Kusala Pow By Praxis - Orders Close 10/17

**lucknau** · 11-28-2020, 02:46 PM

Decent!

**bry** · 11-28-2020, 05:25 PM

Thinking about -2cm from the -7cm mark. What say ye?

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**Island Bay** · 11-28-2020, 08:18 PM

Damn, they look good. And like an easy transition for a Protest lover.

Congratulations to all.

**Lindahl** · 11-29-2020, 11:48 AM

I like my originals at -9. Really great to see such an awesome ski continue to be made. Good job Pat and Keith!

**N1CK.** · 11-29-2020, 02:00 PM

omg these are hot. don't feel too heavy, flex is def 5+, gorgeous birch tops.

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the shape seems so perfect. I can't wait to ski these mofos.

**telelebowski** · 11-30-2020, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by Lindahl

I like my originals at -9. Really great to see such an awesome ski continue to be made. Good job Pat and Keith!

Sweet baby Jesus. Now I have to wake up in the middle of the night obsessing over mount points? Is this the consensus from the originals, -2? I have disliked several forward alpine mounts, so going back is usually my preference, but that seems like a fair bit. Anyone out there want to argue the line and send me into a panic?

**Lindahl** · 11-30-2020, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by telelebowski

Sweet baby Jesus. Now I have to wake up in the middle of the night obsessing over mount points? Is this the consensus from the originals, -2? I have disliked several forward alpine mounts, so going back is usually my preference, but that seems like a fair bit. Anyone out there want to argue the line and send me into a panic?

The originals might have a different mount point. I think Pat chopped some at the front or the back for this new Praxis one?

It's personal preference for how I drive skis. I really like the ball of my foot around the center of the sidecut, which I measure by pulling a piece of slippery twine around the ski and pulling hard on each end, away, perpendicular to the ski while sliding it from the tip-down. It usually puts me close to the mount point on most skis. If the ski still has a ton of tip or tail, I usually adjust it a bit.

**YaBoyBlue** · 11-30-2020, 01:08 PM

As a data point, my mount line is -7.5cm from center, and I was thinking of going back a cm or 2. I would definitely appreciate recs based on experience.

**tuco** · 11-30-2020, 02:10 PM

^^^i was gonna say I was thinking of mounting mine -7 or -8, so 7.5 sounds good to me

**YaBoyBlue** · 11-30-2020, 02:58 PM

Thanks Tuco.

Weight of my pair is 2255 each, to the gram identical. I’ve had skis that were close before, but this is amazing work. Maple veneer on enduro-C core.

Thanks Keith for killer execution! Thank to Pat for an amazing ski design, I can’t wait for a pow day! And thanks to the collective for making this happen! FKNA!

**telelebowski** · 11-30-2020, 05:25 PM

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Rocker pic. Kastle TX 90 and DPS 138 on each side of the Kusala. I am not familiar with the metric system. My UL+Veneer build weighs exactly 9 pounds. I am thinking -1 from line, but will probably submit to any reasonable, or idiotic, last minute persuasions. And they are gorgeous.

**CascadeLuke** · 11-30-2020, 09:33 PM

Between Blue’s weight and the various pics and rocker shots, I’m really jealous. Y’all enjoy

**splat** · 11-30-2020, 11:03 PM

Originally Posted by telelebowski

Sweet baby Jesus. Now I have to wake up in the middle of the night obsessing over mount points? Is this the consensus from the originals, -2? I have disliked several forward alpine mounts, so going back is usually my preference, but that seems like a fair bit. Anyone out there want to argue the line and send me into a panic?

I just went through this today with a friend on his pair, comparing the new Kusala side by side with the original. So here's what I told him...

BCL on the originals was 99cm from the tip. That's pretty damn almost in the middle of that 186, for reference. I like to ski new sticks with demos to find the sweet spot. I called the 186 Kusala at 99 back from the center of the tip. For me, it skied both boilerplate and deep pow beautifully at 99. And it feels center-mounted. Drifting a bit here...sorry.

Keith and I looked at the ski and figured the best way to preserve its desirable characteristics at 189 was pretty much to slip a cm into the tip, a cm into the length, and a cm out the back. My friend says he drives forward hard always. I figured it was a given that going back another cm on the bcl would come in close and I believe its better to err mounting too far back than forward. And dude says he drives forward. So I told him to go 100.7 back from the center of the tip. We then lined the ski up next to the 186 and something in me said 100.3 to 100.7 and told him he should go with 100.7. Side by side it looked right.

As a big guy on that low tipped center mounted 186, I was constantly amazed that the low tip never submarined in deep pow. II think this iteration of the Kusala stands to improve upon itself. Pray for big dumps.

Of course, if you're looking for the tele mount...

**N1CK.** · 12-01-2020, 08:50 AM

my skis are 188cm straight pull of a tape, the mark on mine is 100.5 from the tip, resulting in a -6.5 line.
that seems fwd, but it 'looks' good. hmfph.

**splat** · 12-01-2020, 09:07 AM

Keith marked them with a bcl for y'all? Well, that's cool cause I didn't get his line on mine but I see we're on the same wavelength.

So there ya have it. That's -6.5 from what N1CK????

**N1CK.** · 12-01-2020, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by splat

Keith marked them with a bcl for y'all? Well, that's cool cause I didn't get his line on mine but I see we're on the same wavelength.

So there ya have it. That's -6.5 from what N1CK????

-6.5 from the ski center. it's difficult to accurately measure the sidecut but the mark appears to be about -5 from the center of the sidecut.

yaboyblue says his mark is -7.5 ... hmmm ....

edit: I'm going to remeasure later after moar coffee.

**YaBoyBlue** · 12-01-2020, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by N1CK.

-6.5 from the ski center. it's difficult to accurately measure the sidecut but the mark appears to be about -5 from the center of the sidecut.

yaboyblue says his mark is -7.5 ... hmmm ....

edit: I'm going to remeasure later after moar coffee.

Typical praxis white dot on the sidewall, mine measures 101.5 from the tip / 86.5 from the tail. This gives me -7.5cm from the true center.

**Muggydude** · 12-01-2020, 11:19 AM

Sounds like another win for lindahl frankentour/muggycast system haha. I’ll be mounting my touring bindings/attack demo setup with room to go from +0.5cm to -2cm or so form the line

Who knows when I’ll actually get good on snow data though, still pretty dry in CO

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**splat** · 12-01-2020, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by N1CK.

my skis are 188cm straight pull of a tape, the mark on mine is 100.5 from the tip, resulting in a -6.5 line.
that seems fwd, but it 'looks' good. hmfph.

Don't let that 'looks' sway you, N1CK. Fuck yeah, they're very center-mounted but fuck yeah that's where they perform. With that itty bitty extra tip height on the 189 over the 186 they will never submarine and that mount also plays into their intuitive characteristic that puts them into the next turn almost before you think about it. Pivoty, by god, they feel pivoty. In a good way.

**telelebowski** · 12-01-2020, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by splat

I just went through this today with a friend on his pair, comparing the new Kusala side by side with the original. So here's what I told him...

BCL on the originals was 99cm from the tip. That's pretty damn almost in the middle of that 186, for reference. I like to ski new sticks with demos to find the sweet spot. I called the 186 Kusala at 99 back from the center of the tip. For me, it skied both boilerplate and deep pow beautifully at 99. And it feels center-mounted. Drifting a bit here...sorry.

Keith and I looked at the ski and figured the best way to preserve its desirable characteristics at 189 was pretty much to slip a cm into the tip, a cm into the length, and a cm out the back. My friend says he drives forward hard always. I figured it was a given that going back another cm on the bcl would come in close and I believe its better to err mounting too far back than forward. And dude says he drives forward. So I told him to go 100.7 back from the center of the tip. We then lined the ski up next to the 186 and something in me said 100.3 to 100.7 and told him he should go with 100.7. Side by side it looked right.

As a big guy on that low tipped center mounted 186, I was constantly amazed that the low tip never submarined in deep pow. II think this iteration of the Kusala stands to improve upon itself. Pray for big dumps.

Of course, if you're looking for the tele mount...

My knees are shredded, I can only alpine now. That is a very good summary, I had seen the previous mount on the 186s, and didn't know if you guys had adjusted it. That said, I can totally tell how Lindahl went -2, the rise of the rocker is so subtle it is difficult to even come up with the running length. I was even coming up with -3 from the dot. But with this data and the data from other mags, along with what you just mentioned about the center mount playing into the performance of the reverse ski, I am thinking on the line now, and if I somehow don't dig it, go back. I am just gun shy of all these new school forward mounts on Kastles and other skis that have traditional camber which leave way too much tail, but I know from the 138s that playing with mounting points does not do what you think it does with reverse skis. Thanks, Splat! Pulled my Lhasa Pow 186s out of the basement and gave them a run today. They still dominate OG style. I can't wait to get on these, the shape looks perfect.

**YaBoyBlue** · 12-01-2020, 07:21 PM

Hey Splat,
I feel like I got some conflicting directions on the mount for these skis:

1. Keith put the dot on my pair with no guidance?
2. My pair is maybe a cm different from other pairs?
3. The ski is designed for a more forward mount, but is not especially sensitive to a rearward bias if you prefer a traditional mount?

Basically, I’d take some explicit input from the master, if you’d be willing: what’s your designed mount point? The 100.7 cm from tip you mentioned? If I were to mount behind the line, would 1 or 2 cm make that much of a difference?

Thanks man, these skis looking like absolute rocket ships, I can’t wait to ski them!

**splat** · 12-01-2020, 11:57 PM

1. Where Keith put the dot is where I calculated the line to be before I looked for the dot.
2. Serially doubt that. Why do you say that?
3. Ski is designed for a more centered mount. Take that for what it's worth. They're your skis.
It's been many years since I skied the 186s back there and I forget how they skied at -2 or -1 but it hasn't been so long I don't remember why I settled on 99 - because that is where they skied best for me and whoever else helped nail the bcl. You can always move the mount forward, so go for it. My 186 Kusalas have demo bindings on them but II don't think I'll do that on these. I feel confident enough on this mount that I'll drop in at 100.7 with a non demo binding. Hope that helps, mang.

**YaBoyBlue** · 12-02-2020, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by splat

1. Where Keith put the dot is where I calculated the line to be before I looked for the dot.
2. Serially doubt that. Why do you say that?
3. Ski is designed for a more centered mount. Take that for what it's worth. They're your skis.
It's been many years since I skied the 186s back there and I forget how they skied at -2 or -1 but it hasn't been so long I don't remember why I settled on 99 - because that is where they skied best for me and whoever else helped nail the bcl. You can always move the mount forward, so go for it. My 186 Kusalas have demo bindings on them but II don't think I'll do that on these. I feel confident enough on this mount that I'll drop in at 100.7 with a non demo binding. Hope that helps, mang.

This is great, thanks! My main point was to seek clarity and you have provided.

I was wanting to mount back a bit but I’m just going to put the bindings on the line and call it good.

**lucknau** · 12-02-2020, 01:34 PM

Is the dot at the narrowest point of the waist on these? I was playing around with a micrometer last night and it seemed that way. 125.9mm at the dot and greater in either direction.

**Muggydude** · 12-02-2020, 06:14 PM

Finally got mine. 5++ flex on the wrapper made me chuckle, definitely the stiffest skis I own. I measured the dot on mine and they’re pretty much right at 101cm from tip. Straight pull is 188cm, so that puts the sidewall punch at -7cm for me.

Kai approves of the veneer, probably wouldn’t mind chewing on them either