Sold DPS Wailer 99 Alchemist, 184 cm

[Wendy]

Skied once in soft snow, like new. Mounted for 295 BSL with Tyrolia Attack 13 bindings. 184 cm length.

I love this ski, but am doing better on the 176. I just skied the 176 for 5 days at Alta and it was perfect everywhere.

This 184 is a bit too long for me and needs someone bigger than me (5’10”, 165), so needs a good home!

Excellent all mountain western ski, or eastern powder/trees/spring ski. Fun in bumps. Nice energy out of turns on groomers. Feels like an exuberant puppy in powder. Light, compliant, yet I haven’t found a speed limit, so still can charge. Constructed with DPS’s Alchemist carbon construction with damping additive. When stuff gets scraped off, it still holds an edge. I skied chop all day Friday and the this ski is great for it, just not as damp as some, but didn’t toss me around.

$650 shipped. PM me with questions.

 

[Noodler]

Must resist...

If I didn't just buy a pair of Stockli Lasers, oh my...

 

[ARL67]

Ya same here.
I'm loading up on a couple skis from Dawgcatching or I would hit the Buy-Button on these.
It is at a great price and obviously mint !

 

[Wendy]

Ya same here.
I'm loading up on a couple skis from Dawgcatching or I would hit the Buy-Button on these.
It is at a great price and obviously mint !

Yes, mint.

I skied on my 176's for 6 days at Alta in varying conditions, so I can post some more details/reflections about these skis here.

At Alta last week, ski days included 6" of fresh, 2 days following that of soft conditions then some sun-glazed surfaces and crud, then an incredible 33" that fell over 24 hours and the leftovers for the 2 days following that storm. The Wailer 99A was the perfect ski for me for all of this. I was with an instructor for 2 days, and we explored trees, bumps, wide open (but tracked out) spaces (Ballroom and Backside) and the lower parts of High Traverse. The Wailer99's had wonderful float, even in the deep stuff (and I am not a good powder skier, so take that into consideration), were very easy to pivot, and did hold an edge on groomers, even the scraped-off parts at the bottom of Collins where everyone was converging. I was surprised at their edge hold AND the speed they could obtain (I did not find the max speed). Nevertheless, they are easy to ski slowly.

Despite the amount of tip rocker, I could feel the full length of the ski in deeper snow and they didn't feel short. In bumps, I still had to press the tips into the turns, but on groomers, a more centered stance was more than sufficient. The Alchemist construction is exactly what it is billed as: A lightweight ski with damping effects. I made big wide turns down a run which I thought was soft powder, but beneath were large bumps, so the skis bumped their way down. I was not thrown off balance or rattled by this.....I just thought, "Oh, there's bumps under the snow here." In fact, I was impressed by the composure of the skis here.

These skis would make a great one ski quiver for the traveler, or an awesome eastern powder/spring ski, or touring ski due to its light weight. Possibly because DPS is based in SLC, I saw a lot of Wailer99's at Alta, but the varied conditions and myriad of terrain options are a perfect environment for these skis.

 

[James]

How do you find that tip profile? The gradual curve up. Looks like one could think forever if they actually want to make a turn, decide no, change mind, start turning, change mind again, then...wait, I'm lost, did we turn yet?
Suspect it might drive me crazy, though it has obvious advantages of choice.

 

[Wendy]

How do you find that tip profile? The gradual curve up. Looks like one could think forever if they actually want to make a turn, decide no, change mind, start turning, change mind again, then...wait, I'm lost, did we turn yet?
Suspect it might drive me crazy, though it has obvious advantages of choice.

You might enjoy a more traditional tip shape, but I never found the skis feeling vague throughout the turn. The contact point with the snow on groomers begins at the widest part, and there is camber underfoot, so energy out of the turn. Much more carve-y and energetic in the turn than, say, the Rossi Super 7 HD which I demoed last year which has a similar shape, but does not feel the same at all. That ski felt vague and unstable....the Wailer99’s do not.

 

[Noodler]

You might enjoy a more traditional tip shape, but I never found the skis feeling vague throughout the turn. The contact point with the snow on groomers begins at the widest part, and there is camber underfoot, so energy out of the turn. Much more carve-y and energetic in the turn than, say, the Rossi Super 7 HD which I demoed last year which has a similar shape, but does not feel the same at all. That ski felt vague and unstable....the Wailer99’s do not.

This is the key point (in bold). The full "capability" of the sidecut is already on the snow when it's 2D. So ripping groomers, you never feel any "lag" before the ski engages. This is just a really well-designed ski from the DPS folks. They took a lot of time to get it right (it was a follow-on to the massive success of the Wailer 112RP at the time).

 

[James]

This is the key point (in bold). The full "capability" of the sidecut is already on the snow when it's 2D. So ripping groomers, you never feel any "lag" before the ski engages. This is just a really well-designed ski from the DPS folks. They took a lot of time to get it right (it was a follow-on to the massive success of the Wailer 112RP at the time).

The widest part is just under the black dps logo? Does it ski really short on groomers?

 

[Noodler]

The widest part is just under the black dps logo? Does it ski really short on groomers?

YES!

 

[Wendy]

YES!

Yes, it skis shorter, but I haven't found it to be unstably so (if "unstably" is a word). It's more like having a slalom-esque ski on groomers (that can still make big wide turns) and a very manueverable, floaty ski in 3D snow. I had this ski in nearly 3' of powder, and its float was magnificent.

Keep in mind that the mount point is very traditional, not progressive like a lot of all-mountain skis. So, there's a lot of tip in front of the binding.

FWIW, I could ski the 184 on groomers, but found it unwieldy in bumps and trees. Of course, a more accomplished skier of my size would be fine with the 184, so ability is in play here as well.

 

[Ken_R]

Keep in mind that the mount point is very traditional, not progressive like a lot of all-mountain skis. So, there's a lot of tip in front of the binding.

I like that

 

[Jtlange]

I use this as a touring ski myself. It floats really well for a 99 and deals with weird stuff really well too. Took it goomer zooming one day and was pretty impressed. It does like to turn.

 

[Wendy]

Skis are sold!

 

[James]

Well I'm getting them!...
Never had a ski with this design type. It's a bit of an experiment.
I'll probably eventually put a Shift on it. Would seem to make sense.

Anyone know if the Aatack 13 will go from a 295 to a 313? That'll make the midsole even further back. It looks like from the photo there's already little tail length.

 

[Noodler]

Well I'm getting them!...
Never had a ski with this design type. It's a bit of an experiment.
I'll probably eventually put a Shift on it. Would seem to make sense.

Anyone know if the Aatack 13 will go from a 295 to a 313? That'll make the midsole even further back. It looks like from the photo there's already little tail length.

If it doesn't have enough adjustment left (or the mount position is too far rearward), you can probably just exhaust the heel adjustment and then only remount the toes.

BTW - Congrats! It certainly will be an experiment that we'll be interested in hearing about.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Well I'm getting them!...
Never had a ski with this design type. It's a bit of an experiment.
I'll probably eventually put a Shift on it. Would seem to make sense.

Anyone know if the Aatack 13 will go from a 295 to a 313? That'll make the midsole even further back. It looks like from the photo there's already little tail length.

Congrats. Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[ARL67]

Congrats ! I will be curious as to your comments on their flat groomer performance.
My pal had the Wailer 99 Pure3, same length, which I did several runs on and I found them very short on a flat groomers, but that's not what you bought them for. Me, I am always sniffing at OSQ travel-skis for Europe. Since Europe is very groomer-centric, I wouldn't recommend the 99 for those duties as the contact platform is very short. Though I have never been on the Alchemist construction and that has me most curious too. I look forward to your comments.