• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Any all-DPS ski quiver folks out there?

yizzung

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Posts
35
Hello, folks. I have rotated through a bunch of skis in the last ten years, searching for a great western US quiver. (5'10", 170 lbs, 25 years of skiing -- I ski everything on the mountain but I'm not an ex-racer, I could really care less about big GS-turns at 60 miles an hour. I like bumps, trees, steeps, and occasionally jumping off of something, but definitely not a park guy... hope that helps.)

I've tried numerous ways to assemble my quiver:
- 173 Bonafide (all mountain, ~8 years old) -- still have them but really bored with them
- 184 DPS Wailer (powder, ~6 years old) -- favorite ski ever
- a Faction park-oriented ski that I sold after one season -- very noodly and I don't ski switch, wasn't for me
- an ON3P Wrenegade 96 in 179 -- fun ski but a little too surfy for me (in the process of selling this one)

I'll probably keep my Wailer until the carbon disintegrates. I'm looking for a "fun" replacement for my old, boring Bonafide to be my all-mountain daily driver. I've skied the Enforcer 94 in 179 and the Mantra M6 177 this year. I kinda liked the Mantras even though I figured they'd be too stiff to be any fun. I Enforcers were pretty good too but I found the tails to be a little hooky in the bumps, which certainly could be driver error.

I'm debating fulling the skinnier end of my quiver with a DPS ski, since I just love the Wailer so much. Anybody doing this with the Pagoda 100 RP or the C2? My big concern is that they might get too bounced around too much when the snow is total crap. Is that valid? Any thoughts on the RP vs the C2? I tend to like a shorter turn radius, which makes me lean toward the RP. I don't really want a "carver" but I do care about how well this thing is going to do in crust and crud.

Thanks!
 

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
27,297
Location
Reno
DPS is a brand that has tried to develop a full quiver full of skis for men and women for the past 6-8 years, but every time they build a really good ski that is 78, 82, 87, 94, etc... they just do not sell to the DPS customer which is a shame because two of my absolute favorite skis from them were the trainer 78 and the Pagoda Piste 94 C2. In the coming year they will be dropping all of their skis under 100 to rethink the idea. They're getting back to the core of their core customer and develop skis 100 and above.
Starting with the new Kaizen 100 and 105.


That being said, the Pagoda Piste 94 C2 is a solid and stable ski in the conditions you're talking about. I've not been on the 100.
The upcoming Kaizen 100 is really really fun.
 
Last edited:

Jeronimo

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Mar 31, 2020
Posts
934
Location
Maine
I'm going to do some inferring here; It sounds like straight carving isn't necessarily your cup of tea so the radius of the ski probably won't matter much if the snow is soft and you're not planning on leaning over and bending them per their designed radius. With that in mind, I think you're likely a perfect candidate for the Pagoda Piste 94 C2. If I was west coast I imagine myself loving that ski. My dissatisfaction with it primarily stems from the fact that I live on the icecoast and 6+ inches of powder is pretty damn rare out here.

As always a demo would be ideal, there really is no substitute for putting them under your feet and experiencing how they mesh with YOUR ability/style.
 
Thread Starter
TS
yizzung

yizzung

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Posts
35
Thanks, that's helpful. I noticed that the
DPS is a brand that has tried to develop a full quiver full of skis for men and women for the past 6-8 years, but every time they build a really good ski that is 78, 82, 87, 94, etc... they just do sell to the DPS customer which is a shame because two of my absolute favorite skis from them were the trainer 78 and the Pagoda Piste 94 C2. In the coming year they will be dropping all of their skis under 100 to rethink the idea. They're getting back to the core of their core customer and develop skis 100 and above.
Starting with the new Kaizen 100 and 105.


That being said, the Pagoda Piste 94 C2 is a solid and stable ski in the conditions you're talking about. I've not been on the 100.
The upcoming Kaizen 100 is really really fun.
Thanks. Helpful. I noticed that DPS no longer lists the 100 C2 on their website and a couple of retailers have already marked them down by ~50%. (Unfortunately, not in a length that I'd prefer.) The 94 C2 is still on their site, which is curious given your comments about them abandoning everything below 100... (No retailers seem to be slashing prices on the 94. Yet?)

My only real reservation (aside from the insane price and having no ability to demo them anywhere close to me), is wondering how much they're going to deflect in bad snow. There are lots of reports about how stiff these are (one video review comparing them favorably to the Volkl Mantra, which seems ... curious) but I do understand that leaving my Bonafides at home (with their 37 layers of steel) will lead to an increase in both fun and in being bounced around a bit more. Physics.

I just like the DPS shape so much and figure it must align with my style better than most skis. I don't even really complain that much on my Wailers when I'm on the groomer.
 
Thread Starter
TS
yizzung

yizzung

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Posts
35
I'm going to do some inferring here; It sounds like straight carving isn't necessarily your cup of tea so the radius of the ski probably won't matter much if the snow is soft and you're not planning on leaning over and bending them per their designed radius. With that in mind, I think you're likely a perfect candidate for the Pagoda Piste 94 C2. If I was west coast I imagine myself loving that ski. My dissatisfaction with it primarily stems from the fact that I live on the icecoast and 6+ inches of powder is pretty damn rare out here.

As always a demo would be ideal, there really is no substitute for putting them under your feet and experiencing how they mesh with YOUR ability/style.
You're right. I'm not a GS-turn guy. But it's not all glory and powder out here, despite what the brochures say. We get our share of bad snow. It's not an east coast vertical ice rink but we do get snow, and then get warm days, and then get cold days when everything freezes over. It's can get pretty cruddy while you're waiting for the next el niño / la niña to "just do something".

For those times when the snow isn't ideal, I still want to be able to have fun. Maybe I'll just always need to keep a big metal ski in the shed for those days but I keep trying to convince myself that a wide (fun) DPS ski and a narrower (fun) DPS ski might do everything that I need and free up some space in the closet. Sadly, the demo ski situation in Tahoe is pretty bad. Difficult to get on anything other than the name brands.

The other option is to just get a newer metal ski to occupy that narrow slot. My (almost ten year old) bonafides have changed a lot. Mantras have gotten a tad easier to ski. Almost every ski now has lighter tips to help with swing weight. But after demos on Enforcer 94s and M6s, I thought they were capable but I wouldn't say that I was in love. Maybe a used demo Mantra to replace the bones while I scour the internet for a discounted Pagoda C2...
 

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
27,297
Location
Reno
Thanks, that's helpful. I noticed that the

Thanks. Helpful. I noticed that DPS no longer lists the 100 C2 on their website and a couple of retailers have already marked them down by ~50%. (Unfortunately, not in a length that I'd prefer.) The 94 C2 is still on their site, which is curious given your comments about them abandoning everything below 100... (No retailers seem to be slashing prices on the 94. Yet?)

My only real reservation (aside from the insane price and having no ability to demo them anywhere close to me), is wondering how much they're going to deflect in bad snow. There are lots of reports about how stiff these are (one video review comparing them favorably to the Volkl Mantra, which seems ... curious) but I do understand that leaving my Bonafides at home (with their 37 layers of steel) will lead to an increase in both fun and in being bounced around a bit more. Physics.

I just like the DPS shape so much and figure it must align with my style better than most skis. I don't even really complain that much on my Wailers when I'm on the groomer.
Are you talking about the 94C2 here?
I wouldn't call them stiff as much as solid, responsive, nimble, and powerful.
I don't feel like their easily compared to the Mantra/Secret. Its a completely different animal and in may ways exceeds it, worthy of the pricepoint.

As for the 94 still being on their website, keep in mind that we're talking about how DPS is going forward with next season's construction and the 94C2 is still in the 2022-23 line up.

My point is, if you want something narrower from DPS, you need to get it this year.
If you're looking for 100mm and above, you'll be able to check out the new Kaizen 100 or 105 next year.
 
Thread Starter
TS
yizzung

yizzung

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Posts
35
Are you talking about the 94C2 here?
I wouldn't call them stiff as much as solid, responsive, nimble, and powerful.
I don't feel like their easily compared to the Mantra/Secret. Its a completely different animal and in may ways exceeds it, worthy of the pricepoint.

As for the 94 still being on their website, keep in mind that we're talking about how DPS is going forward with next season's construction and the 94C2 is still in the 2022-23 line up.

My point is, if you want something narrower from DPS, you need to get it this year.
If you're looking for 100mm and above, you'll be able to check out the new Kaizen 100 or 105 next year.
I was not comparing them to the Mantras. I haven't skied them, so that would be pretty hard to do. I'm relying on the interwebs.

These guys, whoever they are, made a Mantra comparison to the PP 100 C2:

Here's what Blister said in 2020, also tossing in a Mantra reference also for the 100:
"Many of DPS’s recent Alchemist skis that we’ve tested have been very, very stiff. The 189 cm Pagoda Piste 100 C2 is also a very stiff ski, though its shovels and tails are just a tiny bit softer than, say, the 189 cm DPS Alchemist Wailer 106 C2."

"Overall, the Pagoda Piste 100 C2 is stiffer than many of its competitors, with a flex pattern that’s fairly similar to the Volkl Mantra 102, Fischer Ranger 99 Ti, and Fischer Ranger 102 FR. While the stiff Alchemist skis we tested were not the most forgiving of mistakes, since their flex patterns were consistently stiff (i.e., not soft in front and super stiff just in back), we did find them more forgiving and intuitive than we would’ve guessed simply by hand-flexing them."


I assume the main (or only) diff between the 94 and the 100 is primarily the waist measurement, so stiffness attributes would be comparable.

FWIW, I'm ok with 100mm as my narrower west coast ski. Do you know what the Kaizen is going to be? I presume that's a new construction (aka different than the Pagoda). The Tour is lighter so will the Kaizen be heavier? Or is it going to replace something, like the Foundation? And will it ship in the RP shape or the C2 or something new? (I'm still going to try to track down a PP94/100C2, but I'm curious to hear about what's coming...)
 
Thread Starter
TS
yizzung

yizzung

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Posts
35
Someone recently posted on Teton Gravity:

"This (coming) year, DPS drops their “RP” and “C2” nomenclature from their model names. Now, the ski names are simplified and there are general shapes DPS uses, but they have a bit more freedom to tinker with shapes. Replacing the old (but gold) Pagoda series this year are the new Kaizen skis..."
 

Jeronimo

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Mar 31, 2020
Posts
934
Location
Maine
Someone recently posted on Teton Gravity:

"This (coming) year, DPS drops their “RP” and “C2” nomenclature from their model names. Now, the ski names are simplified and there are general shapes DPS uses, but they have a bit more freedom to tinker with shapes. Replacing the old (but gold) Pagoda series this year are the new Kaizen skis..."
Man, the frequency in which they "replace" their construction methods is borderline alarming...
 

ski otter 2

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Nov 20, 2015
Posts
2,920
Location
Front Range, Colorado
I apologize, but this DPS thread has me head scratching.

I demoed a 112 Wailer a few years ago, and liked it, but not enough to buy it. It was very precise and also
very "turny," in a good way. A soft snow ski that did well on corduroy also, carving.

I also demoed a Wailer that was something like 98 width, maybe a year later - not a favorite,
so it's confusing to me when the OP simply says his favorite ski is a "Wailer," without giving any width to that, that I could see.
@yizzun, what width - and design - Wailer are you talking about? :)

To complicate things further, with the previous introduction of the "new" Pagoda construction, in some models,
that construction expanded this year(?) to more models, as I understood it, replacing the "Alchemist" construction,
but not the "Foundation" construction.

But in this thread, the "Pagoda" construction is now being described as "old."
I guess so, in the sense it is no longer being freshly introduced for next year, and I gather it is now being replaced in turn
by some other construction, the "Kaizen" construction.

Further complication: at about the same time as the Pagoda introduction, there was a "Piste" design,
as opposed to the RP ("Resort Powder") and the C2 designs, as I understood it.

(And previously, there was a C1 design also(?). And a "Pure" construction, or design too.)
In this thread, there is no mention of the "Piste" design, just the "C2" and the "RP" designs. For me, sorry, more confusion.
I guess this "piste" design has been dropped also, not sure.

Not this past Fall, but the previous one, I got a chance to demo another few DPS models, including a DPS Alchemist 94 C2 Piste,
that I liked, and a DPS 100 Pagoda Piste C2(?) that was a favorite, for me.

I was told that soon there would be a Pagoda construction replacing the Alchemist construction
in the 94 C2 Piste width I'd just demoed, and it would be similar (as opposed to the RP, which was different)
but even better than the Alchemist - more like the Pagoda 100 Piste C2 I'd just tried. Whew.

The Pagoda 100 Piste C2 is a ski that seems to me to be really well described by @Tricia in her last post describing a 94 version -
very refined, very good for a particular niche, to me: it is really dialed in as a precise yet at the same time relaxed ski that is recreational,
not for lots of effort, push and charging. It just lets you ski well in a relaxed, perfect sort of way,
with good technique, no problem, from first runs to last, as things get skied off, here in the Rockies. Just really fun.
Different from what is currently out there, and thus different from what I'd normally go for.

I almost bought a pair.
 
Last edited:

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
27,297
Location
Reno
I apologize, but this DPS thread has me head scratching.

I demoed a 112 Wailer a few years ago, and liked it, but not enough to buy it. It was very precise and also
very "turny," in a good way. A soft snow ski that did well on corduroy also, carving.

I also demoed a Wailer that was something like 98 width, maybe a year later - not a favorite,
so it's confusing to me when the OP simply says his favorite ski is a "Wailer," without giving any width to that, that I could see.
@yizzun, what width - and design - Wailer are you talking about? :)

To complicate things further, with the previous introduction of the "new" Pagoda construction, in some models,
that construction expanded this year(?) to more models, as I understood it, replacing the "Alchemist" construction,
but not the "Foundation" construction.

But in this thread, the "Pagoda" construction is now being described as "old."
I guess so, in the sense it is no longer being freshly introduced for next year, and I gather it is now being replaced in turn
by some other construction, the "Kaizen" construction.

Further complication: at about the same time as the Pagoda introduction, there was a "Piste" design,
as opposed to the RP ("Resort Powder") and the C2 designs, as I understood it.

(And previously, there was a C1 design also(?). And a "Pure" construction, or design too.)
In this thread, there is no mention of the "Piste" design, just the "C2" and the "RP" designs. For me, sorry, more confusion.
I guess this "piste" design has been dropped also, not sure.

Not this past Fall, but the previous one, I got a chance to demo another few DPS models, including a DPS Alchemist 94 C2 Piste,
that I liked, and a DPS 100 Pagoda Piste C2(?) that was a favorite, for me.

I was told that soon there would be a Pagoda construction replacing the Alchemist construction
in the 94 C2 Piste width I'd just demoed, and it would be similar (as opposed to the RP, which was different)
but even better than the Alchemist - more like the Pagoda 100 Piste C2 I'd just tried. Whew.

The Pagoda 100 Piste C2 is a ski that seems to me to be really well described by @Tricia in her last post describing a 94 version -
very refined, very good for a particular niche, to me: it is really dialed in as a precise yet at the same time relaxed ski that is recreational,
not for lots of effort, push and charging. It just lets you ski well in a relaxed, perfect sort of way,
with good technique, no problem, from first runs to last, as things get skied off, here in the Rockies. Just really fun.
Different from what is currently out there, and thus different from what I'd normally go for.

I almost bought a pair.
That's the gist of it.
DPS was trying to appeal to the masses for a bit but found that they were not speaking to the customer base that they had already built upon.

As much as I loved two skis that they offered under 100, I totally understand their new focus to appeal to the classes instead of the masses. (Make sense?)
 

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
27,297
Location
Reno
I was not comparing them to the Mantras. I haven't skied them, so that would be pretty hard to do. I'm relying on the interwebs.

These guys, whoever they are, made a Mantra comparison to the PP 100 C2:
You said it....whoever they are ;)

I don't think they ski anything like a Mantra or Secret, just saying.
 
Thread Starter
TS
yizzung

yizzung

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Posts
35
I apologize, but this DPS thread has me head scratching.

I demoed a 112 Wailer a few years ago, and liked it, but not enough to buy it. It was very precise and also
very "turny," in a good way. A soft snow ski that did well on corduroy also, carving.

I also demoed a Wailer that was something like 98 width, maybe a year later - not a favorite,
so it's confusing to me when the OP simply says his favorite ski is a "Wailer," without giving any width to that, that I could see.
@yizzun, what width - and design - Wailer are you talking about? :)

To complicate things further, with the previous introduction of the "new" Pagoda construction, in some models,
that construction expanded this year(?) to more models, as I understood it, replacing the "Alchemist" construction,
but not the "Foundation" construction.

But in this thread, the "Pagoda" construction is now being described as "old."
I guess so, in the sense it is no longer being freshly introduced for next year, and I gather it is now being replaced in turn
by some other construction, the "Kaizen" construction.

Further complication: at about the same time as the Pagoda introduction, there was a "Piste" design,
as opposed to the RP ("Resort Powder") and the C2 designs, as I understood it.

(And previously, there was a C1 design also(?). And a "Pure" construction, or design too.)
In this thread, there is no mention of the "Piste" design, just the "C2" and the "RP" designs. For me, sorry, more confusion.
I guess this "piste" design has been dropped also, not sure.

Not this past Fall, but the previous one, I got a chance to demo another few DPS models, including a DPS Alchemist 94 C2 Piste,
that I liked, and a DPS 100 Pagoda Piste C2(?) that was a favorite, for me.

I was told that soon there would be a Pagoda construction replacing the Alchemist construction
in the 94 C2 Piste width I'd just demoed, and it would be similar (as opposed to the RP, which was different)
but even better than the Alchemist - more like the Pagoda 100 Piste C2 I'd just tried. Whew.

The Pagoda 100 Piste C2 is a ski that seems to me to be really well described by @Tricia in her last post describing a 94 version -
very refined, very good for a particular niche, to me: it is really dialed in as a precise yet at the same time relaxed ski that is recreational,
not for lots of effort, push and charging. It just lets you ski well in a relaxed, perfect sort of way,
with good technique, no problem, from first runs to last, as things get skied off, here in the Rockies. Just really fun.
Different from what is currently out there, and thus different from what I'd normally go for.

I almost bought a pair.
Sorry. I have the DPS 112 Alchemist Wailer in 184. The original yellow bananas that were the trademark of DPS before all the wacky name changes. I’m interested in getting on the 100 C2 Pagoda Piste or maybe the 94 C2 in a 178 / 179 (I think). But sounds like both are about to be killed off after this season.
 

BMC

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Mar 20, 2017
Posts
778
I’ve got the Wailer 110 C2. It’s pretty stiff, but it’s also pretty reactive, in a good way. The combination of traits seems to see the ski as quite manoeuvrable. An equivalent stiffness wood double metal laminate fibreglass etc ski would, at least in my experience, be much damper and less reactive at the same stiffness.

I really liked those attributes for the use case of soft snow, particularly in trees.

If I had a different focus - say hard and sometimes roughed up groomers, or charging through crud and irregular off piste snow, I’d probably like something more traditional in construction. Heavier…more damp.

While I would be happy to get a narrower DPS, it would still have that off piste use case focus - trees, smaller powder dumps and bumps. Just for a use case with less snow than I’d use the 110.

In my experience at least I’m not seeing that the very good DPS attributes would work better for hard or difficult snow conditions. Not to say they wouldn’t work. Not to say it wouldn’t be close. But for me at least those more damp stable skis are what I want on hard snow.
 
Thread Starter
TS
yizzung

yizzung

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Posts
35
I’ve got the Wailer 110 C2. It’s pretty stiff, but it’s also pretty reactive, in a good way. The combination of traits seems to see the ski as quite manoeuvrable. An equivalent stiffness wood double metal laminate fibreglass etc ski would, at least in my experience, be much damper and less reactive at the same stiffness.

I really liked those attributes for the use case of soft snow, particularly in trees.

If I had a different focus - say hard and sometimes roughed up groomers, or charging through crud and irregular off piste snow, I’d probably like something more traditional in construction. Heavier…more damp.

While I would be happy to get a narrower DPS, it would still have that off piste use case focus - trees, smaller powder dumps and bumps. Just for a use case with less snow than I’d use the 110.

In my experience at least I’m not seeing that the very good DPS attributes would work better for hard or difficult snow conditions. Not to say they wouldn’t work. Not to say it wouldn’t be close. But for me at least those more damp stable skis are what I want on hard snow.
Yes, that’s the only thing holding me back from attempting the all-DPS quiver. The slightly more frontside orientation of the C2 shape (less rocker, more effective edge) makes me want to try it in the 100 or 94 but my brain knows that it’ll still be light and still could get bounced around to the point of not being fun. As I said above the answer may be to give it a try and keep my bonafide 2x4s in the closet just in case. (Or find a pair of Mantra demos at the end of the season, as it seems that even the burly Austrian skis are getting a tad more flexy and a tad lighter in the tips as the years go by…) Really just wish I could demo these DPS skis.
 

ELDoane

Gravity Fed, Beer Cooled
Skier
Joined
Oct 4, 2021
Posts
215
Location
Exiled from VT, trying to ski off the Capitol Dome
So, I'm you're guy. Full disclosure - they cut me a pro deal so I am not fully objective.

Upfront DPS based advice - go look for some of the older alchemist stuff for a deal and find a Cassiar for what you're looking for. Here's what I got:

Cassiar A82 - Set phasers to Super-G and let 'er rip. I love this thing, but it competes with my Liberty V76 for a lot of my attention. I think I like the Liberty a little more, but this thing is scary light and strong. But, VMT is tough to beat for confidence inducing dampness. The A82 has more rebound, though. Slingshot!

Cassiar A87 C2 - Super versatile, zippy. Lots of fun in bumps, spring snow, low pow trees, etc. A realistic East Coast quiver of one. I would be happy skiing this in junk up to my boot top.

Pagoda Piste 94 C2 - An optimist's East Coast quiver of one. Rips, breaks the tails loose if you want, decently pivoty in tight spaces. Skis a lot like the Cassiar 87, but better in manky stuff. Now, I can't tell a lick of difference between the Pagoda core and the old Alchemist one. The shape is almost the same as the earlier 94s so you might be able to score a deal on some older ones.

Wailer 112 RP - You already know the story. I've ridden the 100RP, but don't own one. It's like a slightly quicker version. Probably the perfect east coast tree ski.

So, you're probably wondering, what's up with that hole in the middle? Glad you asked, because that's my real advice for you. Based on "bumps, trees, steeps, and occasionally jumping off of something" in your post, my recommendation is not a DPS. You might love a J Skis Hotshot or Masterblaster. I dig J skis almost as much as DPS and I find them a little more versatile when you start talking about hucking yourself off stuff. If I had to pick one ski to go in all conditions on a trip, it's a Hotshot. If you want to point and send, ignore the crud, and have a great suspension for defying gravity, you can't beat metal and maple.
 
Last edited:

David Chaus

Beyond Help
Skier
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
5,529
Location
Stanwood, WA
I think I'll be looking for a Pagoda Piste C2 94 or similar, if there's anything similar. I don't have a hole in my quiver that it needs to fill, but I'd kind of like to downsize from having a 90 (Renoun Z 90) and a 102 (ON3P Woodsman 102) and get something "right in zee middle."
 
Thread Starter
TS
yizzung

yizzung

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Posts
35
So, I'm you're guy. Full disclosure - they cut me a pro deal so I am not fully objective.

Upfront DPS based advice - go look for some of the older alchemist stuff for a deal and find a Cassiar for what you're looking for. Here's what I got:

Cassiar A82 - Set phasers to Super-G and let 'er rip. I love this thing, but it competes with my Liberty V76 for a lot of my attention. I think I like the Liberty a little more, but this thing is scary light and strong. But, VMT is tough to beat for confidence inducing dampness. The A82 has more rebound, though. Slingshot!

Cassiar A87 C2 - Super versatile, zippy. Lots of fun in bumps, spring snow, low pow trees, etc. A realistic East Coast quiver of one. I would be happy skiing this in junk up to my boot top.

Pagoda Piste 94 C2 - An optimist's East Coast quiver of one. Rips, breaks the tails loose if you want, decently pivoty in tight spaces. Skis a lot like the Cassiar 87, but better in manky stuff. Now, I can't tell a lick of difference between the Pagoda core and the old Alchemist one. The shape is almost the same as the earlier 94s so you might be able to score a deal on some older ones.

Wailer 112 RP - You already know the story. I've ridden the 100RP, but don't own one. It's like a slightly quicker version. Probably the perfect east coast tree ski.

So, you're probably wondering, what's up with that hole in the middle? Glad you asked, because that's my real advice for you. Based on "bumps, trees, steeps, and occasionally jumping off of something" in your post, my recommendation is not a DPS. You might love a J Skis Hotshot or Masterblaster. I dig J skis almost as much as DPS and I find them a little more versatile when you start talking about hucking yourself off stuff. If I had to pick one ski to go in all conditions on a trip, it's a Hotshot. If you want to point and send, ignore the crud, and have a great suspension for defying gravity, you can't beat metal and maple.
I have, in fact, eyed the Masterblaster. I lean toward indie skis and am a big fan of (some of) the J topsheets.

I had (and recently sold) an ON3P Wrenegade 96 that was supposed to fill that hucking void in my quiver but I actually found that I didn't care too much for its surfy tail. (DPS skis, despite their claims to surfiness, tend to have more traditional tails and I kinda like having slightly flatter/directional tail back there.) I just wonder if the Masterblaster would have that same surfiness quality as the Wrenegade, given its 130mm tail rocker.

Def open to some new "old" DPS skis although they seem to be achieving more and more dampness with each build (so I hear). If they are indeed changing all their names and models going into next year, could be some good deals popping up on even this current year's crop of skis.
 

ELDoane

Gravity Fed, Beer Cooled
Skier
Joined
Oct 4, 2021
Posts
215
Location
Exiled from VT, trying to ski off the Capitol Dome
(DPS skis, despite their claims to surfiness, tend to have more traditional tails and I kinda like having slightly flatter/directional tail back there.) I just wonder if the Masterblaster would have that same surfiness quality as the Wrenegade, given its 130mm tail rocker.

Definitely high surfiness in the Masterblaster and Hotshot. My brother in law is on the MB and we have both noted the higher 'locked-in' feeling on even just moving to J's FastForward and it's reduced tail rocker.

Maybe a Koala 103 if you stay DPS? At some point, you'll have to decide on weight vs. stability in the chunkiest chop. DPS skis are just never going to power through stuff like a full metal ski with some heft. But those heavy skis will never feel as poppy or energetic as the light, carbon construction of a DPS. And if you never have to contend with heavy chop, it's hard to beat that feel.

There's only one solution. Buy both.
 

Sponsor

Top