2023 DPS Pagoda Tour 100

The DPS Pagoda Tour 100 is a shining example of a hybrid ski that uses the existing shape of an alpine ski combined with the super-light weight of a dedicated tourer. DPS really puts all of their technology and engineering into their Tour skis, and it shows on the scale. Starting with a light Paulownia wood core, they add two full-sheets of carbon, just like in their alpine skis. They use two ash wood stringers and four aerospace foam stringers to go along with their Algal third-rail technology. This central strip gives a boost to the stiffness while keeping the weight to an absolute minimum. For a ski with this much volume, they somehow make it weigh 1480 grams per ski in the 179, which is right in the sweet spot of where a touring ski should be. The carbon and ash bring the performance, while the foam, paulownia, and Algal combine to keep even the most discriminating uphill skiers happy.

By using the same shape and profile as found in normal Pagoda 100, the Tour version features the RP shaping and corresponding profile. The big thing here is that they adhere to the 15-meter turn radius which keeps this ski as one of the turniest of the group. From 153 cm all the way through the 184, the turn radius and waist width remain the same, meaning DPS has to pull off some fancy footwork in order to achieve this shape. It mainly comes down to altering the taper shape and rocker profile to fit, so it ends up looking a little strange, but DPS has never shied away from an interesting appearance. With 55% camber and 45% rocker, these things are pretty bent, allowing for fantastic soft-snow performance and a quick-turning nature. While they’re a little light and quite turny, they’re still a whole lot of fun, and it makes a lot of sense for a touring ski to be this way.

Marcus Shakun skied the 179, and he’s a pretty tall skier at 6’5”, so it’s no wonder that he found it short and asked politely for the next size up. Regardless, we’re seeing some higher scores here, with 4’s out of 5 given for forgiveness and flotation. 3’s cover the rest of the scorecard, so that shows there’s some consistency to the feel and character of the ski. He calls it a “Light Weight Spring Corn Crusher. Advanced Intermediate to Expert Backcountry all-mountain enthusiast? Not super great on the hard pack, but not where it was designed to ski.... or maybe the tune? I had fun blasting through the soft corn with ease. Can imagine its light weight feeling in soft deep UTAH pow is a blast especially on a long tour.”

There aren’t too many skis out there that use this blend of light weight and high performance, and the engineers and designers at DPS are certainly to thank for that. At around 1500 grams, and with two full sheets of carbon, we’re getting a top-shelf touring ski here with a lot more capabilities than just being light for climbing.