1 / 4DPS Pisteworks 79
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PTO Verdict
“The narrowest, tightest-turning ski DPS makes. Read the size chart before you assume who it is for.”
Best for: Groomer days where the turn is the point. This is the narrowest waist and the shortest sidecut DPS draws for 26/27, with 80% of the ski left on the snow, so short and medium arcs come out of the geometry rather than out of your legs. It suits a skier who is still building a carve as much as one who already has it: DPS pitches it as an approachable route into full carbon and backs that with a size chart that starts at beginner. Narrow trails and steep pitches are where a 13.5 m sidecut earns its keep.
Not for: Anyone whose winter includes soft snow. At 79 mm this is the narrowest ski DPS makes, and neither the workbook nor the product page makes a single powder, crud or bump claim for it — every snow surface either source names for it is a firm one. It is also the wrong tool for long arcs at speed: 13.5 m is a short sidecut, and DPS's own 89 and 94 at 16 m and 18-20 m are drawn for that instead, at the same price. Skip it if you want one pair of skis for the season, because DPS's own head of product performance points those buyers at the 89. And skip the $2,095 Satin Carbon Red if you expect a different ski for the money: DPS calls it a topsheet.
At a Glance
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Ability Level
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Compatible Ski Bindings
Browse our recommended binding brands for this ski.
Description
The DPS Pisteworks 79 is a 79mm frontside carver holding a 13.5m turn radius at every length. No other 26/27 DPS ski is cut that narrow, and none of them turns that tight. DPS files it under Frontside Carver, and the geometry does not pretend otherwise.
The profile explains the rest. DPS prints 20% rocker and 80% effective edge, and among the fifteen 26/27 models that publish a rocker percentage that is the least rocker and the most edge left on the snow. Only the front fifth of the ski is lifted, so the edge starts working close to the shovel. Underneath sits one of the two 26/27 layups that carry a Carbon Power Plate: a high-modulus carbon laminate with that plate underfoot, which DPS describes as an added layer of carbon acting as power steering, over a patented dual-layer core of poplar and red oak. Red oak shows up on one construction page in the whole 26/27 book, and this is that page. Rockwell 48 steel edges and a World Cup race base carrying Phantom Glide finish it.
Four lengths — 160, 167, 174 and 181cm — at 1,420 to 1,730 grams a ski. The radius does not move with length either — 13.5m at 160cm and 13.5m at 181cm — so what a size step changes here is contact length and mass, not the published turn radius. DPS publishes a chart by height and ability for this model, and a beginner column is filled in at every band, which matches how the brand pitches the ski: an approachable way into full carbon rather than a race tool.
US$1,995 in Papaya / White, or US$2,095 for the Satin Carbon Red clear topsheet, which DPS presents as a finish and claims nothing more for. Sold flat: bindings are a separate purchase, and we mount them and help settle the length in the shop.
Specs
- Waist: 79mm
- Turn radius: 13.5m (all lengths)
- Profile: 20% tip rocker / 80% effective edge
- Shape: Frontside carver, directional
- Core: Split core — Ash + Poplar wood, full carbon laminate wrap
- Construction: Carbon laminate, one-piece full-wrap sidewall, 4000 Series World Cup race base (Phantom-treated)
- Weight: ~1,650g per ski (174cm)
- Lengths: 160 / 167 / 174 / 181
Details
- Type
- SKI
- Vendor
- DPS
- SKU
- S-PX79-174PA-PH
- UPC / GTIN
- 850061409782
174 / None
DPS Pisteworks 79
By PTO Team, Based on the official DPS 26/27 workbook and dpsskis.com specifications and construction lists, cross-checked against our own order sheet
Spec and construction analysis · Analysis dated
These 10-point scores express PTO's editorial assessment of suitability for each use. They are not customer ratings or instrumented measurements; the analysis below explains the trade-offs.
The take
“The narrowest, tightest-turning ski DPS makes. Read the size chart before you assume who it is for.”
A 79 mm ski with a 13.5 m sidecut reads like an expert weapon, and that is not how DPS sells it. The brand's own words are "one of the most approachable entry points into full carbon skiing", forgiving enough to build real confidence on. Its published size chart says the same thing more plainly: there is a beginner column and it is populated in all four height bands. Our own 25/26 write-up of this ski called it unforgiving and said it demanded good technique. Nothing in the 26/27 material supports that, so it is gone.
What you are paying for is specialization. At $1,995 this sits $200 above a Kaizen and $300 above a Pagoda Tour CFL, which is real money for the narrowest ski DPS builds. The Satin Carbon Red version adds another $100 for a clear topsheet, and DPS makes no ride claim for it at all — treat that as paint.
DPS will talk you out of this ski itself if your winter is broader than the shape. On the Pisteworks 89's own page, DPS's head of product performance calls the 79 a ton of fun on pure carving days and then sends anyone wanting more freeride orientation and a more open radius to the 89 — same seven-item build, same $1,995, 89 mm and 16 m. The 94 opens further to 18-20 m across five lengths to 189 cm, still at $1,995. Same money, a wider brief, and the 79 is the one that stays on the groomers.
On evidence, this is a spec read and we will not dress it up. DPS publishes no flex figure for this ski, and none anywhere in the printed 26/27 Workbook, no camber height, no rocker length and no mount distance. DPS's own product page reproduces a passage from an independent review, selected by DPS. Every sentence above about how it turns is reasoned from published geometry and the construction list.
On sizing, read DPS's own chart before you decide. It puts advanced skiers a size up in the first three bands and then stops: in its top band, 178 to 193 cm of height, all three columns read 181 cm. That is the end of the size run. A tall skier who wants more length than that has to move sideways in the family — the 89 goes to 184 cm, the 94 to 189 cm. We will settle it against your boot and your home hill in the shop.
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: Look SPX 13 GW Ski Bindings.
- Look SPX 13 GW Ski BindingsFrontside skiers on a narrow ski
Our shop pick for a carving ski. Brake-width match and release settings are handled by a technician at fitting.
- Salomon Strive 14 MultinormStronger skiers who want more range
A shop option for heavier or harder-driving skiers. Our techs match the brake width 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.
DPS badges its own alpine binding and plate as the recommended pairing on this ski's product page, and its workbook names this model for that plate; the options above are our shop suggestions rather than official pairings. Mounting, brake-width match and release settings are handled by a technician at fitting.
Common Questions
- Is the DPS Pisteworks 79 only for expert skiers?
- DPS says otherwise. Its product page calls this one of the most approachable entry points into full carbon skiing and describes it as forgiving enough to build real confidence on, and the size chart it publishes for this model has a beginner column filled in at every height band. What the ski does demand is groomers, not technique.
- What is the difference between the DPS Pisteworks 79 and the 89?
- Width and turn shape, on the same construction and the same price. The 79 is 79 mm with a 13.5 m radius; the 89 is 89 mm with a 16 m radius and 27% rocker instead of 20%. DPS's own head of product performance, quoted on the 89's page, sends anyone wanting more freeride orientation and a more open radius to that ski.
- Can you ski powder on the DPS Pisteworks 79?
- Not its job. This is the narrowest waist in the DPS range and neither official source makes any soft-snow claim for it. If your season includes powder days, DPS builds a lot of other skis for that; this one is drawn for firm snow.
- What is Carbon Reveal, and is the Satin Carbon Red worth $100 more?
- Carbon Reveal is a clear topsheet DPS introduced for 26/27 on its Kaizen and Pisteworks models, and it exposes the carbon layup underneath. DPS publishes no ride, weight or construction difference for it. So the honest answer is that you are buying the look.
- What length DPS Pisteworks 79 should I get?
- The radius is 13.5 m at all four lengths, so the published turn-radius figure is the same whichever one you pick. What a size step moves is how much edge sits on the snow and how much the ski weighs, and DPS publishes a per-model chart on the product page as a starting point. Bring your boots in and we will size it with you.
- What is the Carbon Power Plate in the DPS Pisteworks 79?
- DPS calls it power steering. It is an extra sheet of carbon sitting under the boot, where DPS says it channels your energy into the ski for power transfer and control. Two of the five 26/27 construction lists carry one, Pisteworks and Kaizen, and no thickness, weight or stiffness figure is published for it.
