Moment Deathwish VS. Praxis Concept

Powder / Soft Snow

In softer snow, despite its narrower width, I found myself reaching for the Deathwish. As I noted previously, I get occasional tip dive on the Concept, which I find incredibly annoying. This statement comes with the caveat that the Deathwish is mounted with demo bindings, which enabled me to shift the mount back to -1cm (which I did after my first day on them). I think if I could do the same on the Concept, my tip dive issues would likely disappear.

Mount position aside, however, the slightly softer flex and the taller, longer rocker profile make the Deathwish tips rise to the surface easily and consistently. That Deathwish shape also made them easier to ski through heavy, wet snow. Those conditions are tough on any ski, but I found the Deathwish to be less hooky in these conditions than the Concept.

Noah Bodman, Moment Deathwish, Blister Gear Review
Noah Bodman on the Moment Deathwish. (Photo by Erin Bodman)

The Deathwish is what I would call a playful ski that can handle higher speeds with confidence—to a point. I wouldn’t say the Deathwish has a well-defined speed limit, but it prefers to make turns rather than figure elevens. Especially in soft snow, the Deathwish is more inclined to bounce down the hill at a moderate pace. I found myself spending a lot of time in the air because the Deathwish is more inclined to pop off soft piles of snow than truck through them.

The Concept is slightly “chargier”—the lower rocker profile and more shark-nosed tip cut through snow better than the Deathwish. While the Concept is still happy to pop from pile to pile, it likes to be skied faster and more aggressively. With the carbon layup in the Concept, this creates a bit of a juxtaposition: they like to go fast, but they get kicked around a bit because of their light weight, and they’re not particularly damp. I imagine the traditional fiberglass Concept would be better in this regard, and probably more like the Deathwish, albeit stiffer. While I wouldn’t call the Deathwish a “damp” ski, it was a bit less chattery in variable snow than the Concept.

Chop and Crud

In “unfavorable” conditions (i.e., mixed refreeze, glop, and ice), I don’t really give high points to either ski. In chunky snow that’ll rattle your fillings out, neither ski is damp enough to do a really great job. I give a slight nod to the Deathwish just because it’s a little easier to plod along at a slow pace and avoid the worst of the nastiness, but, unsurprisingly, I’ll still take my old XXLs in these awful conditions.

Groomers / Off-Piste Hardpack

On hardpack, both skis are wicked good. (For those that didn’t grow up in Massachusetts, that means they’re well above average.) I would rate the edge hold on the Deathwish as “mint,” but the Concept ups the ante and is rated “wicked pissa.” The Deathwish is more than happy to lay sweeping carves down a groomer, but the Concept can lay down a fairly serious set of trenches. Both skis take a bit of angulation to really get them to start working. The Deathwish in particular is a bit skittery when run bases flat; the extra rocker at both ends gives it that glorified snowblade feel, but that goes away once it’s tipped up on edge.

As I noted in my Concept review, the Concept is occasionally hooky on icy hardpack. I’m 90% sure this could be remedied by detuning the tips and tails a bit, but I’ve resisted doing that because I have so much fun railing groomers on them, and the “stock” tune is great for that.

Also, the Concept is not, by any means, a damp ski. While this can be a liability in variable snow and crud, it’s a bunch of fun on groomers. Load them up into a turn, and they will literally launch you into the next one. The Deathwish is a bit more subdued in this regard—they can still be loaded into a turn, but they don’t catapult you out quite as aggressively.

Construction

Both skis are nicely constructed, but I give points to Praxis for their full wrap edges. I also found the bases on the Concept to be significantly faster. This is not to say that the Praxis bases are particularly fast, but for what it’s worth, even with some fresh, mid-temp wax (that I also use on the Concept), the Deathwish was slooow on cat tracks.

By the numbers, the two skis weigh about the same (the Concept is slightly lighter). In practice, I would say the Concept felt significantly lighter on my feet. They swing around quite easily for their size, and they’re light enough that I consider them to be a viable option for long-ish tours.

Bottom Line

On the mountain, I always had fun on the Deathwish. They hold up pretty well if I’m in the mood to get after it, but they’re just as happy to have a mellow day of cruising around the hill, looking for leftover powder stashes. I’d recommend the Deathwish to anyone looking for a versatile quiver of one; despite the name and funky camber profile, they’re extremely easy to ski in almost any condition.

While the Deathwish is not the best ski for any particular condition, if you dropped me off at a random ski hill and I didn’t know what the conditions would be like that day, I could take the Deathwish and have a good time.

The Concept, on the other hand, is incredibly awesome when I’m on my game and pushing it. They have, however, occasionally kicked my ass when I was feeling lazy or was a bit less attentive. Unlike the Deathwish, the Concept is definitely not the easiest ski to noodle around on. It’s not that the Concept is impossible or unruly, it just requires a bit more attention when skiing it. Skiers who prefer a stiff, charging ski but are looking for something more versatile, or possibly just something that plays well in tight spaces, should definitely consider the Concept.

 

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3 comments on “Moment Deathwish VS. Praxis Concept”

  1. Thanks for that comparison, really helpful. Both Praxis and Moment are local outfits with great products. Just started to get to know my new concepts, would love to get on some Deathwishs one of these days.

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