2018-19 Praxis Skis Info and Resource Thread

[ex-powderbroker]

Scralph-

I have a stock veneer BC 180 that I find too soft in the three flex for regular duty for me at about your height and weight. There must be loads of them around where you are, but if you’re ever out this way and would like to try them then just bring some boots.

I think you were asking about the mvp94 earlier - I still have yet to find a better in bounds do it all. I’m so happy with that ski.

[SchralphMacchio]

Thanks … I wonder if you’ll feel differently if you make that move out west. I think the point of the BC has always been to have a softer flex to maximize fun in soft snow. I’ll put a standing offer to take those off your hands if they never jive with you, my MAP/C BCs were pressed in 2011!

Thanks for the MVP94 feedback. Keith’s last email about MVP94s and GPOs being back in stock has me thinking those must be the two most popular selling skis right now (and a solid two ski quiver as well!).

[slowroastin]

Anybody looking to get rid of 187 GPO’s or 190 BC’s?


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[Foggy_Goggles]

Hey Praxis nerds. I'm looking for a bit of guidance. I want something between 195 PBs and 188 Skinny Qs. I already have 188 Qs for touring. Basically, I want something with more suspension that the PBs for when the pow days start to get bumped out. I threw the feelers out and below is an list of what is available. Can you guys comment on the difference between

GPO
Q
FRS
Concepts

[SchralphMacchio]

I want something between 195 PBs and 188 Skinny Qs … Basically, I want something with more suspension that the PBs for when the pow days start to get bumped out … Can you guys comment on the difference between

GPO
Q
FRS
Concepts

I only have firsthand experience with the GPO, but I can comment on the shapes of the other skis and the comments I’ve seen in the Praxis Superthread.

GPOs were developed as a big mountain comp ski for Tabke and Chickering Ayers based on the BC. BC plus 10mm, less camber, more stout, more sidecut/turny, moved mount point up to -7 cm (BC is -8 now but back in the day I think it was -10), pointy shark nose to not get hooked up when edging on variable snow at haul ass speeds. The shark nose is not as good in powder as the 116 waist would suggest, so for more suspension and float I think most people have enjoyed mounting from -1 to -2 cm, as the ski has a pretty big sweet spot and I’ve seen people say -3 worked for them (probably at higher boot lean angles). Like the BCs these skis seem to have a huge mount point sweet spot. Where I’ve been really impressed with the GPOs was how they handled wind effect like sastrugi and sudden density changes, you can just rail turns at speed and that stuff disappears. They ski snow that is firm but in process of softening really well too.

Q came after the GPO and was Tabke’s next comp ski evolution I think. Less sidecut, more waist, offset taper for inside and outside edges, ever so slightly less tip and camber height and ever so slightly more tail rocker … same mount point as GPO. I think most feedback was that stock Qs skied a little bigger than stock GPOs despite having more tail rocker, if you are considering the GPO.

FRS came next as Tabke’s powder comp ski experiment for Japan, it was a +10mm MVP 109 that had some rocker tweaks. More tip and tail rocker than GPO and Q and slightly more forward mount of -6. I don’t remember much feedback about suspension or how these handle chop and bumps compared to the GPOs or Qs, which seem to have rave feedback for that kind of stuff.

I don’t see Concepts anywhere now … they were a mustache camber (tip rocker, then camber in front of the boot, then rocker below the boot, then camber behind, then tail rocker) profile with a slightly reverse sidecut underfoot and then regular sidecut in front and behind the boot. A lot of comments I seem to remember that they were loose, floaty and could still bite on hard pack.

[SchralphMacchio]

By the way, Giant Pacific Octopus ans Quixote have their own thread if you want to mine them for deets. Not sure if the FRS has one.

[toast2266]

I currently own the FRS, and previously (quite a while ago) owned the concept. I like the FRS a lot as a resort powder ski. Which means it's good in pow, but not singularly mind blowing. But it's pretty decent in chop, which is realistically a big part of any resort pow day. It's stable and damp enough, while still feeling reasonably playful. It just feels like a straightforward soft snow ski that does everything pretty good without standing out in any particular category, and it's generally easy to get along with. Which is also my take on the MVP, which makes sense since the FRS is basically just a fat MVP.

I wasn't a huge fan of the concept. Kinda just felt like it had too much going on. It could do a lot of things pretty well, but it was very sensitive to small weight shifts, which often made it kind of annoying to ski.

Haven't skied the GPO. Personally, I have yet to find a ski with a bunch of tip taper that I like.

[slowroastin]

My veneer FRS 194’s weigh 2300g each. About 100 grams lighter than stated on the website. Just wanted to put that out there in case the weight was holding people back.


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