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!