Today, dear children, we are going to tell you a story that only life in the internet age can write. The story of how many ideas and many people influenced and fertilized each other until a special ski was born. A ski that many people had already thought about, but which was still not to be found on the store shelves.
But let's start at the very beginning: At some point, a gifted athlete and comedian with the well-known name Shane McConkey came along and convinced the ski manufacturer Volant to build a full-reverse ski. In other words, a ski with a completely continuous, negative camber and waist. The Spatula was born. The incredible way it could be used to ski soft snow quickly caused a sensation. However, due to its moderate all-round suitability and catastrophic piste performance, the ski did not really catch on and reverse skis remained a barely known niche product, even though they were the cornerstone and pioneer of today's rocker revolution.
The uncompromising concept had and still has its fans. Anyone who has ever experienced the feeling of a ski drifting across steep powder slopes at high speeds - also known as slarving - will never want to do without it again. Keith O'Meara felt the same way, and after the Spatula experiment was over, he started building his own skis: Praxis Skis was born. A ski company that focuses on craftsmanship and assembles all skis in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. And to this day offers the only full reverse ski, the Praxis Powder Boards.
One day Drew Tabke - Freeride World Tour rider and last year's overall champion - met Kevin O'Meara, Keith's brother, and their shared tastes became a collaboration that gave birth to the brainchild TheProtest. It is by no means the only hybrid ski - a mix that attempts to combine classic ski design with reverse boards - on the market, but it is by far the most uncompromising. A ski that made the problems of full reverse skis manageable in hard snow without losing much of its unique performance in soft snow.
This ski has been consistently developed over the last few years and has found more and more fans. Nevertheless, its width makes it a powder-only ski for fat days. And nothing that you want to haul too far up the mountain under your own steam.
So the search for a touring freeride ski that still conveys this feeling continued. An extremely enterprising searcher named Kevin Bazar recently got the ball rolling. Discussions in the TGR community became increasingly heated. Until Keith was persuaded to release a narrow version of the protest. Based on Kevin's nickname, the idea of "WooTest" became reality. Of course in proven Top Notch Practice quality.
The ski can be pre-ordered from now until January 12 in two lengths (187 cm and 196 cm) and will be delivered at the end of January. It is therefore only available for a limited time and the free choice of topsheet graphic, material and flex of the ski are also unique.
A real bargain at $589.99 plus shipping. You won't find a semi-custom ski this cheap again so quickly. Even cheaper with a code coupon.
Protesting the Backcountry - The Backstory on Blister Gear Review
