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Any all-DPS ski quiver folks out there?

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yizzung

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Ha. Isn’t that always the solution? :)

I do think I’m going to upgrade my bones to something like a more recent Mantra (used or a previous demo) and just have them around as a backup plan.

But my “official” quiver will be two DPS skis. Will be scouring the interwebs to see if a deal crops up in the next month or so.
 
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ELDoane

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Ha. Isn’t that always the solution? :)

I do think I’m going to upgrade my bones to something like a more recent Mantra (used or a previous demo) and just have them around as a backup plan.

But my “official” quiver will be two DPS skis. Will be scouring the interwebs to see if a deal crops up in the next month or so.
Keep an eye on Gearx.com. The Outdoor Gear Exchange has a relationship with the local DPS rep. He often dumps last season's demo skis there. Not everything makes the webpage. It might be a decent idea to give them a call and see what they've got, from time to time.
 

xrayos

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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:


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, I'm thinking about p/u this year's closeout 112rp or 100rp in the pagoda construction. which would you recommend for an all around resort/powder ski? I do trips to SLC 2-3x year.
 

ELDoane

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so, I'm thinking about p/u this year's closeout 112rp or 100rp in the pagoda construction. which would you recommend for an all around resort/powder ski? I do trips to SLC 2-3x year.
How much pow do you see in PA? If you're skiing tight east coast trees on a boot top pow hunt, the 100rp is pretty much unbeatable. If your focus is on SLC performance and stuff up to your knees, 112RP. I really enjoyed my 112 out at Park last year in some decent snow of McConkey's.

Now, remember, these are 15m radius skis. You gonna turn, turn, turn like a Byrds song. If your adventures out west involve more wide open pow fields and higher speeds, you want a Lotus 117. But, you'll have less love for that ski anywhere tight and low-tide.
 

neonorchid

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If any 165cm or 171cm length people are considering DPS Pagoda Piste 100 C2 now is your chance to grab a new pair for $400
1 pair of each size available, act fast, they just appeared on the website.
I'm guessing the two are returns reposted at a second markdown because they were sold out months ago when on first markdown clearance for $550 which is what I paid for a 171cm beginning of December '22

Screenshot 2023-02-19 at 7.45.24 PM.png
 
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ricky64

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I have your same demographics in terms of age and size. I do like laying over some high speed turns, but 80% of the time I'm off piste. This year I ditched my ON3P's for the J Ski Fast Forward. The ON3P's were great for high speed blasting through variable snow. I never really liked trying to initiate them on carves, and we get lighter snow that in Colorado than in the PNW so I really didn't need quite the stiffness. The Fast Forward is very heavy for its width, and very damp. I was surprised by the stability and speed, and they did fine in 6 to 7 inches of fresh, which also suprised. They locked in nicely to carve a variety of turn sizes, but they were absolutely a blast on steeps, bumps, and in trees. They don't have the tale snap out of a carved turn, but that translates into a bigger sweet spot for the bumps. They really showed me that I didn't need a wide ski to accomplish most of what I want. By the end of the day I had less knee and back pain, more runs, and bigger smiles...
That being said, I sold my Woodsman 102 and Wren 108, and bought the Hotshot 106. My Colorado quiver as a 50 something Colorado skier will now be the FF, Hotshot, and a 118 Billy Goat.
 
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my07mcx2

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I have really wanted to try the pagoda 100 rp but hard to fine places to demo. I have searched and searched for a 179 cm old yellow version and can't find any avail new or used
 

Craig@Vail

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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!
Bit late on the reply! I am 6’1” 185-190lbs live in Vail, directional-resort lift serviced skier, 90+ sessions per season. Ski reviewer for 5 seasons.
I previously had 2 series of the Blizzard Bonafide (that you own) in a 180cm, they are damp, stable, heavier weight, correct length for my profile. The last couple seasons I have had 4 current construction DPS skis in my quiver. F100rp 184cm (ideal length) over 200 sessions, F106c2 185cm (ideal length) over 90 sessions, F112rp 184cm (bit short for my profile) 10 sessions, Koala 118 184cm (ideal length) 15+ sessions, all with demo bindings, which add some weight and stiffness to the ski. Since I’m not using these for skinning in the backcountry or 50/50 skis, I prefer heavier skis, which are “generally” directly related to better damping and stability, and best for resort cut up conditions.
I’m guessing you had the Wailer 112 184cm in the hybrid construction. The Foundation (F) was the replacement for the hybrid construction, and has been cancelled next season, along with the lighter weight paulownia wood core Pagoda construction.
The Foundation series used bamboo in the core, the characteristics of this core are, damp, stable, heavier, durable.
Sounds like you would love the F100rp, perhaps in the 179cm.
The F100rp in the 184cm is my all-time favorite all-mountain big-mountain ski. All of the DPS ski listed below prefer a forward to neutral stance, and shins against the tongue of your boot. Best for advanced skiers, who prefer higher edge angles and carve turns, vs weight back smeared turns with low edge angles. The F100rp, and the F112rp, do have a short 15m turn radius, and wider front section.

Summary:
-F100rp: superb in powder, off piste, carving (sold my Rossignol Hero short turn I was using for carving, once I skied this F100rp, it’s that good!). Excellent edge, damp, stable, stiffer flex, heavier. Very good to excellent in soft bumps. Mounted on recommended line.
-F106c2: excellent big mountain ski, with longer 19m turn radius, stable, damp, excellent edge, average float, stiffer flex, heavier, more challenging in large bumps. Not a ski for the weak or meek. Mounted on recommended line.
-F112rp: needs to be skied slightly longer for stability compared to F100rp, but skis “very“ similar, with little additional float in this same 184cm. Mounted 1cm behind recommended line in this length.
-Koala 118: Excels in any soft conditions with average float for this width. Stable, damp, excellent carver, heavier, stiffer flex for this width category. Superb wide powder bump ski In this length. Comfortable with a more neutral stance. It does have a 19m turn radius, and is appropriate for this width ski. Mounted 4cm behind recommended line. Note: the recommended mount point was designed by a freestyle skier (as is the Koala 103), and a forward mount. If you are a directional skier, demo bindings and a more rearward mount point are the call.

Just sold my F106c2 and F112rp. Just didn’t need them with the superb F100rp and Koala 118. Still keep my Liberty Genomes with bamboo core (141cm underfoot) for those bottomless blower days (haven’t seen any of those for a while). My wife also loves her DPS F112rp 168cm, and F100rp 163cm. All of these Foundation series DPS skis use a .75 bottom and 1 degree side edge angle for best performance. Probably more than you wanted to know. Hope that helps!
 
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yizzung

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Bit late on the reply! I am 6’1” 185-190lbs live in Vail, directional-resort lift serviced skier, 90+ sessions per season. Ski reviewer for 5 seasons.
I previously had 2 series of the Blizzard Bonafide (that you own) in a 180cm, they are damp, stable, heavier weight, correct length for my profile. The last couple seasons I have had 4 current construction DPS skis in my quiver. F100rp 184cm (ideal length) over 200 sessions, F106c2 185cm (ideal length) over 90 sessions, F112rp 184cm (bit short for my profile) 10 sessions, Koala 118 184cm (ideal length) 15+ sessions, all with demo bindings, which add some weight and stiffness to the ski. Since I’m not using these for skinning in the backcountry or 50/50 skis, I prefer heavier skis, which are “generally” directly related to better damping and stability, and best for resort cut up conditions.
I’m guessing you had the Wailer 112 184cm in the hybrid construction. The Foundation (F) was the replacement for the hybrid construction, and has been cancelled next season, along with the lighter weight paulownia wood core Pagoda construction.
The Foundation series used bamboo in the core, the characteristics of this core are, damp, stable, heavier, durable.
Sounds like you would love the F100rp, perhaps in the 179cm.
The F100rp in the 184cm is my all-time favorite all-mountain big-mountain ski. All of the DPS ski listed below prefer a forward to neutral stance, and shins against the tongue of your boot. Best for advanced skiers, who prefer higher edge angles and carve turns, vs weight back smeared turns with low edge angles. The F100rp, and the F112rp, do have a short 15m turn radius, and wider front section.

Summary:
-F100rp: superb in powder, off piste, carving (sold my Rossignol Hero short turn I was using for carving, once I skied this F100rp, it’s that good!). Excellent edge, damp, stable, stiffer flex, heavier. Very good to excellent in soft bumps. Mounted on recommended line.
-F106c2: excellent big mountain ski, with longer 19m turn radius, stable, damp, excellent edge, average float, stiffer flex, heavier, more challenging in large bumps. Not a ski for the weak or meek. Mounted on recommended line.
-F112rp: needs to be skied slightly longer for stability compared to F100rp, but skis “very“ similar, with little additional float in this same 184cm. Mounted 1cm behind recommended line in this length.
-Koala 118: Excels in any soft conditions with average float for this width. Stable, damp, excellent carver, heavier, stiffer flex for this width category. Superb wide powder bump ski In this length. Comfortable with a more neutral stance. It does have a 19m turn radius, and is appropriate for this width ski. Mounted 4cm behind recommended line. Note: the recommended mount point was designed by a freestyle skier (as is the Koala 103), and a forward mount. If you are a directional skier, demo bindings and a more rearward mount point are the call.

Just sold my F106c2 and F112rp. Just didn’t need them with the superb F100rp and Koala 118. Still keep my Liberty Genomes with bamboo core (141cm underfoot) for those bottomless blower days (haven’t seen any of those for a while). My wife also loves her DPS F112rp 168cm, and F100rp 163cm. All of these Foundation series DPS skis use a .75 bottom and 1 degree side edge angle for best performance. Probably more than you wanted to know. Hope that helps!
Super helpful.

My yellow wailers are the alchemists, which I think was the middle of the road build (not as light as the tours but not as heavy as the foundations). So they are pretty light and lots of fun so long as there’s a few of inches of fresh snow. Amazingly (in Tahoe this season) I sometimes wish that I had fatter skis. Closing in on 600 inches and we’re barely into March.

The wailers do get bounced around when conditions sour. I think you’re right that the F100RP could be quite fun for me in more variable terrain/conditions.

I’m sorta torn between that ski and the C2 94 pagoda piste. I suspect that the C2’s slightly longer effective edge / slightly mellower rocker would give it an edge on crappy snow, BUT it’s going to be lighter than the F100RP due to the PP build… with DPS abandoning the sub-100 size, it’s now or never.

The F100RP is probably $500 cheaper thanks to the F build so maybe should start there.
 
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David Chaus

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I just got the C2 Pagoda Piste 94 in 178. Just trying to decide what color of Aattack 14 bindings to have mounted. They’re black with a bit of maroon near the tips. Black, blue (goes with my ski pants and boots), yellow, green or red. I already have my Blossom AM 77 with a black Vist system, a Renoun Z90 with black demo bindings, red Attacks on the ON3P Woodsman 102, and green Attacks on the Billy Goats. I’m tending towards yellow or blue so I could have a different color for each type of ski.
 

Craig@Vail

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Super helpful.

My yellow wailers are the alchemists, which I think was the middle of the road build (not as light as the tours but not as heavy as the foundations). So they are pretty light and lots of fun so long as there’s a few of inches of fresh snow. Amazingly (in Tahoe this season) I sometimes wish that I had fatter skis. Closing in on 600 inches and we’re barely into March.

The wailers do get bounced around when conditions sour. I think you’re right that the F100RP could be quite fun for me in more variable terrain/conditions.

I’m sorta torn between that ski and the C2 94 pagoda piste. I suspect that the C2’s slightly longer effective edge / slightly mellower rocker would give it an edge on crappy snow, BUT it’s going to be lighter than the F100RP due to the PP build… with DPS abandoning the sub-100 size, it’s now or never.

The F100RP is probably $500 cheaper thanks to the F build so maybe should start there.
I have skied the alchemist, they did not have quite the damping or stability of the Foundation. However, it is closer to the Foundation in weight, than the lighter Pagoda. I did have the Cassiar 94 for a month in a 185cm (I think) , a few years back, and I did like that ski the best out of their sub 100 lineup. It had a similar feel to the F106c2 in a 185cm.
DPS really hit the mark with the 100rp, and 112rp shape. i hope that DPS brings back the Foundation bamboo core construction, it will be missed! They are continuing the Koala line, which used the Foundation bamboo core construction. Will be interesting to see if they change the core on those, and manufacture all there skis in the USA, which they now state.
I believe the new Kaizen uses ash wood in the core instead of paulownia used in the Pagoda, with a new glue to enhance damping, and falls between the Pagoda and the Alchemist in weight. I have not skied them yet. They show a price of $2000 flat for the initial release…..they do have some wild graphics!
 

neonorchid

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I just got the C2 Pagoda Piste 94 in 178. Just trying to decide what color of Aattack 14 bindings to have mounted. They’re black with a bit of maroon near the tips. Black, blue (goes with my ski pants and boots), yellow, green or red. I already have my Blossom AM 77 with a black Vist system, a Renoun Z90 with black demo bindings, red Attacks on the ON3P Woodsman 102, and green Attacks on the Billy Goats. I’m tending towards yellow or blue so I could have a different color for each type of ski.
At this point in the season I'd say hunt for a deal on the Pivot 15 Gold. Would look sick on the black with tan - gold'ish looking DPS graphics

I have a new pair of Pagoda Piste 100 C2 171 in maroon currently decorating a corner of the family room and would totally do the Gold Pivot 15 if minimum DIN were 5 and not 6 DIN which is too high for me.
Was leaning toward basic black Pivot 12 until I read of a Protector PR SLR / 28mm stand height coming in '23/'24
With the 100mm wide ski I see the choice as a catch 22
Look Pivot's close heel to toe mounting distance allowing a more even (rounded) flex of the stiff Pagoda Piste100 C2. Lower 18mm stand height not creating quite the lever action of high stand height / wider ski - fatiguing to knees. Contrast to Protector PR designed to prevent knee injuries high stack height / wide ski causing knee fatigue and pain.
I'm hoping Protector SLR 28mm stand height will help some with wide ski high stand knee fatigue and not be too much a of a bad compromise over the Look Pivot in order to have Protectors advanced knee protection technology - in another thread @Philpug's vote was for the 18mm stack Pivot's over Protector PR 32.5 mm stack with100mm ski ...
 

ski otter 2

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Great to read some reviews of yours again, @Craig@Vail !
I really appreciated both your individual reviews and your overall outlook and approach when you were a reviewer for Yellow Gentian.

I've demoed various DPS skis over the years, and have mostly been stymied by their cost.
That Foundation 100 RP seems interesting, especially with you reviewing it so highly.

In the past, skied one after the other, I found I seemed to prefer the Alchemist build to the Foundation, at least on an "old snow" or light snow day.

More recently, this season, I tried a Cassiar 94 piste Alchemist that I liked but not enough to buy (that I was told was being replaced by a Pagoda version that would make it better), and a 100 Pagoda Piste C2 (I recall), that was very neat, my favorite DPS ski so far, and that seemed like a ski I might eventually try to own.
(But their "piste" skis seem likely to be discontinued now from lack of interest, apparently.)

I'd just been demoing a fairly demanding 108 ski, that seemed too demanding with needlessly too precise carving - overkill - for such a fatter ski, and the DPS 100 was such a breath of fresh air: it skied very well, liking good technique, yet felt just right, just enough, for a demo day with no new snow or light new snow. A real standout treat to ski.

P.S. Good luck with your new Pagoda Piste C2 100 skis, @neonorchid. (A standout ski to me also!)
 
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Craig@Vail

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Great to read some reviews of yours again, @Craig@Vail !
I really appreciated both your individual reviews and your overall outlook and approach when you were a reviewer for Yellow Gentian.

I've demoed various DPS skis over the years, and have mostly been stymied by their cost.
That Foundation 100 RP seems interesting, especially with you reviewing it so highly.

In the past, skied one after the other, I found I seemed to prefer the Alchemist build to the Foundation, at least on an "old snow" or light snow day.

More recently, this season, I tried a Cassiar 94 piste Alchemist that I liked but not enough to buy (that I was told was being replaced by a Pagoda version that would make it better), and a 100 Pagoda Piste C2 (I recall), that was very neat, my favorite DPS ski so far, and that seemed like a ski I might eventually try to own.
(But their "piste" skis seem likely to be discontinued now from lack of interest, apparently.)

I'd just been demoing a fairly demanding 108 ski, that seemed too demanding with needlessly too precise carving - overkill - for such a fatter ski, and the DPS 100 was such a breath of fresh air: it skied very well, liking good technique, yet felt just right, just enough, for a demo day with no new snow or light new snow. A real standout treat to ski.

P.S. Good luck with your new Pagoda Piste C2 100 skis, @neonorchid. (A standout ski to me also!)
THANK YOU! Great to hear from you! You have a good memory, yes, Yellow Gentian….we’re you demoing the K2 Mindbender 108…just guessing? I was a bit shocked when I saw the price of the new DPS Kaizen….$2000 flat, but, it apparently will do it all, replacing both the Pagoda and the Foundation series.
When demoing skis, tuning can make or break a skis performance, and demo skis are not always tuned properly, or tuned-detuned to your profile. As an example, the DPS Foundation series came from the factory with .70 bottom and 1 degree side, many shops use 1 and 2 on these skis (as I saw listed on a popular tuning web site) creating a overly aggressive edge, making them edgy, easy to chatter, and difficult to ski. For the advanced and above skier, learning to properly tune your own skis, identifying the factory edge angles, and understanding what to adjust, is an often overlooked skill. I‘ve spoiled my wife, she now asks me to make sure I use the diamond files to finish her edges when I tune…..happy wife-happy life!
In my advancing age, I decided some years back to sharpen my carving skills, and ski fewer old-big-cut up bumps. My joints thank me! Still love soft or powder bumps, and off-piste terrain, and the DPS F100rp, and the Koala 118 seem to check all the right boxes for me. Sorry the Foundation series is going away!
 

skinsail1909

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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 seem to 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.
Can confirm on the Kaizen 100. Skied it at Blister this year and it was my favorite ski of the week. Pivoty but still stable, would be a perfect daily driver
 
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