all time favorites for east pow days (which is primarily tight trees and choppy groomers).

I'm back and forth on pulling the trigger on a skinny Q as a travel ski. My last trip, the weather wasn't predicting much and so I brought my Piste Jibs, they handled the surprise storm well enough, but certainly had a little envy of buddies on bigger skies. Feel like that skinny Q could be a very fun compromise, for trips with small to medium accumulations in the forecast.

[Gate11]

I bought my Qs in 2020 with the intention of bringing them as my Japan ski. Little did I know it would be 2 seasons before they would be properly deployed :-(. Finally got them on-and-off piste in Japan! Great powder charger. Pretty much awesome in all Japan conditions. As a shorter guy, I wish I could have them in 177-ish length, but 182 is acceptable.

[grinch]

Classy looking set up! Did you mount on the dimple?

Sent from my SM-A536W using TGR Forums mobile app

[Duffman]

Love my 188 Veneer Q, it's my favorite ski of all time. Charges powder, but can also rip anything moderately soft well for a 118 underfoot ski, and also easy to slarve around trees at lofer speed.

Now that someone bumped this, I wonder how the skinny Q compares......