DPS Kaizen 100

The Kaizen is DPS's touring line, and the 100 is the versatile option — wide enough for mixed backcountry conditions, narrow enough to hold an edge on the skin track back to the car.

What sets the Kaizen apart from the competition is the split core. DPS laminates poplar over ash horizontally — lighter poplar on top for flex and energy, denser ash on the bottom for vibration damping. There's a specialized damping glue at the bond line. It's an unusual approach, borrowed from their Pagoda Tour line, and it works. The ski damps like a heavier ski but weighs like a light one.

Two full sheets of aerospace-grade carbon fiber sit above and below the wood core. At ~1,800g in the 171, it's light enough for long approach days but stiff enough to handle firm snow on the descent. That's the hard part — most touring skis are either light and floppy or heavy and capable. The Kaizen 100 threads the gap.

45% rocker is more than the Wailer (40%). You feel it — the ski is looser in variable snow, easier to pivot, quicker to release from a turn. The trade-off is less effective edge on pure hardpack. If you're primarily a resort skier, the Wailer 100 is the better choice. If you're earning your turns, the Kaizen is the one.

Phantom base comes factory-applied. On a touring ski, that's a bigger deal than on a resort ski — one less thing to manage in the field.

Six sizes from 153 to 189. Full-wrap one-piece sidewalls, Rockwell 48 steel edges, World Cup sintered base. DPS doesn't cut corners on the touring line.