Praxis Quixote - Jumped the Shark or Legit?

[2FUNKY]

I’d ski a day or two and see how they are. Then re-check

Are you suggesting that skis that are railed relax and go flat after skiing?

[Muggydude]

Potentially, yes. Outer sides of the base tend to wear down faster as well.

I’m not talking about a very railed ski going flat, but a tiny bit can definitely flatten out

[2FUNKY]

Potentially, yes. Outer sides of the base tend to wear down faster as well.

I’m not talking about a very railed ski going flat, but a tiny bit can definitely flatten out

Huh, interesting. I’ve never given a railed ski enough time to flatten on its own. Figured, you railed, I fix you!

[grinch]

If it’s not much maybe the base is dry. Wax on wax off maybe twice

[theetruscan]

it’s not much, base is dry. thanks all, will start there, ski them, stop overthinking.


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[tpacent]

Took out the 188 Q’s for their maiden voyage. These were custom. Went as stiff and as heavy as I could get em. Also had Keith do zero camber. Same rocker as tabkes OG GPO. These remind me a
lot of the renegade but not as sketchy on firmer conditions due to the decent amount of effective edge and a bit of a longer running length. Wasn’t super soft on Saturday at Kirkwood so didn’t have them in their ultimate element but I found them to be plenty surfy and stable Through softer 2 day old blown Chunder. Not as damp as a 189 billy but pretty close.

[SupreChicken]

Nothing’s that damp.

[Foggy_Goggles]

The more I ski the Q, the move amazing I find it. It hasn't really snowed here in a month and I've been skiing all kinds of groomers and bumps. I can't believe how well it works in these situations.

[GBB]

Took out the 188 Q’s for their maiden voyage. These were custom. Went as stiff and as heavy as I could get em. Also had Keith do zero camber. Same rocker as tabkes OG GPO. These remind me a
lot of the renegade but not as sketchy on firmer conditions due to the decent amount of effective edge and a bit of a longer running length. Wasn’t super soft on Saturday at Kirkwood so didn’t have them in their ultimate element but I found them to be plenty surfy and stable Through softer 2 day old blown Chunder. Not as damp as a 189 billy but pretty close.

As another regular KW skier debating these two skis, I'd love to hear more of your thoughts between the two of them.

[tpacent]

As another regular KW skier debating these two skis, I'd love to hear more of your thoughts between the two of them.

Was hoping that the praxis was going to be as stable and damp as the BG AND as loose/easy to maneuver in variable conditions. Was also hoping to get some added hard snow performance out if the Q because of the lower profile rocker and longer effective edge. The flat camber I think undermined my last goal for improved ice performance but that’s not that a bad thing necessarily as I am excited to get them in softer snow. That being said, I doubt they will be better than the BG in pow as the BG is one of the best pow skis I have ever been on. Lot of overlap - will never get rid of the BG, we will see about the Q.

[GBB]

will never get rid of the BG, we will see about the Q.

That says it all right there. Thanks for sharing.

Although the Q continues to intrigue me, I have a feeling I should just pony up and get a pair of BGs.

[SupreChicken]

That says it all right there. Thanks for sharing.

Although the Q continues to intrigue me, I have a feeling I should just pony up and get a pair of BGs.

Yes. That’s a decision that generally passes without regrets.

[Bandit Man]

Having never skied the Q, I feel like it is the GPO trend all over again. "Hey this is Alto's/Tabke"s ski! It's going to do it ALL!" Guys go all in during the summer pre-sale and then Q's end up all over Gear Swap once the snow starts. Same thing happened with the GPO's (which I did own). Not saying that Praxis makes bad skis, but there is SO much hype around these can they ever live up to expectations? I for one have had a tough time finding a Praxis ski that works for me. Maybe I just don't have the patience to learn how to ski a Praxis ski?

[Muggydude]

On my limited time with them, the Qs are my favorite ski I’ve been on to date. That list includes:

186 BG
187 Concept
Kartel 116/Jeffrey 114
187 GPO
187 Lhasa Pow Fat
ON3P Jeronimos
Praxis BC
Blizzard Brahma
192 Praxis Protest
190 K2 Pontoon

Obviously some of those skis do some things better than the Q. But overall it’s my favorite

[Foggy_Goggles]

I'm with Muggy. I'd say "soft snow quiver of one".

To add to Bandit, I wonder if the killer pre-sale price combined with the customers ability to outsmart himself with cores, layups, flexes etc, adds to the "Praxis for sale" thing.

[undertow2]

I am with Foggy and Muggy... I absolutely love my ON3P quiver (SG, Wren 108, Wren 98, K 116 and OG Wren and Vicik) and also love my Praxis quiver (Q, GPO and MVP- one of the few that did not click with my BCs)... No doubt I see plenty of Praxis for sale on GS, but I also see plenty of ON3Ps... The SuperGoat is a fantastic ski and would never not have some sort of Goat in my quiver, but both the GPO and Q are a better well rounded all mountain ski for me...

[skibrd]

My Q’s almost made the trip to Japan, they are that good in soft snow, but not quite Protest good.


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[eskido]

Yeah, full on in agreement here, Q’s could easily be a one ski quiver if you ski where a majority of your are days soft. They’re fuckin rad. Totally agree with Foggy that it probably is too easy to outsmart oneself with all the custom options, I would probably build 80% of my Praxis skis differently now that I’ve gone through the experience several times over. In a way I also agree a bit with Bandit but on the other side of the spectrum, I’ve always just clicked with Praxis skis and that (along with their ridiculous quality, phenomenal customer interaction, and of course all those build options and preseason sales) is why I continue to not stray far away, especially when I’m spending that kind of coin. If I hadn’t clicked so well with my first pair I probably wouldn’t have gone back, not because I wouldn’t want to try another pair, but because that’s a grip of money to take chances with. I would like to hear more on Undertow’s statement about the Supergoat, that is a ski that I very much want to have.

[GBB]

Yes. That’s a decision that generally passes without regrets.

Yep. Popping in here because I'm finally serious about augmenting my 187 Bonafides and Sanouks. I'm well aware that I'm a luddite.

Having never skied the Q, I feel like it is the GPO trend all over again. "Hey this is Alto's/Tabke"s ski! It's going to do it ALL!" Guys go all in during the summer pre-sale and then Q's end up all over Gear Swap once the snow starts. Same thing happened with the GPO's (which I did own). Not saying that Praxis makes bad skis, but there is SO much hype around these can they ever live up to expectations? I for one have had a tough time finding a Praxis ski that works for me. Maybe I just don't have the patience to learn how to ski a Praxis ski?

I very much agree with this observation, which is in part, why I've withheld purchase. This may be blasphemous around here, but I don't want to put that much thought into my ski purchase decision. All I need to know now is whether it should be the 184s or the 189s.

My Q’s almost made the trip to Japan, they are that good in soft snow, but not quite Protest good.

Good data point.

[galibier_numero_un]

Having never skied the Q, I feel like it is the GPO trend all over again. "Hey this is Alto's/Tabke"s ski! It's going to do it ALL!" Guys go all in during the summer pre-sale and then Q's end up all over Gear Swap once the snow starts. Same thing happened with the GPO's (which I did own). Not saying that Praxis makes bad skis, but there is SO much hype around these can they ever live up to expectations? I for one have had a tough time finding a Praxis ski that works for me. Maybe I just don't have the patience to learn how to ski a Praxis ski?

I made a parallel observation in post #352 in the main, current Praxis thread. Serendipitously, my first pair of Praxis were GPOs and I love them. I haven't been so "luckly" since then:

• Freerides - a burly build - just a wrong decision by me
• Protests - I may be the only person on TGR who thinks they're meh, can't get them to slarve, etc.
• Qs - the jury is still out, but Alpy's comment that they're too mental sounds about right

Here's a snip from that thread:

... One thing I'm beginning to get is that if there's a pro skier who's on skis that you're interested in, watch how he stands on them.

While I'm getting the hang of my Qs, I'm coming to realize that they'll never be intuitive to me. Similarly, my Down CD 114s feel as if I did a Vulcan mind-meld with Geo and Simen.

When I watch how Tabke and Bimboes stand on their skis this all makes perfect sense, 'coz I stand on my skis much more like Bimboes than Tabke.

My Qs are mounted at -1 and I still feel as if I have to push my butt back just a bit for them to ski in balance - this, on hardpack & chalk. I think this is important to mention, as a contrasting observation to @eskido. We obviously prefer to stand on skis differently. I didn't go long with them however (he mentioned on the line of going long). BTW, in powder, with the same stance the Qs float very well.

... Thom

[SupreChicken]

I made a parallel observation in post #352 in the main, current Praxis thread. Serendipitously, my first pair of Praxis were GPOs and I love them. I haven't been so "luckly" since then:

• Freerides - a burly build - just a wrong decision by me
• Protests - I may be the only person on TGR who thinks they're meh, can't get them to slarve, etc.
• Qs - the jury is still out, but Alpy's comment that they're too mental sounds about right

Here's a snip from that thread:



... Thom

I’m also on team “protest are meh”.
Bandit just joined as well.

[skibrd]

I’m also on team “protest are meh”.
Bandit just joined as well.

I think the Protests need to be skied big, or a size longer then you usually like. I think I’d struggle on the 192s, but the 196s are great.


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[Shu Shu]

I've always felt like comparing the BG to the Q and the GPO is not really an apples to apples situation.

The primary function of the BG is a pow ski, with iterative development over the years to make it more manageable on 2d snow. The primary function of the Q or the GPO is as a wide all mountain ski. It really depends on what spot your looking to fill in your quiver.

As far as Bandit Man's comments on hype, I agree living up to some of the expectations is impossible, especially considering that we are all given to a bit of hyperbole in describing skis on the internet. I think its important to note though that the hype comes from us 99% of the time. I have never once had an interaction with Keith were I felt he was trying to market anything to me.

Praxis has always occupied a pretty singular space in the ski world. Progressive unique design (I mean they pretty much started as a company only making 135mm reverse sidecut full rocker skis) combined with an incredible amount of customization. For the tweakers and bedroom ski designers, its a dream come true, but it's certainly enough rope for even knowledgeable people to hang themselves with. When researching other peoples opinion and reviews on different Praxis models you really have to factor in the all the build differences. With other brands those variables are not nearly as much of an issue, and so the reviews are describing a more uniform product, and likely lead to a little less turnover.

But to get this back to the Q, (in the build I have) they give me that invincible feeling that I can charge through any type of snow as fast as I'm willing to dare myself. Its an incredible combination of stability and manoeuvrability across the full range of snow conditions. I've been missing that ever since I sold my OG moment Garbones.

[SupreChicken]

I think the Protests need to be skied big, or a size longer then you usually like. I think I’d struggle on the 192s, but the 196s are great.


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I owned the 196. Took it to AK. Should have brought my billy goats.

[nickel]

disagree re: protests. 192s are the shortest pow ski I've had in i don't even know how long but they're magic. would get 196 for resort but that's about my standard pow ski length.