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super fat skis
- Thread starter treebunny
- Start date
I've skied Spatulas and Praxis - the Praxis are much lighter and easier to ski. They have a little less sidecut which makes them handle better on traverses and groomed snow, but they still have all the benefits of a reverse camber/reverse sidecut ski in deep snow.
My husband bought some Pontoons but didn't like them compared to his Spatulas, and is now 100% sold on the Praxis.
I haven't tried Hellbents though, so not sure how they compare.
My husband bought some Pontoons but didn't like them compared to his Spatulas, and is now 100% sold on the Praxis.
I haven't tried Hellbents though, so not sure how they compare.
cloudpeak
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I skied 179 Pontoons last year a few times. The 169s weren't yet available. They were fun, but were a lot of ski for me, and I tended to feel like I was skiing in the back seat on them which is kind of funny when you consider the size of the shovel on them.
This year I've been skiing 169 HellBents almost exclusively. I've also skied the Praxis two times (my 175s just showed up the other day).
Personally, of the three skis, I prefer the HellBents and Praxis over the Pontoons. You can feel like a great skier on either one. They just sail in deep snow.
The HellBents are surprisingly versatile skis. They have enough side cut to perform well on groomers, and they're pretty awesome in the deep snow we've been having. I must admit that the first few times I skied them they were a little challenging, but I've gotten used to them and really love them. BTW, the HellBent graphics act as a conversation starter on lift rides. One woman grimaced and told me that she couldn't believe that I was willing to ski on skis with such "boyish" graphics.
The Praxis are pretty wonderful in deep snow, too, but less versatile than the HellBents. They're also much lighter than the HellBents. I found the learning curve faster and easier for the Praxis. Nonetheless, they challenge me more on traverses and groomers than the HellBents do. Also, I can't dive the tips on the HellBents, but managed to dive a tip and go over the handlebars once on the Praxis.
To sum up: The HellBents are more of an all around ski than the Praxis. They work well in most conditions on the mountain short of boilerplate. They're even OK in bumps. They ski switch really well (I don't, but the skis do LOL). They're wonderful fun in powder and deep snow. The Praxis are also silly fun in deep snow, but annoying on groomers and traverses.
In PNW snow, I think either would be a great choice.
FWIW, I'm 5'7" and 150 pounds.
This year I've been skiing 169 HellBents almost exclusively. I've also skied the Praxis two times (my 175s just showed up the other day).
Personally, of the three skis, I prefer the HellBents and Praxis over the Pontoons. You can feel like a great skier on either one. They just sail in deep snow.
The HellBents are surprisingly versatile skis. They have enough side cut to perform well on groomers, and they're pretty awesome in the deep snow we've been having. I must admit that the first few times I skied them they were a little challenging, but I've gotten used to them and really love them. BTW, the HellBent graphics act as a conversation starter on lift rides. One woman grimaced and told me that she couldn't believe that I was willing to ski on skis with such "boyish" graphics.
The Praxis are pretty wonderful in deep snow, too, but less versatile than the HellBents. They're also much lighter than the HellBents. I found the learning curve faster and easier for the Praxis. Nonetheless, they challenge me more on traverses and groomers than the HellBents do. Also, I can't dive the tips on the HellBents, but managed to dive a tip and go over the handlebars once on the Praxis.
To sum up: The HellBents are more of an all around ski than the Praxis. They work well in most conditions on the mountain short of boilerplate. They're even OK in bumps. They ski switch really well (I don't, but the skis do LOL). They're wonderful fun in powder and deep snow. The Praxis are also silly fun in deep snow, but annoying on groomers and traverses.
In PNW snow, I think either would be a great choice.
FWIW, I'm 5'7" and 150 pounds.
cloudpeak
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
HellBents come in 169, 179, and 189. They actually all ski "longer" than the specs say.
The Praxis is a reverse camber/reverse side cut ski. They're made by Praxis, a boutique ski company in Tahoe. They come in 175, 185, and 195. You can pick between a number of nice graphics for the top skins.
Praxis
cloudpeak
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Because of the reverse camber, the 175 Praxis ski shorter than the 169 HellBents, and they're lighter, too.
The Praxis actually have reverse side cut, which is why I find them more challenging on traverses and groomers.
Both skis perform great in deep snow though. I skied the HellBents yesterday on wind buff and styrofoam type snow, and they did great. In those conditions, I would have found the reverse side cut of the Praxis more challenging.
I'm a pretty mediocre skier, and I think both skis are silly fun. You're quite a bit smaller than I am, so I don't know whether you'd find these skis too big. If I see you at the mountain sometime, I'd be happy to let you try them out if our boot soles are compatible.
cloudpeak
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I hope to be at Stevens Friday unless the road is closed again.
I won't be there on Saturday because I, too, plan to caucus. I'm impressed with your dedication to drive back and forth to ski and to caucus!
i'll probably be in a brick red bonfire coat and either most likely on final release of pocket rockets ( the ones with wings) or scarlets and i have baby blue goggles! hope there is no trouble getting up the hill. and i'm up for a western ski meetup!what do you wear jaydog? i'll keep my eyes peeled.
cloudpeak
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Well, with all the main roads closed, including Stevens Pass, I obviously didn't make it to the mountain today, but that's a good thing. The avalanche conditions are off the hook. I can't remember when all the passes across the Cascades were closed at the same time due to avalanche danger. Whatever you do this weekend, play safe. Maybe I'll meet up you another time. Sunday, perhaps?
Since I can't ski today, I'm going to the swimming pool tonight and practice my kayak roll instead.
Since I can't ski today, I'm going to the swimming pool tonight and practice my kayak roll instead.
we actually went all the way up and went to the lodge for coffee to THEN discover the ski area was closed for the day! we went back to skykomish for breakfast and then discovered the road was closed for going back up the hill! some timing! we do plan on being there sunday monday if we can get up there. man what a lot of snow!!!!!! they had six foot drifts in the parking lot! i do remember a couple years like this where they couldn't keep the passes open but it was quite a while ago. well we did the next best thing and went ski shopping!
powdergirl
Diva in Training
I just got a pair of 169 Pontoons this week and I have one day on them so far and I've also skied a bunch on a pair of 170 G-Funkenstein Lites which are reverse camber and sidecut. The GF Lites are a blast in unskied or lightly skied snow but as soon as the crud starts to develop into bumps and hard spots I start whining (because I can't go fast any more) and go back to the car for a different pair of skis. Or go ski tight steep trees to get away from the tracks. Making quick turns in untracked is effortless on those skis.
My first day on the Pontoons had 6" of graupel with another 6" that fell in four hours of skiing. The Pontoons definitely work better than the GF lites on bumpy cat tracks, and they were a lot of fun in the wide open--very stable and easy to make go fast in big surfy turns. But they also feel like a longer ski and if I wanted to make quick turns I had to get forward and work at the turn initiation...but it was also my first day on them and I'm sure there's a learning curve. 169 feels like plenty of ski at my size (5'5"/135).
My first day on the Pontoons had 6" of graupel with another 6" that fell in four hours of skiing. The Pontoons definitely work better than the GF lites on bumpy cat tracks, and they were a lot of fun in the wide open--very stable and easy to make go fast in big surfy turns. But they also feel like a longer ski and if I wanted to make quick turns I had to get forward and work at the turn initiation...but it was also my first day on them and I'm sure there's a learning curve. 169 feels like plenty of ski at my size (5'5"/135).
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