 Poster: A snowHead
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In my quest to find my ideal one ski quiver the Dps wailer 99 has popped onto my Radar.
Does anyone have any experience of these?
Realistically how much better or how different are the Pure3's than the hybrids?
With a £300 difference in price is it worth the extra.
It seems like Dps are in Meribel on the 19th so I will be going to see them for a demo, but was wondering if any Snowheads had an opinion?
Any pointers or alternatives welcome!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Chattonmill, depends completely on you , neither variant is better or worse than the other , it's more about what you want from the ski , its not a choice that should be made on cost alone , I have the wailer 99 in hybrid version 168cm , my choice was made based on my skiing ability and my like for a stiffer heavier ski , I was around 87kg at the time and the pures just felt "to light" . In powder the pures rock , but in more normal ( one ski quiver conditions ) they hybrids cut through the crud better and found it easier to move heavier snow with the hybrids.
I have done a couple of day tours on the 99's and they were ok on the way up , even though the rocker doesn't help to much , and also a bit sketchy on long traverses, but on the way down in 6" of fresh they were superb !!
Getting around the pisted slopes they work well in all aspects and are very easy to get on edge , variable radius of the ski really does work and they are really easy to switch from short to long turns , best fun was had on them at the end of last year in great spring conditions where they surfed the slush like a dream .
They defiantly do not feel or ski like a 99. Wide ski , my only real pointer would be to demo a longer ski than you're used to as they do ski short
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I think I will try to demo the 192 as I am 6ft 4 and 14 stone.
I ski hard and fast on piste but love nothing more than a Virgin powder field.
Saying that I don't tour, so that aspect is no problem!
By the sounds of it they are just what I am after.
Thanks for the review, I will report back!
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The pure carbon skis are very light and quite stiff, so they're not as nice to ski in cruddy snow. Heavier hybrid skis make the going a bit smoother.
The 99s have quite a lot of rocker... I've come to the conclusion that I prefer a little less for a general purpose ski so ended up shopping elsewhere. Its sad they discontinued the 95 and 105 which had a slightly more conventional shape.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Just posted this on another thread:
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My gf recently bought some DPS W99 Hybrids to be her 'one ski for everything apart from powder.' She's only skied them with Dynafit Radicals so far (though they'll be quiver killered soon), and only touring in crappy snow and ice, and on piste, but she absolutely loves them (thankfully, as I told her they were what she wanted!). Comments along the lines of "I've never been so in tune with my skis before," "I get sooo much rebound from my turns," "they carve better than my slalom skis" etc.
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Pures are quite a lot more expensive, and unless you're touring or skiing powder 90% of the time, IMO are too light and reactive for most skiers to use as a one ski quiver.
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That has helped enormously, sounds like the hybrid are the ones I want to trial.
Cheers Guys!
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Marshall Olson of DPS describes the difference in the best terms so far:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/185535-DPS-Hybrid-vs-Pure-carbon
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PURE skis: are super light, very reactive, and require a technical skier to harness the design goals. the skis are very torsionally rigid, very light, and very powerful, so if you are not on the edges on firm, or the tune is off, they can provide feedback to your feet. the PURE skis are super fun on groomed, and are life changing in legit powder. in heavy chop, mank, wind hammered, etc, they require a skilled and technical pilot; fully engaging and bending the ski. if the pilot and style is there, these skis kill it in chop and mank. but if not: the skis will give feedback if you are making lazy turns in poorer quality snow. this means you are off edge and not applying the diesel. The pure skis also completely rail, and the narrower "all-mountain" skis are a blast. they shred groomed, but are way more versatile due to the low swing weight and pop that 95 and narrower metal laminate skis give up.
HYBRID skis: are still fairly light compared to most race-room quality skis, and i would count these in their midst in terms of materials and finishing. they offer a nice damp ride that is still more reactive and responsive than metal laminate or full fiberglass skis. they have the same flex pattern as the PURE, but are about 400g per ski heavier (on a lotus 120). i think they compare very favorably to a high end rossi/dynastar/salomon in terms of construction. i am very stoked personally on the hybrid. it offers a great ride quality overall, that is more inline with conventional construction skis, but with some nice upgrades that boost the pop and responsiveness of the ski.
anyways, just my .02 - i came away from a bunch of skiing on the hybrids that they are not "lower end" or "price point" to the PURE, but rather are striving for a different ride characteristic and design goal - and will fair well in comparision to other skis on the market.
hopefully this is useful in some manner. |
I find the Pure Carbon construction to be much more responsive and somewhat more demanding...but you get buckets of performance...head and shoulders above the Hybrids. They definitely reward a pilot with a sharp level of attention to what is happening underfoot, while the hybrids are perhaps better suited to intermediates or experts who want a passive ride instead of a commanding drive. Having tried several of the same DPS models in both Pure and Hybrid, the difference is stunning. Read Marshall's comments...they are right on.
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exoticskis, I can only third that in terms of my experience with carbon reinforced skis. They are beautifully lively and reward lots of good input.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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meh, agreed. if i find myself having a bad time in crud etc on my DPS, I remember Marshall's words and man up and everything turns out well... usually 
also agree it's a shame that they discontinued the 105. great skis
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Serriadh, looks interesting, although maybe a bit more of a charger than the 105s I have
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I have upgraded from a pair of 2012 Hybrids to a 2013/4 Pure3 because a) I had warranty return (I think the Hybrids are contracted out to China and the Pures made in the US now because of QC issues - though can't be sure ) b) I absolutely loved the Hybrids and got sold the upgrade on the basis that the Pure 3 construction dealt with a lot of the issues that people had with regard to being pushed around in the crud etc and introduced perimeter weighting etc etc. Admittedly it was easier to pay up on the basis I had already paid 50% odd the prior year! There do seem to have been more warranty issues with the hybrid than the pure in my anecedotal experience (2.5 cases!)
However haven't dared risk them yet with lack of snow cover etc. I did find the Hybrids a bit "hooky" on piste to start with but after a morning or so much more predictable - but also my first experience with such a pronounced rocker. Orginally I had them QK for both a Look Pivot and a Marker Duke - I found the Duke much much more squirrelly on piste than the Looks. New ones are Look Pivot only, maybe Dynafit Beast 14 next year ?
I would demo away first. My only caveat is that I wouldn't take them out for a day of on piste only, or early season when it hadn't snowed for a week ( i.e. sun softened crud aand chop is fine in the later season, but windblown and boiler plate no fun.) But still doable ! Moguls, which I avoid (back surgery...) surprisingly OK.
Haven't really found any good 3rd party reviews of the new Pure 3 construction though. But then I can't really work the TGR search function properly...
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You know it makes sense.
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The only thing that puts me off the DPS skis is the mahoosive splay. I don't think I've seen a photo where the front quarter of the ski is in the snow! Cham 117 looks nice though.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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We should have a review of a Wailer 99 Pure3 this season if all goes well, with a comparison to the Hybrid we have available...I will post results as soon as we have them. As far as the mahhoosve splay goes...do not judge a DPS by its appearance on snow....they might look like the front end is way up in the air, but they have a superb command of the snow surface and respond to input from the pilot in the blink of an eye (the Pures especially) with great control.
I have tested the Wailer 112 back-to-back in Hybrid and Pure3 versions...it's like night and day. High end sports sedan with suspension kit versus club racer sports car. The description Marshall from DPS wrote is right on the money.
We are currently testing the DPS Cassiar 85 in Pure3 construction, and it is a very, very impressive design...for some quick comments (until we get a full review done)...see the DPS Cassiar 85 section in our Killington Test Fest report:
http://www.exoticskis.com/ExoticSkis/Stories/KillingtonTestFest2013_Story_DRAFT_LowRes.pdf (6.5mb PDF download)
The Dynastar Cham 117 is, in my opinion, nowhere near the same category as the DPS Wailer 99 or 112. The Cham is soft feeling, biased toward softer surfaces, and has nowhere near the edgegrip, response and performance of the DPS. The Cham seems to be well suited to the relatively passive, low-pressure skier looking for a shapely ski with wide shovel, while the DPSs are more sports-car like and have a wider range of high performance. That is just my opinion...demo for yourself to be sure!
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Poster: A snowHead
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So got to the test zone....shops and pros by invite only!
Luckily managed to catch the eye of the DPS rep who remembered my email, wasn't allowed in but he brought a ski out for me to try.
Unfortunately the 192 didn't have rental bindings on, but took the 184 out.
I can see the hooky comments, but once I had found the sweet spot in terms of fore aft my god!
Put them on an edge and they grip and grip. Edge to edge they really are responsive.
They will blast through anything really.
Rep was good, couldn't directly sell me a ski and understood they were not easy to source but told be to contact him if I was having trouble and he would sort me out.
All in all enjoyed them, and can see them taking a place in a two ski quiver. Not completely convinced on ice, but my little Salomon 3vs's cover that nicely!
Now to find a pair in 192.....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Chattonmill, had an email of dps last week , think they have some mid season stock still available .......
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Hmm any further info on that....
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Chattonmill, sorry deleted it as it was tooooooooo tempting , send them an email through the ski finder page , I am sure you'll find what you need
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Ski finder page?
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Dabber, thanks!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Hey guys - first day out on my wailer 99 hyrbids today. I am used to scott P4s and salmon rocker 2 (my powder skis). Scott's are a steel reinforced more traditional ski that slay just about everything, albeit slightly heavy.
Today I was at Loveland in CO 4/14 and a super icy/crud day - It feels after reading this thread the DPS 99's are NOT good in crud, is that accurate from those who've had a chance to ski in all conditions? My scott's on a day like today would have blasted through but I was getting bounced to and fro and TBH, not feeling entirely great about my purchase.
Thoughts on if these need to go up on craiglist or are worth it in other conditions? My take - its a very, very light skis so that makes sense not being able to power through crud but the reality is, even in CO, crud is just something you deal with after snow is skied out.
I'd love any comments
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