175 Praxis ?

[raj]

Yes there are a bazillion posts about Praxis but all about the 185 or 195 and mostly heavy guys. I paid for the pre order deal but want to hear thoughts about the 175 vs. 185from smaller guys (140-160 pounds). I ski pretty aggressively but am lightweight at 5'8, 145. I emailed Keith and he thought I would be at the border and could go either way as these ski short. My everyday ski are Prophet 100s in 180 and before that it was the Wizard Exploder 180. I seem to like skis in the 175-180 range. Longer than that, I had no issues with Gotama 183 or Guns in 181 but felt LP 186 were too much for my weight/ terrain. On the other hand, my PE 169 I got for park are too short for me for allmountain and before that Line Mothership in 172 were too short.

Keith said he hasn't received too many orders for the 175 but I thought they would make a lot of sense. I ski at Mt Hood Meadows and when it is deep, mostly visibility is really bad and top lifts with open/bigger terrain tend to be closed. On such days, the best terrain is tight trees (Jack's Woods, Private Reserve, God's Wall etc). No one is going faster than 20-30 mph and float/ mobility is the main factor and not stability. When bigger terrain does open, it tends to be windpacked/ not too deep and something like my Prophet 100s or bigger traditional ski like Lotus 120would make more sense...

For next year, I am keeping my Prophet 100s for everyday and PE for park and add 1) burlier groomer/ no snow ski: likely Head im88 in 175 2) dynafit touring rig. So the slot for Praxis seems like tight tree ski.

Based on all this, 175 made sense to me but with reverse/ reverse, maybe they will ski like snowblades and 185 on these is like 175 on normal skis... I am confused and haven't skied Spatulas so am not calibrated on the new reverse/ reverse shapes. Help me out.

[flip]

I'm 5'8 160, on the 185s. I only got a day on mine, but they were so incredibly easy to turn, even at painfully slow speeds in tight trees (upper mountain was closed...), that there is no reason you would want a shorter ski. For reference, I like short skis. I have owned (and enjoyed) 168cm G4s and 170cm W105s. Everyday ski is now a 180cm explosiv.

[raj]

Thanks Flip. You are very close to me in height/ weight previous skis (180 exploders), so that helps a lot.

[PowStompper]

I run the 185s and ran the Spatchies before that, and they seem to be the right leangth for me. I am a little taller than you but same weight. They work on anything smooth, I find them as enjoyable on groomers as a traditional ski.

[soul_skier]

i'm 5 ft 10, and am getting the 195s, these ski real, real short, get the 185s

[The Dad]

If you're comfortable on 180s with normal camber and sidecut, reverse 185s are a no-brainer.

[raj]

Thanks everyone. Looks like unanimous opinion

175 = girl ski
185 = light guys
195 = charging/ heavier guys.

So basically size up 5-10 cm from normal cambered skis. Got it, thanks.