Featured Image: Oskar Enander
It’s still early season, which means there’s plenty of time to get those ski legs back under you before deep powder days and endless vertical consume our ski experience. So, grab your favorite all-mountain skis, head over to your local ski hill and start railing turns on the hardpack—you’ll thank us later. For those of you unsure about your ski choice for the frontside, let us suggest the all new Foundation Cassiar 94 and Alchemist Uschi 94 skis from DPS. These all-mountain twigs are specifically designed to tear up everything you’ll find at the resort, from perfectly manicured groomers to choppy conditions in the trees.
Taking a departure from the hoards of stiff, unforgiving, race-like on-piste skis on the market, the Cassiar and Uschi are constructed with the same techniques that have helped DPS gain a reputation for its its award-winning off-piste powder planks. Using a smaller chassis but the same, playful yet powerful design properties and materials, the Foundation Cassiar 94 and Alchemist Uschi 94 offer a new way to attack the ski hill.
To make things even sweeter, DPS is offering free shipping, free binding mounts and no extra charge to get its Phantom base treatment applied during this holiday season. Treat yourself to smooth, easy-to-initiate turns on the hardpack, nimble performance in the moguls and gladed terrain and playful, freeride-inspired construction with these all-mountain offerings from the Salt Lake City-based ski manufacturer.
From the 2018 Buyer’s Guide:
Foundation Cassiar 94
Our trusted ski tester Willie Ford called the Cassiar 94 “the best DPS ski I have ever been on. This ski is the bomb.” Frankly, our testers loved how smoothly the Cassiar skied. Light, strong and durable bamboo and elastic poplar wood combine with dual layers of triaxial-woven fiberglass and two strips of unidirectionally-oriented carbon fiber for a ski that’s equipped to rip without any bulk to bog you down. “This is a frontside machine that turns everything it touches into gold,” said FREESKIER’s Sam Taggart. Mikey Wechsler summed it up as “super easy to ski. It’s equally at home on all snow and terrain.”
Alchemist Uschi 94
Trust the word of our testers: the all-new DPS Alchemist Uschi 94 is designed for going fast and laying trenches on-piste. “These really push you out of turns (in the best way) and are responsive to all inputs,” noted tester Anna Tedesco about the Alchemist Uschi 94. “Nice lightweight ski, incredibly responsive,” added Casey Jillson. “Just the right amount of softness and stability. You can play on the tips and tails and still reach high speeds,” said Sarina Scott. Slight tip and tail rocker helps facilitate easy turn entry and nimbleness in crud, moguls and trees, while the Alchemist Series’ vibration-tuned aerospace-grade carbon makes this ski notably damper and smoother than previous carbon-centric designs.
