“C” is for Charger
The predecessor of the RPC, the DPS Wailer 112RP, is a fun, light, quick ski that likes to be turning. It’s why it’s such an amazing tree ski. Will has already covered well some of the differences between the Wailer 112RP and the RPC, so I won’t rehash all that.
But the RPC is definitely more of a fall-line ski, not a super pivoty / smeary ski. You can still throw out the tails of the RPC to make slash turns and to scrub speed, but the skis felt most comfortable throwing a slash turn and then getting pointed back down the mountain—pretty much exactly as DPS has stated. It is very good for making big, fast turns in fresh snow.
PC—Not VCC
But the RPC is a Powder Charger, and that qualifier should not be ignored.
This is not a VCC, a Variable Conditions Charger.
The RPC likes the fall line, and, again, it is very comfortable opening up big, fast turns in fresh snow. Get it into a mix of fresh and firm snow on bumped-up terrain, however, and this ski can become a pretty unwieldy beast.
If your primary goal is to rage through firm, bumped-up snow, then a very lightweight, very stiff ski is going to demand that you are game-on at all times, and there is very little margin for error.
If you look at some of the best VCCs—the Rossignol RC 112, the Volkl Katana, the Moment M3 / Garbones / Belafonte, the Blizzard Cochise—you’ll notice that they have a couple of things in common:
(1) They are much heavier (though not necessarily stiffer) than the RPC.
(2) They have a pretty different tip shape than the RPC. The widest point of their shovels is close to the tip, not farther down the shovel.
Point is, the more you are expecting this ski to destroy crud in the resort three or four or five days after a storm, the greater the odds that you will be disappointed.
And if you’re going to break these out in untracked pow or soft chop, and you’re looking for a long, lightweight ski, the greater the odds that you will be very pleased with the RPC.
That “R”
Because of this, I find the “R” to be the most controversial letter in the RPC’s title.
In real world resorts, pow gets tracked out. And in many resorts, it gets tracked out fast. Then, a day or two after the storm, that pow firms up and gets bumped up. And Will and I have both found variable, bumped-up conditions to be very challenging on the RPC.
When skiing the RPC at speed in firm, bumped-up conditions, he and I both found the tails of the RPC to be so stiff that they magnified and punished any mistake. “Light and Stiff” has not translated into confident charging through Firm and Bumpy.
Important Caveat: The more you weigh—say, 200, 220, or 240 pounds—the less likely you might find this to be true. But it was true for me at 185 pounds.
Even on an amazing pow day at Taos on February 21st, these skis were just kicking my ass on lines that I ski all the time. On steeper, bumped-up pitches with 1-2 feet of fresh pow (Castor, Pollux, Fabian, Oster, Zdarsky), I was getting tossed around.
On bumped-up tree runs, where snow had been pushed into big, non-uniform moguls, with sections of deep snow that very quickly transitioned to scraped off hardpack and back again, I was a disaster on the RPC. Its stiff tails kicked me around, and I would have opted for the Rossignol Squad 7, the Moment Bibby Pro, or the Moment Governor in a heart beat.
For what it’s worth, I happen to like a lot of stiff skis, including the 191 Volkl Katana, the 190 Bibby Pro, the 185 Blizzard Cochise, and the 187 Moment Belafonte. And as I noted in my Moment Governor review, the tails of the RPC are much stiffer than those of the Squad 7 or the Governor, and the Governor is the stiffest ski in Moment’s whole line.
And I don’t think it’s even an apples-to-apples comparison to compare the 192cm RPC to something like the 193 Atomic Automatic. The tips and tails of the Automatic are much softer.
This is a GREAT review! I spent some time on the original RPC (which DPS has referred to as the Pure2.5 construction) and have the exact same opinion of the ski, which I expressed far less eloquently. Light and stiff just doesn’t work that well in the resort. Or really — a light ski just doesn’t wok well in bumpy terrain, and adding stiffness doesn’t make up for the lack of mass. (Rather ironically, this is kind of like Marshal’s point about the D-fit Beast: it just doesn’t ski like an alpine binder, despite having a higher DIN.) But light and stiff makes for an amazing ski to charge backcountry lines in consistent snow. The problem with the RPC is that I can’t see it being better for this application than the Pure3 L120 spoon (which has recently received a substantial increase in stiffness as well)…except maybe in trees.
Thanks for the feedback, Zak, interesting that we had a very similar experience. And I haven’t skied the L 120, but I see where you’re coming from. The L 120 Spoon clearly seems to be DPS’s “BPC,” while the sidecut of the RPC does probably make the RPC more fun on groomers. Interesting.
Jonathan, I’m stuck…not in a tree well but with making a decision.
I’m looking for that impossible one quiver ski. I’m 6ft, 185lbs. Live in Toronto, Canada but this setup is intended for west coast big mountain skiing (Revelstoke, Kicking Horse, Fernie). I’m just starting to get into ski touring. I’m not a purest and want to make sure I’ve got a ski that is light(ish) for the 2 touring trips a year but also crushes on the downhill for every other trip. I’ve been reading and reading and have come to consider these skis but need some expert advise to wade through all the reviews.
Atomic Vantage Ritual
Voile Charger
Blizzard Cochise
Kastle FX104
DPS Wailer (not sure which model yet)
I love trees so tight turns tend to be required. I’ve been skiing for 35 years, all mountain, back/slack/side country but also resort. Fairly aggressive skiier and want a fun ski. I think I’m looking for something with a waist between 100-112mm as they must be able to float well.
What would you suggest?
Hey, Patrick – of the skis on your list, if “light and floats well” are your top priorities, then I would seriously consider the Wailer 112. I haven’t skied the Voile Charger, but neither the FX 104 or the Cochise “float well” – not nearly as well as the 112RP. The Cochise is a better crud buster, however, than the 112, and will “crush the downhill” better than the 112. Sounds to me like you might still need to get clear on where you really want this ski to shine – what you’re willing to compromise on, and what you aren’t.
great comments zak and jonathan. This gets back to my original comments that the RPC that it is really more like a narrow Lotus 138 with sidecut than it is anything else – at least IMO. The RPC is an incredible soft snow / powder ski for a ripper, and is very good in corn, breakable windslab / soft slab, etc. That is where the stiffness really shines.
I definitely think the VCC vs PC distinction is very much on point. The RPC is not for pointing the tips straight down the fall line the way you would ski a katana or bibby pro. in these conditions, the RPC is much more suited to a different style… bending and driving the ski, and rounding across the fall line, and letting the radius of the ski track and slice thru this snow.
I look forward to getting both y’all on the hybrid version in the fall, as it is both more substantial in weight and has a more forgiving flex pattern. i would be curious to hear how if the alternate construction might address the above.
radical.
Marshal – I agree 100% with that: that one would do well to think of the RPC as a narrower Lotus 138 with sidecut. The days you’d take out the 138s on will be the days you’ll have the most fun on the RPC. And I’m curious too about the hybrid RPC.
Curious how you gentlemen would feel bringing the RPC down to South America as a quiver of one?
My reasoning is that you want a light weight ski for touring as you tend to hike/skin for a lot of lines down there (chairlifts are unreliable and side/backcountry is so plentiful and amazing). You also want the ski to shine in pow, rail on groomers, and be able to negotiate wind affected snow reasonably well. But, in my experience at least, you don’t ski much chop/variable bumps in SA. With few skiers lapping challenging terrain, a ton of exposure to wind, and abundant terrain, I can’t remember seeing real variable chop/bumps like we get in the states during my whole season down there last summer. I haven’t skied Las Lenas or Farallones. Maybe my generalization doesn’t hold true for those areas which might receive more skier traffic and I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the RPC at Lenas, but I think in Nevados de Chillan, Bariloche, other lesser visited areas, and for touring, the RPC could work pretty well as a one ski quiver down there.
Hope your season has gone well and great job on the reviews.
Shanti
Thanks, Shanti – and good question. For touring and for shouldering skis on boot packs, these would be fantastic. And there’s definitely not a lot of bump skiing in or around Las Leñas, and the chop is rarely deep chop; it’s not the kind we see plenty of in Utah.
Really, my only hesitation would be if you’re going to be skiing off-piste when it hasn’t snowed in a while. On groomers, these are fun. But they’ll be less fun – because of the stiff & lightweight combination – skiing frozen / refrozen chunks off piste. Pretty much NO ski makes those conditions really fun, but the stiff / light won’t do you any favors there. But if you don’t plan to ski that stuff anyway … you might have your one ski quiver.
Excellent review. From what i understood from Marshal, there is pretty negligible differences in the actual construction of the 12/13 and 13/14 RPCs?
I spent the 12/13 northern season almost exclusively on the RPC, and have next years pair as a warranty replacement coming to N.Z. as soon as they become available. It will be interesting how they fair in our usually variable snow, dense but often untracked pow and spring corn. I’l chime in on TGR or here once i’ve put them through their paces.
Thanks, Tom. In addition to the tip and tail spacers, DPS is also using a different carbon material, and they have reorganized the other structural materials of the laminate in a new way. So the the overall flex pattern and profile is the same as the 12/13, but it skis a bit more damp.
And I’ll definitely be interested to hear how they work for you.
I posted my thoughts on TGR, but in summary, your review is pretty spot on, an incremental but welcome improvement in less than ideal snow conditions to a winning shape.
Thanks, Tom – I really appreciate the feedback, and definitely agree that it’s a winning shape.
Have you guys had a chance to ski this in a 186 or in the hybrid construction?
Hello, tha,ks for this brillant nalysis of the ski.
What kind of ski do you choose with at bindings for touring freeriding mode. RP or RPC in 184 of course.
i’am 178 cm tall and 78 kg
Some of my friends in France telle me that the RPC in to stiff to ski it with it with dynafit or plum bindings and you propably dont ski that ski at is potential. So the one quiver sky should be RPC with a Duke or a RP with a plum yak ?
rgds
I live in Norway and mostly use dynafit bindings. I am 172 cm tall, weighs 64 kilo and I am 42 years old. I use the dps 112 pure for coastal skiing and the lotus 120 hybrid for powder days. I like the shape and feel of these skis and I like them long. In this video you can see the 112 on ice that you can see your reflection in and the lotus 120 on the exact same ice with a 20 cm layer of powder. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mfe8xmLWhI – you might like the hard rock video from Myrkdalen better http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsHhZpM38zE -there is also a couple of videos on vimeo, http://vimeo.com/91619123
I don’t agree that the 112RPC is hard to ski. I skied 4 days at Alta and 14 at Big Sky – all on the 112RPC. I skied all day every day and saw all of the steepest and most difficult terrain on both hills.
I weigh in at 162lbs. and am a strong, fast and good skier. Of the 18 days, 14 had new snow of 2-12″ totalling around 5′ fresh. Steeps, trees, chutes, couloirs, bumps (I slayed them) and groomers. There was no time or place I felt the ski wasn’t up to my plan.
The ski is good.
About to mount a pair of 186 Pure 3s with the intended primary use being touring in pow and sometimes corn/slop. I’m in the “the RP is too turny and soft for anything other than tight tree skiing, but Squad 7s are too damned heavy to do big days on” camp. On paper, the RPC should be just about right. Will report back in a couple weeks, conditions permitting.
Hi Jonathan,
I’m 52Y, 6ft 3 / 90kg ex mogul rider and active Hockey player.
I ride a 2015er Movement Super Turbo Evo 198cm as every day ski (may be that sounds unusual but except of the weight, it rides every condition perfect).
I’m looking for a quite similar ski with half a kilo less per ski, for longer uphill touring eg. Tromsø / Norway.
I’m not yet sure choosing a Katana V-Werks 191 or a RPC Pure 3 192, what do you think about my perfect choice?
greetings Sven
Disclaimer: I’m 5’8″ 135#s, and ski these with either Vulcans/Dynafits or Lange RX130s and Sollys (yay Binding Freedom plates!)
1. This “they’re like a skinny Lotus 138” stuff floating around didn’t make sense to me when I first read it and still doesn’t after skiing the RPC for about 15 days inbounds and out. The 138 is reverse/reverse, the RPC is a 20M radius, slightly-cambered 5-point ski. I don’t understand how that comp is helpful to someone evaluating an RPC purchase. Both skis are stiff and share the same construction, but that’s it. You can feel, and use to great effect if it’s your bag, the RPC’s sidecut. The 138 has barely any sidecut. It’s a different type of skiing.
2. The RPC is too light, stiff and reactive to crush crud in the “front-of-boot, pedal-to-metal” sense, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. If you want to do that, get an older Katana or Cochise. That said, you CAN have have a lot of fun in resort crud in the RPC – so long as it’s not too set-up – if you play to its strengths: Quickness and lack of weight. Slice and dice rather than stomp and destroy. Launch between soft spots and quickly move laterally on the bases and float the thicker stuff. There’s no doubt that the lack of dampness in the RPC can feel harsh when, for example, you throw a turn on a patch of scraped-down-to-ice “snow” in comparison to a traditionally-constructed ski. It does feel rattley. But on any ski in this size class, you’re just getting through that type of surface condition to get to softer stuff. And, the RPC will hold a perfect edge on it.
3. I like the stiffness of the ski, even the tail. With low camber, taper and sidecut, you don’t need much help to turn these. Slash at will. Would softening them up a bit help them feel less harsh if you get in the backseat or just make chattery snow less jarring? Maybe, but I wouldn’t trade that for the precision and energy the stiffness gives you. YMMV. There was a moment the other day when I was coming in a bit hot in a turn where the back 3/4 of the ski was skidding on an icy layer, and the from 1/4 was getting into a pile of fresh snow. With the RP, the soft tip would load up and deflect at this moment, or just force a quick turn to keep flowing. With the RPC, I just held my ground and the tip stayed exactly where I wanted it. Sweet.
4. I wish I had time on a similarly sized V-Werks Katana to compare w/the RPC, because that’s probably the only other ski that somewhat compares to this. The shapes are pretty different, but the weight and quiver slot are probably the same.
5. The RPC is definitely awesome in powder of all kinds without any weirdness whatsoever getting back to the lift.
It’s definitely a specific ski, but I love it.
+Spring update.
Skied these for a hut trip week that saw all flavors of corn, slop, mush, some crust, 33-degree “new snow” and the like, and the RPCs were outstanding. I only used my 108mm touring skis once the whole week and wished I hadn’t that day. If it’s even remotely soft, the RPCs get the call. Love the ski.
Whatever, thanks for all comments but as I didn’t get any answer til December, I started getting both, the Katana in 191cm (Marker Tour 12 mounted at 0) and the RPC in 192cm (Marker Baron 13 mounted at -1). Both weren’t really bad. In deeper pow the Katana was missing a powder shovel because due to the wide tail (5mm more than the RPC’s) the Katana stays more horizontal at medium speed and I felt always a bit uncomfortable while burdening always the heels. With the RPC I could stay in neutral to a bit forward, lay over the ski, slice and carve through pow, crud, wind blasted terrain. Then I touched a rock in a very little compression with the Katana and the very narrow edge was crushed. After crash replacement, I mounted the binding to -1 and it went only a little better (for -2 I think the tail is definitely to short).
So I love the RPC for it’s precise and slicing behavior especially in wind blasted conditions, there the Katana started chattering around and losing tail grip.
On piste the edge hold in icy conditions the RPC has done a great job due to it’s torsionally stiffness and camber under foot. There the Katana had a good edge grip as well but the felt radius was very big and I don’t like the typical behavior, if you are crusing at some speed and lay over the ski, I feel for one tenth of a second riding on a vat of a rocking chair (this is one real disadvantage of the full rocker shape).
In softer conditions both made a good job but the RPC was a bit more lively, playful and also stable, which are normally parameter of opposite. The Katana was very stable in soft conditions but due to it’s big radius I had to be active lowering the radius of a turn and as I already mentioned taking care to keep the shovels out of the snow.
So I opted for the RPC, but I know that my height (6ft 3″), weight (200lbs), my powerful femurs and riding style (less smearing swing, more slicing) are the reason for my choice.
I would not recommend the ski to riders weighting less than 180lbs, who like smearing or sliding the turns, like Jonathan wrote: “…I was tossed around in wind blown and crusty conditions…, this might be less if you are 200, 220lbs…” I totally agree!
BTW: I just returned from Lyngen Alps (most north of Norway), using a Wailer 99 P3 (Marker KingPin13, 2.800gr per ski incl. binding), for free touring, this ski is much more playful but floats like 110mm under foot and was the best choice but I had to swing very careful in crusty conditions (may be I was too much used to the RPC), great combination for climbing without doing compromises in downhill performance.
CU Sven