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The Praxis Powder Boards were one of the first “funshape” skis to enter the market after Volant Spatula. The dimensions of the ski are 131-136-124 (tip-waist-tail), the skis I’ve got are 185cm. Praxis skis now also offers 195 and 175cm models. The Praxis Powder Boards have a continuous reverse camber, the shape of the ski is a continous curve with no flat spot underfoot whatsoever. The skis are produced in the US by a “boutique” ski company Praxis Skis, with Keith O’meara being the main guy behind them.

The testers stats:

- 185cm (6′)
- 67kgs (147lbs) .. and yes I know I’m skinny
- 100+ days on snow for last 4 seasons in Austria, before that 30+ days/season on the icy pistes of Finland
- Not super technical, no race background, lately developed a liking for stiffer skis (Explosiv)

Construction and build quality of Praxis Powder Boards

I got the Praxis Powder Boards during the first season of their existence, in the late season 06/07. The model is still unchanged. Since the purchase, I’ve had over 110 days on these skis (estimated).

Already while unwrapping them the build quality of these skis impressed me, sidewalls and the layup of the ski seemed solid.. but at this point I am totally convinced. Although I’m a light guy I’m still not exactly light on my gear. After over 90 days the normal wear and tear is somewhat noticeable and the topsheet is scratched, but I have experienced no topsheet chipping or similar problems whatsoever. I’m usually not the one to believe the stories about this and that ski’s bases being super durable, but when it comes to Praxis Powder Boards I’m the one to make such comment myself. Sure, my Praxis have some scratches in the base, but no core shots! Now for someone who takes good care of his/her skis that might not be amazing at all, but I’ve always thought that a good powder run is worth a few stone hits, and have skied these babies in shallower conditions also. The p-tex on these skis seems to be holding up amazingly well. The edges are thick also. These skis are not afraid of use.

Flex and weight

The Praxis Powder Boards are by no means noodles, like for example the K2 Pontoons are. The flex is nice and even, getting progressively stiffer towards the waist. Underfoot the ski is plenty stiff. And what comes to weight; these planks are light. They’re noticeably lighter, a lot lighter actually, than my 179cm long Seth Vicious’.. The light weight is very impressive considering the build quality and the relative stiffness of the ski.

How Praxis Powder Boards behave on snow?

The Praxis Powder Boards were the first funshape skis that I had ever skied. The first runs on these skis were a bit confusing. Getting used to the idea of reverse sidecut & camber took me some time and I didn’t feel confident on them first, but after couple days the problem was gone.

In soft snow, which is what these skis are made for, the Praxis Powder Boards excel. Sinking the tip is practically nearly impossible, it stays on top of the snow even on low angle runs. I use my Praxis on days with only 10-15cms of new snow since they will float on the top anyway. In soft snow and wide open areas I haven’t really found a speed limit, although they have a different feeling to them than a “normal” ski at very high speeds and it is not always as confidence inspiring as on normal skis, but these skis are still by no means unstable in soft snow. The “different feeling” is what best describes the way these reverse/reverse planks ski. It is a feeling that some might not get used to, for example a skier who likes to rail big turns on very stiff skis might have some problems adapting or might not adapt at all. I’m not saying that doing big turns on the Praxis is hard or more uncomfortable than on “normal” fat skis, but some might dislike the feel of the ski and the slight adjustments one might need to make to his/her technique. Having said that, I ski stiff skis also and very much enjoy the way they ski, but still am still in love with the Praxis. Someone who wants to retain the feeling of a normal sidecut ski might want to look into skis with just rockered tip. Some of them are mentioned in our Rocket Revolution article.

In powder it is possible to ski the Praxis the way normal fatties are skied, but dividing weight more on both feet and standing in the middle of your ski, slashing and sliding your turns, will open up another dimension of powder skiing. Real sliding in soft snow is really hard with “normal” skis but with a bit of practise the Praxis Powder Boards make it easy. The turn initiation is also amazingly easy and fast while the shape of the ski still allows the skier to choose the size of your turns. In chopped up, tracked out powder, the different feel of these skis becomes evident again. On big stiff skis you’re charging it, killing and going through everything that is in your way while blasting some heavy metal from your mp3 player; on Praxis Powder Boards you rather switch your music choice to some funk and let the skis run, at higher speeds they will stay on top of the chopped up stuff, instead of going through.

Praxis Powder Boards Rip the Trees, Crust & Heavy Snow

The best area of use for the Praxis Powder Boards is clearly the trees. The easy turn initiation and the ability to throw your skis sidewards to scrub speed at any point you like is so so great. Skiing trees just became much more fun! Being on these planks in trees feels like cheating, it enables me to ride much faster and with more confidence in tight spots. Earlier on I mentioned how someone might not like the Praxis Powder Boards as much for skiing wide open areas than a normal fat ski, but in trees I think it’ll be impossible to find a ski that rivals the reverse/reverse design.

Another area where I’m really happy to be on Praxis Powder Boards is snow with some kind of breakable crust layer on top, be it either wind- or suncrust. With normal planks, especially ones with a lot of sidecut the problem with a ski “locking” into a turn is very evident. If the crust is not thick and I’m on Praxis it nearly feels like skiing powder. Thicker crust becomes a lot more manageable also. No worries about catching an edge. Just like when skiing trees, this is another area where I personally feel like cheating.

Heavy snow is no longer a problem either. Because of the massive surface area and decamber the tip of the ski just refuses to go under, and the overall shape of the ski will help in making turns. Bottomless rotten slush is now skiable, just remember keep those bases well waxed!

The Downfalls of Praxis Powder Boards

Obviously, these skis are not designed for hard snow use. The Praxis Powder Boards do not even pretend to handle hard snow well; as mentioned the reverse camber of the ski is a continuous curve with no flat spot underfoot and there is no sidecut underfoot either. As a result, the hard snow performance of these skis could be best described as very sucky. Some people report that you can “kind of carve” on these skis by either pressuring the tip or tail portion of the ski, but really I found that the best way to survive the few hundred meters of the piste back to the lift after emerging from the trees is to just slide your turns, think you’re back in the 80s and ski these planks the same way. So be warned: While you left your friends behind you in the trees where the snow was still soft, the obligatory hard snow patches, traverses and cat tracks will have struggling a bit.

Very big drops are not my specialty but the at least up to 4-5meters (~15feet) they seem to be doing fine. The rockered tip can sometimes prevent faceplants when landing weight a bit too forward since it doesn’t dive as easily. I can imagine that the rockered tails might wheelie out if landing bigger drops on the tails though.

I found steep lines with relatively soft snow somewhat problematic also, but I haven’t skied much steep stuff on the Praxis Powder Boards and it might be a simple question of getting used to it. The main problem seemed to be that the tails and tips wash out easily when doing (landing) jump turns, and once the tail or tip washes out it’s not easy to recover, getting weight back to the middle of the ski is hard. I wouldn’t be the first one to do steep, technical, long, no-fall lines with reverse/reverse skis like Praxis even if the snow was soft at the top – the thought of running into ice or hard snow further down is too scary. I don’t feel the need to, either; as soon as you’re doing jump turns you know the Praxis are out of their element. So relatively steep, high speed, technical lines with loads of powder – sure, but for jumpturns, no-fall zones and long lines I would still choose another ski, even if the snow is soft.

One thing I’ve mentioned several times is the general “easiness” of the Praxis Powder Boards in soft snow. This might make you assume a bit more lazy style while on these planks. Don’t be misled though, these skis will still reward you for good technique and punish for bad, so keep your form and don’t forget about the proper technique and you’ll find yourself ripping through the trees even faster.

Conclusion

All in all, despite the sucky hard snow performance I still wouldn’t call these skis unversatile because they handle all soft snow conditions without problems, and that is a lot. If you’re looking to add a funshape ski to your quiver I can definitely recommend Praxis. Because of its downfalls, this is not a ski to pair up with your slalom skis, though. Praxis Powder Boards are best to have to compliment another, “normal” fat ski in your quiver. Check out our new products and innovations article for more 08/09 season rockered skis!