DPS Koala 111

The DPS Koala 111 is the wider, softer-snow-focused member of DPS's Koala freestyle-freeride family — a flat ski, so pair it with your own binding. It's built on a poplar wood core wrapped in carbon and fiberglass laminates, with no titanal anywhere in the construction, which keeps the weight reasonable for a 111mm ski and gives it a lively, energetic feel rather than a heavy, plowing one. The rocker/camber/rocker profile runs roughly 40% rocker in the tip and tail with about 60% effective edge through the camber zone underfoot — that mix is what gives you real float and easy, quick pivoting in soft snow while still leaving enough edge engaged to drive through variable crud or stomp a pillow and hold your line. The sidecut is 139-111-127mm at 184cm, with a stated 18m turn radius across all lengths, so this ski wants to make longer, surfier turns in open terrain more than tight, short-radius work. The pop and rebound you feel come from that carbon-and-camber combination, not from a metal plate.

This is a ski for advanced to expert skiers building a quiver, slotting the Koala 111 in specifically for deep, soft days — pillow lines, open powder faces, and big-mountain freestyle where width and float matter more than all-condition versatility. Like any ski this wide, it's happiest in soft snow: on scraped-off, firm, high-traffic groomers it skids more than it grips, and it's at its best on firm snow only when the surface has softened. If powder days are rare where you ski, or if this is going to be your only pair, it's the wrong call. Look at the Koala 103 instead — 8mm narrower, much more at home on mixed and firmed-up snow, and a genuinely more useful everyday ski while keeping the Koala family's playful character.