2023 DPS Pagoda 106

DPS uses innovative shaping and construction in order to create unique and strong-performing skis, and the Pagoda 106 is no different. This one uses the C2 shaping in order to give it a bit more of a straight-line character and personality. They keep the 106 mm waist in all sizes, and adjust accordingly the shape and profile in order to produce a 19-meter turn radius. The Pagoda construction consists of three different woods in the core, with ash in the center spine, paulownia just under, and aspen on the sides. They then add two sheets of carbon to the top and bottom of the ski, allowing for a stiff, stable, and supple ride at any speed and through any conditions or terrain. At 106 mm underfoot, it’s a decent floater, but still has the power and a bit of weight behind it to plow through crud and chop. The 179 cm length comes in at just under 2000 grams, so while it does use carbon to save weight from metal, the wood and the build to make it stable and strong for sure.

Dave Hatoff was on the 163, and found it to be on the short side for him. He scored it a top mark of 4 out of 4 for flotation, and 3’s for overall impression, versatility, forgiveness, playfulness, quickness, maneuverability, and stability. He states that the Pagoda 106 has “Easy turn initiation. Not a great edge grip on firm snow. Good floaters due to their width.” Brad Moskowitz was on the 179, and found it to be a bit short. He gave it top scores of 5 out of 5 for overall impression, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and flotation, with 4’s for quickness, maneuverability, versatility, forgiveness, and playfulness. Brad calls “The DPS Pagoda 106 C2 ridiculously light yet surprisingly stable and able to carve turns through a variety of snow conditions. Of all the DPS offerings, this model leans toward a more traditional shape, but still has a generous amount of tip rocker, and an amazing weight to power ratio. A ski this light has a speed limit on firm or heavy snow, but I would LOVE to take these high into the alpine for multi-days tours to find soft powder snow or ski steep and narrow couloirs!” I think Brad would like it up there, the grip of the ski combined with the floaty nature make it a whole lot of fun and quite confidence-inspiring when the terrain gets technical.

On the 184, Bob St.Pierre found it to be true to size. “I’d like to try the 189, but I’m pretty darn satisfied with the 184. DPS has strange sizing, and I have yet to figure it out.” He scored the ski top marks of 5 out of 5 for stability, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and overall impression. Versatility, quickness, maneuverability, and playfulness all got 4’s. Bob notes that he “loves the DPS skis in the 100-106 range, and while on paper, I’m more of a C2 skier, I actually gravitate to the RP shape in reality. That said, this C2 is right on the money when it comes to higher speed carving—not sure I’ve been on a better carver at this width—you can really let it run. When you get in softer snow, it lights it up there as well—plowing through crud and chop easily and quickly. It has a great rocker profile and I find the skis to be completely and totally intuitive, and I love every minute of skiing on these 106’s.” That’s some nice praise coming from Bob here, and a great match for him.

There are a lot of skis out there, and sometimes it’s hard to distinguish one from the other. DPS puts that all to bed with their innovative shaping and construction. By sticking to their philosophy of making fun, agile, and energetic skis with similar rocker profiles and taper shapes, these carbon-filled skis have a lot going for them in a variety of all-mountain and freeride formats.