Does the DPS Koala 103 suck?

[Brasso]

I'm late to the party, but this is what next year's 103 looks like.

[kid-kapow]

to be fair, the new Koala103 sounds like a great ski. The first gen ski is a good ski as well, just a tad to stiff relative to its weight and intended use - or as I put it above, a bit too dry snow specific. A slightly rounder flex should help them a fair bit in denser snow and in variable, especially if they make them a bit heavier as well.

The new k111 seems very interesting as well.

Or, DPS is doing a lot of things correctly with the entire Koala line imho - they just need to make sure that the quality controll improves a fair bit too.

Re the K118s, I just got notified that they'll be replaced under warrenty. The importer did not want the old pair back and wanted me to saw them in two. So yay, I get to cut them in multiple pieces and check out their construction - happy times I will post pictures after I do

[grskier]

so my final take on the Koalas:

key takeaway: if you buy newer Koalas then be sure to check their build quality - DPS' quality control / quality assurance seems to be completely mia.

To be fair, both pairs of Koala119s that I've owned have been fine construction wise, as is my initial pair of k103s. Overly sharp edges, but that can easily be detuned - better that way. I've also been very pleasantly surprised by my Lotus117 - that ski is a ton of fun in fresh snow. The three Koala models I've skied all ski well, though I have nothing more to add than what I've mentioned previously.

My second pair of Koala103s and my pair of K118s on the other hand... Both had topsheet slippage on one of the two skis by 5-8mm. I find it weird that they are not able to pair skis better as symmetrical slippage wouldn't be that big of an issue, whereas a 8mm would be noticable.

I also discovered today that one of my K118s has some sidewall issues - excessive epoxy build up with voids, so yay. I cannot but think that this is something that weakens the construction and to a lesser extent affects the flex pattern (though to be fair - this part of the ski is rather stiff). Regardless, it seems like something that would make the ski B-grade or a blemish ski - or I might just have unrealistic expectations from being on a ton of ON3Ps.

Attachment 463518
sidewall issue on the ski to the left. Notice the voids.
Attachment 463517

We'll see if I'll get them replaced under warrenty or not, but regardless - my experiement of running DPS ( a brand I loath, but whose skis I mostly enjoy from a snow sliding perspective) has now come to an end. I am sick and tired of discovering issues, where they all have that in common that they should have been discovered and fixed during the production of said skis, or at the very least during the quality control.

DPS 100% need to stop printing their mount points as a part of their graphics and move to marking the sidewall.

So in closing - I've owned seven pairs of skis from DPS:
2x Koala 119
2x Koala 103
1x Koala 118
1x Lotus 117
1x Lotus 124

I've had issues with three of them (Koala103, Koala 118, Lotus 124) of differing degrees. I might just have been unlucky, or DPS' quality control might be shit - or both.

DPS has had some great skis that you can drive the tip on over the years... What you've noted in the koalas, the 105T2... although those were a beast of a ski.. no speed limit, 115 RPC didn't flop around...

I have to go ski my OG koalas again next season, I haven't put much time on them since an injury a few years ago.

You mention a few times you 'loathe' the brand... and sorry if I missed it, but any particular reason?

[kid-kapow]

You mention a few times you 'loathe' the brand... and sorry if I missed it, but any particular reason?

It can be sumarized in the pricing / their seemingly preferred customers (the rich). It seems to be a pretty common sentiment on here as well.

I love the soft snow prowess of their wider skis and miss their films (before they became overly artsy), but there is something that to me is so inherently off putting in selling 1550usd skis whilst forcing the founder out of the company. It is a just a demographic of skiers I do not want to be a part of or relate to at all. I've never skied RPs either, but their 15m radius is not want I am wanting in that kind of ski. The various Koalas are a much welcome departure from DPS of the past though, and again - for the most part very good skis.

And yes, all the issues I've had with said skis have not helped either - though to be fair, their warrenty process is really quite good and they've stood by their products (even if none of the issues should have reached me as an end user imho).

It is kind of the same way that I feel about Specialized (bikes) - they might have killer bikes, but I just freaking hate the company and the way the company has been run in the past.

So, the hipster in me is torn between admitting that the Lotus117 is a blast as is the Koala119 (he latter would have been a borderline perfect soft snow ski for me if they only had a tad rounder flex pattern) whilst not liking the company.

First world problems I know.

[kid-kapow]

The depicted K118s were made into shot skis yesterday and no they did not have a bi-phase poplar and bamboo core re:

The core seemed to be poplar / regular wood tip to tail. My pair were from the first year of production, before they changed the marketing copy to state that the cores were made of poplar for this year / year three of k118 sales. Blister states that they have aspen cores, so who knows.

It kinda makes me wonder if any of the pagoda cores are for real, or if it just marketing bs. I am not about to cut them in half to find out though.

And to be a bit balanced - I still think that the K118 is an excellent shape being let down by too planky a construction - making them a bit too dry snow specific imho. It will be very interesting to see how the new made-in-the-US 24/25 Koalas will turn out - prob even more expensive

[oltrepiave]

i demo'ed the new koalas for a full day in march. Heavy/wet storm kind of day.Skied the 183 length and moved the demo bindings at +1ish. pre-BOA Hawx XTDs.

I really liked them, they did feel decently damp for a not that heavy ski, the flex was pretty balanced, could throw butters on them but with a bit more input than my other skis in order to engage the flex but not too much deflection on soft moguls/mank. Build looked solid enough. IN general we have a word in italian which is "pastoso" which is how i would describe them. It roughly translates as "dense" but it doesn't flow right.

having said that there's no way i'm spending that money for a pair of planks, not even when on sale. It was fun trying them though.