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DPS 99 Tour and the Dynafit Denali numbers and hand flex comparison...
This seems like it should be an obvious comparison.
I'm really interested in seeing what the "new guys", aka DPS, knows about real touring skis. The same place Dynafit has a well established and exceptionally well respected entire line of skis. I have owned 6 pair of DPS. None I would call "touring skis". But I also know others that do make that claim for their own DPS skis and use them as such all winter and spring.
Wailer">http://vimeo.com/101718541">Wailer 99 Product Video
from DPS">http://vimeo.com/dpsskis">DPS SKIS on Vimeo.https://vimeo.com">Vimeo.>
DPS 99 Tour
1240g one ski
1240g 2nd ski...2480g for a pair of 178cm
Nice on a weight per ski comparison!
125.99.111mm
No ski attachments (out come the dremel and drill for that)
Dynafit Denali
1250g one ski
1290g 2nd ski...2540g for a pair of 176cm
40grams difference between a pair is an aberration I suspect and not the norm
10g difference on one pair and a 20g difference on a third pair here.
131.98.116mm
One of the best skin attachment systems and precut skis.
At least with my own skis the DPS is consistent on build quality by comparison to my Dynafit Denali.
I've had 3 pair of the Denali to date. The last pair the most inconsistent for weight. DPS win on consistency but I have only weighted one pair. Might be common. Might not be common at all.
Either way the DPS is a tiny bit lighter per pair and 2cm longer by Company measurements. But exactly the same to the mm just eye balling them.
I have no time on the (99 Tour as of yet. A a bunch of skiing on the Denali. In fact the Denali is the ONLY ski I have been on since July. As you might expect I like them a lot. Using both a TLT6 and a Scarpa Alien with the Denali and have yet wanted more ski in any situation from glare ice to wind crusted powder. It is a stiff ski torsional and a decent over all flex front to back.
DPS is know for its torsional stiffness on their skis. While the over all flex on the 99 is pretty soft by comparison to a Cho Oyu or Denali I suspect the torsional stiffness on the 99 will better than either.
But I have to mount them up and ski them to find out if that is true. So at the moment jury is still out.
They did go just under the Denali for weight, which frankly I didn't think DPS could pull off. More to come. Also thinking I might be happier with the more moderate side cut on the 99T. I found the Cho a little hooky in bad conditions. The Denali a little less so. 99 might better either for my own use.
More later, as I get them on some snow.
6 comments:
Dane,
Skied both the 176 And 184 Denali, on your recommendation, as well as the 184 Wailer 99 in Tour 1. All skis skied incredibly well in some serious choppy/slight corn conditions. I thought it was gonna be DPS all the way, but after skiing the 184 Denali it was by far the most fun and stable in my opinion. The 176 was a little short for my taste, but still a great ski. I just felt the 184 had a much bigger sweet spot for me. The wailer seemed to get tossed around a little more and didn't have that edge hold that the Denali did. All great skis, but my hard earned dollars are going straight into a pair of Denalis as my next touring plank. Thanks as always for you insight on the new gear!
Travis
Curious where you were able to demo all those particular skis Travis?
What boot were you using and what binding set ups did the ski have mounted?
Dane,
I'm the assistant manager of a gear shop here in the north west so I got to go to the on snow demo two weeks ago. All skis I skied had either Dynafit Radical St demo plates and binding or G3 ion demo plates and binders on them. The weight was not perfect and kind of heavy, i'd be putting much lighter binders on then, but they worked to get a sense of the skis.
I'm personally skiing on the dynafit mercuries as my daily do everything boot. I've modified them to be light enough, intuition pro tour liners, light booster straps, no tongues on long tours so they work for me for everything. I like a stiffer boot for no nonsense terrain as well as skiing in bounds. There were some other great boots to demo there, but I'm pretty happy with mine.
Just about every single manufacturer was there and all had tech bindings on at least a couple pairs of their skis, even the traditional alpine brands. Funny though, I wanted to get on the wailer 99 tour 1s in the 176, but all they had were marker ft tour bindings on them. Not going to happen in my book. I sold my soul to tech bindings 5 years ago for everything and haven't looked back. I skied lots of other great skis from many, many brands, but the 184 Denali was the clear winner for me and my personal objectives in the future.
Travis
Thanks. You can rent almost everything here in Cham, Denali and 99 included. But the new Tour isn't available yet. Gotta bring your own.
Ciao,
Thanks for the helpful information. I was wondering, since i am looking for a ski replacing my K2 Wayback 88 (which I don't really like), whether you can draw a comparison between the Denali and for example the Movement Shift? An other alternative I had in mind was the Down YW8 102. All are kind of similar but pretty different in detail.
Looking for something forgiving, easy to turn, needing not too much power but still allowing some things. For alpine environment, not only powder (thus hoping for it), but also icy frozen stuff, harsh. Reasonably light to do a few m up.
What do you think?
Thanks for your answer.
Best
B
Any number of skis will likely answer your question. I like specific gear for specific reasons. What you are asking for most any current lwt ski will do.
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