1 / 5DPS Kaizen 100
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PTO Verdict
“Light enough to skin, stable enough to actually ski the way down.”
Best for: Backcountry skiers who want a touring ski that actually skis well on the descent. Sidecountry and slackcountry on powder days. The skier who earns their turns but won't compromise on downhill performance.
Not for: Ultralight gram-counting tourers, pure resort skiers (get the Wailer), or park skiers.
At a Glance
Terrain
Ability Level
Pair It With
Compatible ski bindings.
Browse our recommended binding brands for this ski.
Description
The DPS Kaizen 100 is a 100mm all-mountain ski with 45% rocker and a 15m sidecut — a powder ski's rocker share and a carver's turn radius on one drawing. That pairing is the whole character. Rocker and tip taper pull the contact point back from the shovel, which shortens the edge actually doing work and lets the ski pivot and smear rather than track. DPS puts it plainly: the rockered and tapered tip provide easy pivoting, and it floats through powder far better than the 100mm waist might suggest.
Underneath is the Kaizen layup. A Carbon Power Plate sits underfoot — an added layer of carbon DPS calls its version of power steering — over a patented dual-layer wood core of poplar and ash. Poplar is the light, springy half, ash the dense, damping half. High-modulus full carbon laminate wraps the sandwich, Rockwell 48 steel edges run the perimeter, and the World Cup race base arrives with Phantom Glide already applied — DPS's permanent base treatment, which it sells as a replacement for repeat waxing. Two of DPS's five 26/27 construction lists carry that power plate; the powder and freeride builds do not.
Buy it for soft and broken snow you ride a lift to — trees, moguls, storm days, the terrain DPS's own copy names. Skip it for firm snow at speed. There is no full-length metal sheet in the construction list, 45% rocker leaves a short working edge, and DPS itself points at the wider Kaizen 105 for grip on hard snow. At 1,677 grams a ski in the 171 this is a resort build, and DPS draws the same published shape in its touring line for anyone who climbs.
Six lengths — 153, 163, 171, 179, 184 and 189cm — at $1,795, with the radius holding at 15m throughout. Sold flat: bindings are a separate purchase, and we mount them and help settle the length in the shop.
Specs
- Waist: 100mm
- Turn radius: 15m
- Profile: Tip/tail rocker 45% / effective edge 55%
- Shape: All-mountain freeski
- Core: Poplar + Ash dual-layer wood core
- Construction: Full carbon laminate + Carbon Power Plate underfoot; Rockwell 48 steel edges; World Cup race base with Phantom Glide
- Weight: ~1,867g per ski (179cm)
- Lengths: 153 / 163 / 171 / 179 / 184 / 189
Details
- Type
- SKI
- Vendor
- DPS
- SKU
- S-KZ100-163HP
- UPC / GTIN
- 810182502908
163
DPS Kaizen 100
By PTO Team, Based on DPS's official product page and published specs · Spec analysis
The take
“Light enough to skin, stable enough to actually ski the way down.”
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.
Bindings we'd pair with it
Mount point: DPS recommended touring mount point. Our pick: Shift MNC 13.
- Shift MNC 13Recommended
Hybrid touring/alpine binding. Tech-compatible for skinning, alpine-mode downhill performance. Best match for the Kaizen's dual-purpose design.
- Marker Kingpin 13Dedicated touring
Lighter than the Shift, true pin binding for long tours. Solid downhill retention for a pin binding.
Marker Griffon 13 IDResort / sidecountryIf you ski the Kaizen 100 mostly at the resort with occasional boot-packs, a standard alpine binding works fine.
For touring, use a tech-compatible binding (Shift, Kingpin, or similar). For resort-only use, any flat-mount alpine binding works.
