1 / 5DPS Kaizen 105
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PTO Verdict
“The wide, steady half of the Kaizen family — and DPS shows its work.”
Best for: Fast skiing on mixed resort snow. DPS credits the longer radius and the lower rocker figure with holding an edge at speed, and describes conditions running from fresh groomers through powder to sunbaked crud. It also suits a buyer who specifically wants the Kaizen build — carbon plate under the boot, two wood species in the core — rather than the touring or powder constructions elsewhere in the DPS catalog. And the 155 makes the full-strength layup reachable for a small, strong skier.
Not for: Skinning. This is a resort weight, and DPS sells the Pagoda Tour CFL 105 at the same waist and the same radius on a touring layup for people who climb. Skip it if your terrain is tight and your turns are short: 18m is a long sidecut, DPS itself frames this as the longer-radius, less-rockered member of the family, and the Kaizen 100 is the quicker ski in the same construction at the same price. Skip it if you want something soft and forgiving, because DPS says in its own words that this ski favors a more aggressive skiing style, and the layup adds a carbon plate underfoot rather than taking material away. And skip the Carbon Reveal listing if you are paying the extra for performance, because DPS describes no ride difference between the two topsheets.
At a Glance
Terrain
Ability Level
Pair It With
Compatible ski bindings.
Browse our recommended binding brands for this ski.
Description
The DPS Kaizen 105 is a 105mm all-mountain ski built on an 18m turn radius that DPS holds at all six lengths, with a published 40% rocker to 60% effective edge split. DPS is explicit about what those numbers are for: it says a longer turn radius and less rocker than the rest of the Kaizen line give this ski better stability and edge hold at speed, and that the reduced rocker and minimal tip taper keep it engaged with the snow. Its own description of the ride is hard-charging, favoring a more aggressive skiing style.
The layup is the full Kaizen one. A Carbon Power Plate sits underfoot — DPS describes it as an added layer of carbon acting as power steering between skier and ski. Around it sit a high-modulus full carbon laminate, a patented dual-layer wood core of poplar and ash, Rockwell 48 steel edges, and a World Cup race base with the Phantom Glide treatment applied at the factory. Weights run 1,590g per ski at 155cm to 2,076g at 189cm.
We list this season's two colorways as separate products. Glacier Blue is $1,795. Carbon Reveal Blue is $1,895 for a clear topsheet, which DPS introduced for 26/27 and says exposes the refined carbon layup underneath. One spec table covers both on DPS's own material, and DPS does not describe any difference in how the two ride.
Six lengths: 155, 163, 171, 179, 184 and 189cm. Radius does not change with length, so sizing is a surface-area and swing-weight decision rather than a turn-shape one, and DPS publishes a chart by height and ability to start from. Sold flat — bindings are a separate purchase, and we mount them and help settle the length in the shop.
Specs
- Waist: 105mm
- Turn radius: 18m
- Profile: Tip/tail rocker 40% / effective edge 60%
- 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: ~1,873g per ski (179cm)
- Lengths: 155 / 163 / 171 / 179 / 184 / 189
Details
- Type
- SKI
- Vendor
- DPS
- SKU
- S-KZ105-155GB
- UPC / GTIN
- 810182502953
155
DPS Kaizen 105
By PTO Team, Based on the official 26/27 DPS Workbook and dpsskis.com product data, cross-checked field by field. · Spec and construction analysis against the DPS 26/27 Workbook and dpsskis.com
The take
“The wide, steady half of the Kaizen family — and DPS shows its work.”
Two numbers decide whether this is your ski, and the waist is not one of them. The first is the sidecut. An 18m arc under a 105mm platform is a long radius for the width — our reading of the geometry, not DPS's wording. What DPS puts behind its own stability claim is a comparison you can check: the Kaizen 100 publishes 15m and a 45% rocker figure against this ski's 40%, on the same construction and at the same $1,795. Shorter arc, more rocker: read that as the narrower one coming around sooner — our inference from the two published figures, and DPS does not put it that way. Open terrain, carried speed, and a ski that stays underfoot instead of releasing early — that is this one.
The second number is mass. 1,873 grams a ski at 179cm is a lift-served figure, and DPS supplies the contrast itself. Its Pagoda Tour CFL 105 carries the identical waist on the identical arc, on a carbon-and-flax touring layup, at 1,367 to 1,643 grams a ski. Same waist, same arc, the same published rocker split, and much less to drag uphill. Anyone weighing this ski against a skin track should be reading that page instead.
On the two listings, we will not tell you the pricier one skis better, because DPS never says so. Choose Carbon Reveal because you want to see the carbon, not because either official source supports paying for a ride difference.
What we cannot tell you is how stiff it is. DPS does not publish a flex figure, a camber height, a rocker length or a mount distance — we read this ski's page top to bottom, six sibling pages and the printed workbook, and none of those four appears. DPS reprints a short excerpt from an outside review on its own page, undated, with no model year stated and the sentences chosen by the brand; it credits the ski's maneuverability and its accessible ride in firm chop and crud. That widens the picture. Treated as a test result, it is a brand's own edit.
Sizing is where DPS's own chart earns its keep. It starts at 152cm of skier height and puts all six sizes to work, and one detail in it repays reading: in five of the six height bands the beginner and intermediate columns carry the same length, and only the advanced column steps up. We ordered 171, 179 and 184 in Glacier Blue, and 179, 184 and 189 in Carbon Reveal Blue — that is what we bought, not what is on the rack today.
Bindings we'd pair with it
Mount point: Flat ski — sold without bindings. DPS offers a recommended mount point in its own order flow but does not publish the distance from center or tail, so no figure is quoted here. Our pick: Pivot 15 GW B115 Forza 3.0.
- Pivot 15 GW B115 Forza 3.0Hard-charging skiers on a wide ski
Our shop pick for a ski this wide and this hard-charging. Brake match and release settings are set by a technician at fitting.
- MARKER Griffon 13 Bindings 2026All-mountain everyday
A shop all-mountain option. Our techs match the brake to the ski at mounting.
- MARKER Squire 11 Bindings 26/27Lighter skiers and value builds
A shop option for lighter or less aggressive skiers. The release setting is determined by a technician at fitting.
These three are shop stock, not an official pairing. DPS does mark one binding as recommended inside its own order flow; that model name stays in our research file rather than on this page, because it carries a release-value number and we do not publish release settings. Mounting, brake match and release settings are handled by a technician at fitting.
Common Questions
- What is the difference between the DPS Kaizen 105 and the Kaizen 105 Carbon Reveal?
- The documented differences are the topsheet and the price. Carbon Reveal is a clear topsheet DPS introduced for 26/27 on its Kaizen and Pisteworks models, and its stated purpose is to put DPS carbon engineering on full display; it costs $1,895 against $1,795. DPS publishes one per-size spec table covering both and describes no difference in flex, weight or how they ride.
- Is the DPS Kaizen 105 good on groomers?
- DPS makes that claim directly. Its copy has the ski laying down big arcing turns on fresh groomers, and the brand puts the longer radius and the reduced rocker behind that claim. At 105mm underfoot this is still a wide ski to tip on edge, and no flex or camber figure is published to check the claim against.
- How does the DPS Kaizen 105 compare to the DPS Kaizen 100?
- Same family, same construction, same $1,795, different intent. The 100 is 5mm narrower on a 15m radius with a 45% rocker figure; the 105 runs 18m with 40%. DPS describes the 105 as the longer-radius, less-rockered one and credits it with stability at speed; pick the 100 for quick turns, the 105 for long ones.
- Is there a touring version of the DPS Kaizen 105?
- Not under the Kaizen name, but the Pagoda Tour CFL 105 is the same 105mm waist on the same 18m radius, built on the touring layup of carbon and flax over a paulownia core, at 1,367 to 1,643 grams per ski across five lengths. That is the one to buy if you are climbing.
- What length DPS Kaizen 105 should I get?
- Radius is 18m in all six sizes, so a longer ski buys surface area and swing weight rather than a different turn shape. There is an official chart organized by skier height and ability; it starts at 152cm of height and puts all six sizes to work. One thing stands out in it: in five of the six bands the beginner and intermediate columns hold the same length, and only the advanced column moves up; we help settle it at the shop.
- What is inside the DPS Kaizen 105?
- Seven items, on DPS's own construction page for the family: a textured topsheet; a Carbon Power Plate; full carbon in high-modulus laminate form; a patented core built from two wood layers, poplar and ash; steel edges hardened to Rockwell 48; and a race base from the World Cup range carrying Phantom Glide. The power plate is the interesting one — an extra sheet of carbon sitting under the boot, which DPS likens to power steering. A site-wide technology block on the page also mentions an aluminum tail bar, but that block runs identically on the sibling DPS pages we checked rather than being specific to this model.
