DPS WAILER 99, ON THE SNOW
On early season, really funky, man-made snow at Arapahoe Basin, the Wailer 99’s were impressive.
I hadn’t been on skis since the end of August in Las Leñas (here’s to short off seasons!), but by my third run—and again, on really weird snow—I was setting an edge on these and worrying less and less each lap about exceeding their speed limit or their ability to hold an edge. By my fifth or sixth run, I was doing what comes naturally when your only option is to lap early season groomers: ski as fast as you possibly can.
I wasn’t getting any squirrely behavior on the 99s when skiing bases flat. The ride is solid and stable.
I did, however, find that if I didn’t fully commit to getting the ski up on edge, it would slide a bit on the man made funk we were skiing. The good news is that there was nothing unpredictable about this: if I was trying to haul but failing to commit to a hard carve, I would slide the turn—smoothly and predictably—rather than rail it. There was nothing hooky or erratic about the 99s.
I often feel the need to add the following caveat these days, since people love to talk about how every ski just rails!!!!!! The Wailer 99 is not a race ski, it is an all mountain ski with tip and tail rocker. It will not carve as well as a good, 78mm (or skinnier), traditionally cambered ski (such as DPS’s own Cassiar 80), but those skinny skis aren’t going to be nearly as much fun as the 99s when the snow starts to pile up.
Having said that, I’ll reiterate: these skis can be pushed, and they handled funky snow extremely well, and better than the Rossignol S3 would have, given the S3s softer overall flex, and more pronounced tail rocker.
(Starting Friday, I’m going to be skiing the Wailer 99s again, and will update when I’ve had several more days on them. You can now see my updated review of the Wailer 99 here.)
TOURING: A PREDICTION
The 190cm DPS Wailer 112RP PURE is my favorite touring ski. The low weight of the 112RP PURE significantly reduces the penalty of skinning on such a large ski, and when it’s time to descend, it provides excellent powder performance as well as the versatility to inspire confidence in variable conditions.
I haven’t had the chance yet to tour on the Wailer 99, but given its strong family resemblance to the 112RP, I will wager heavily that it will make a phenomenal backcountry ski for lower snow areas, or for those skiers who don’t want to tour on 112mm’s underfoot.
AVAILABILITY
Currently, DPS is offering a limited release of the PURE construction Wailer 99 in a 184cm length, and HYBRID construction lengths of 168cm, 176cm, and 184cm. For the 2012/13, season, DPS will also introduce a 192cm edition.
The women’s version of the Wailer 99, the Nina 99, is available now in the HYBRID construction, in lengths of 168cm and 176cm.
MORE ROCKER PROFILE SHOTS
thanks for the review of the dps 99. I need a bc ski to replace the K2 hardside. I think the hardsides are ok in most conditions, but I would like something that has better grip on ice.
You also skied the Bonafide. how would you comapre the 99 with the bonafide in firm conditions? Also, the shorter running length concerns me, seeing that I had a few falls where I had my weight a bit back, hit ice, tails washed out and I fell head first, backwards.
Most if my BC skiing is in the California Eastern sierra, mostly steep couloirs, in all sorts of snow.
Hi, Rod
I haven’t actually skied the Bonafide yet, but your in luck: I’m going to have both the 99 and the Bonafide with me at Alta for opening day (scheduled for this Friday), and so will be able to do A / B comparisons for four straight days. I’ll definitely let you know what I find.
Thanks, look forward to your review. Im also interested in how both skis are in a narrow couloir, where you have to really finish the turns. some skis lock on edge and they are hard to release.