New Skis! Back in the Stable again... Praxis Protests

[Ron]

These are my favorite powder skis and I foolishly sold them to @jmeb a couple years ago. With more heavy snow days, these are ridiculously stupid fun and easy in any powder. In case anyone is interested, they are offering a killer early season purchase deal.

Protest

www.praxisskis.com

 

[jmeb]

I agree -- it was foolish. The only upside is that you get a prettier top sheet (although the ones I now have do match my Bibby's nicely). The stained glass pictured being one of my faves from them.

This is the ski that shows you what the cult of reverse sidecut is all about -- without having to monitor doing the spatula splits and being able to safely get down hardpack and groomers. They're not just good in deep powder, they rule in deep chop, crud, and slush. But they are also more intuitive than any powder ski than I've ever been on.

@Ron 's came to me mounted with Griffon Schizo binders and adjusted to -0.5cm from recommended. I found -1cm to be the sweet spot for me, although I am larger than Ron with a bigger boot size.

At $499 for a ski with your choice of topsheets and flex that is made to exacting standards in Tahoe -- it's a great deal. For the record, mine are the standard flex 3 in 187. I'm 6'2" / 175# before gear. This works really well for me skiing the mostly lightweight snow of CO at pretty high speeds.

 

[Ron]

yeah, the factory standard flex is ideal IMHO and I will probably mount those at -1 as well. BTW, there are about 40 or so top sheets to choose from or you can upgrade to a wood veneer as well. The 187 measures about 185ish and skis a little short making this an ideal length.

 

[Wasatchman]

@Ron

At $499 for a ski with your choice of topsheets and flex that is made to exacting standards in Tahoe -- it's a great deal. For the record, mine are the standard flex 3 in 187. I'm 6'2" / 175# before gear. This works really well for me skiing the mostly lightweight snow of CO at pretty high speeds.
[/QUOTE]
But they are $799 on sale, right? Not $499.

 

[jmills115]

@Wasatchman

They are listed under custom presale.

Custom Order Skis - Easiest Custom Build - Praxis Skis | Custom Skis Handcrafted in the Sierra Nevada

www.praxisskis.com

 

[Wasatchman]

@Wasatchman

They are listed under custom presale.

Custom Order Skis - Easiest Custom Build - Praxis Skis | Custom Skis Handcrafted in the Sierra Nevada

www.praxisskis.com

Thanks! So this must be the cheapest they have ever been. Any experience in these? Which ski would you get?

 

[jmills115]

Thanks! So this must be the cheapest they have ever been. Any experience in these? Which ski would you get?

I haven’t ridden a Praxxis ski before but think the Protest would be a nice addition.

 

[chopchop]

Johnathan Ellsworth's review:

2021-2022 Praxis Protest | Blister

BLISTER | Featured, Recommended, Reviews, Skiing | March 16, 2012 | The most honest & in-depth reviews of outdoor gear

blisterreview.com

 

[jmeb]

Thanks! So this must be the cheapest they have ever been. Any experience in these? Which ski would you get?

Depends entirely on what you need. IMHO the all-time great Praxis skis are: Protests, GPOs, RX, Piste Jib, and for touring Backcountry/Yeti.

 

[Ron]

I had reviewed them on Epic . The Protest is of course a wide (128) powder ski, it has a unique shape, nearly zero camber (3mm) with very little actual rise but long run tip/tail, 138/128/132 and is skiable inbounds on the groomers on the way back to the lifts. (see the dims in detail on the first post) but in the powder, the Protest skis like a dream; they are super quick, easy and a lot of fun. its super wide underfoot and the tips are nearly impossible to sink. I have skied these in everything from shin to thigh deep pow and even on a backcountry day with breakable crust and in all conditions they area blast, in tight evergreens, they pivot on a dime and they make broken snow feel like fresh. They aren't for everyone though. You do ski them loose and slarvy, I am primarily getting them for heavier snow storms (which we are getting more of) where they will float above the Mank. However, they also make low angle pow a blast.

 

[Quandary]

Keith, the owner, is a great guy. Its amazing how much time he will spend working with you through the selection process. I ordered these for low tide days,

 

[Eleeski]

+1 on that Keith is a quality person to deal with.

We love our Backcountrys! The biggest problem was that I never got to ski them as my kids always grabbed them first. No problem now as we have a couple new ones so everyone can ride them.

The Backcountrys are a nice all around ski. Obviously great in the powder. Also my son has Shift bindings mounted and enjoys them for skinning. Fun in the crud. Surprisingly excellent in the bumps. Decent on firm groomers. Confidence inspiring on those icy traverses over to the good stuff. Magic skis!

Eric

 

[jmeb]

Keith, the owner, is a great guy. Its amazing how much time he will spend working with you through the selection process. I ordered these for low tide days,

View attachment 102568

Skied a pair of these in flex 4, 191 for 4 days. I came into them cheap, but sold them shortly thereafter. Because they were shear missles and my skiing wasn't up to snuff. In 185 they would rule chalky alpine conditions.

 

[Wasatchman]

This is very tempting as I have never tried the "custom ski" route before and this is an accessible price (probably due to Covid).

As much as I'd like a dedicated pow ski, I'd get more use for a ski around 110 in the quiver. I'd like soft snow bias but something that will still perform more decently on groomed and bumps than a dedicated pow ski. For example, I had been eyeing something in the quiver like the K2 mindbender 108ti in the Corbett's sale but passed as I hadn't demo'd. But you never really demo a custom ski and this price may push me over the edge to give them a try.

Anybody have experience with this type of ski from Praxis or model suggestions? Great to know you can work with the owner, but like to know if anyone here has experience with that type of Praxis ski. Or if it's like, hey, if you're going to buy your first Praxis it does really need to be a dedicated pow ski like the Protest.

Thanks!!

 

[chopchop]

I found this interesting: Blister tells you what year model they review and if there were any changes from previous years (aside from graphics). For the protest here's what he had:

[Note: Our review was conducted on the 12/13 Protest, which was not changed for 13/14, 14/15, 15/16, 16/17, 17/18, 18/19, or 19/20, apart from graphics.]​

More typical is "no changes from last year's model" or maybe two years back.

That says something (good, I think) about the design and the company. Thanks @Ron for putting them on the radar.

 

[Jim McDonald]

I owned the Protest and the Freeride, loved them both. Also skied the Concept on two days when I was in Tahoe; it's a unique feel but once you get used to it it just works. And Keith is simply an amazing human being. I knocked on his door completely unannounced late one afternoon and he couldn't've been more gracious, showed me all around the shop, asked it I wanted to dry something and set me up with the Concepts, then called me the next day to say he was off to Europe (to see Drew Tabke in a WFT comp) and "yeah, so when you're done just drop them off with xxxxx at such&such, no problem." Thinking about a GPO!

 

[Quandary]

This is very tempting as I have never tried the "custom ski" route before and this is an accessible price (probably due to Covid).

This my second time attempting a custom ski. My first custom skis experience, not Praxis, did not go well but turned out ok in the end. The build resulted in a powder ski so soft as to be unskiable. Ultimately the builder fulfilled their promise of complete satisfaction by returning the purchase price. I in turn bought the ON3P Billy Goats, which are the best powder skis I have ever skied.

As a result of working through my situation it seems to me that the hardest part to get right is the flex. Talking with Keith it is pretty straightforward to work through the correct ski you want for the objective you are trying to achieve. To me the flex is the hard part as its so personal. For me the easiest way is if the builder can give you a comparison to a ski you know. For example Kieth was able to compare the 9D8 with the standard build, heavy hitter core #4 flex, to a ski in my quiver the K2 Mindbender 108ti. Kieth indicated that the HH in #4 flex would be very similar to the K2. Based on that I knew the #4 flex would be perfect and I ordered the ski. Never skied a Praxis before but the company's story is great and the build quality is reputed to be unmatched. Finally ay $499 for the "simple" build its not much of a risk to give them a try.

 

[jmeb]

This is very tempting as I have never tried the "custom ski" route before and this is an accessible price (probably due to Covid).

As much as I'd like a dedicated pow ski, I'd get more use for a ski around 110 in the quiver. I'd like soft snow bias but something that will still perform more decently on groomed and bumps than a dedicated pow ski. For example, I had been eyeing something in the quiver like the K2 mindbender 108ti in the Corbett's sale but passed as I hadn't demo'd. But you never really demo a custom ski and this price may push me over the edge to give them a try.

Anybody have experience with this type of ski from Praxis or model suggestions? Great to know you can work with the owner, but like to know if anyone here has experience with that type of Praxis ski. Or if it's like, hey, if you're going to buy your first Praxis it does really need to be a dedicated pow ski like the Protest.

Thanks!!

I'd look closely at "the SKI" if the 185 length works for you. I've skied the ski its based on a couple of times -- the RX -- and it is uber versatile for 116mm waist width. I imagine a slimmed down version would be a bit nice in the bumps.

If you like a looser feeling ski in general -- I'd check out the GPO which has a legion of fans. If you like a more traditional ski, the Freeride (which I owned for 3 seasons and stupidly sold).

One of my favorite things about Praxis is their very specific dimensions they include which help you get a feel for the shape. The camber contact length, tapers, and rocker lengths really help compare skis more than just width dimensions.

 

[Wasatchman]

I'd look closely at "the SKI" if the 185 length works for you. I've skied the ski its based on a couple of times -- the RX -- and it is uber versatile for 116mm waist width. I imagine a slimmed down version would be a bit nice in the bumps.

If you like a looser feeling ski in general -- I'd check out the GPO which has a legion of fans. If you like a more traditional ski, the Freeride (which I owned for 3 seasons and stupidly sold).

One of my favorite things about Praxis is their very specific dimensions they include which help you get a feel for the shape. The camber contact length, tapers, and rocker lengths really help compare skis more than just width dimensions.

Gives me some good ideas to speak with Keith about. Thanks. 185 should be a good length for me artthese widths and softer snow bias. Just want to be able to do some bumps without feling I'm trying to get through them in an unwieldy tank.

 

[Ron]

I found a pic of me skiing on the protests.