2nd Look: 2012-2013 DPS Wailer 99, PURE, 184cm
Dimensions (mm): 122-99-111
Actual Tip to Tail length (straight tape pull): 184.0cm
Running Length / Effective Edge: 149cm
Weight Per Ski: 1705 grams
Boots / Bindings: Nordica Enforcer / Marker Griffon (Din 10)
Mount Locations: Factory Recommended, +1, +2
Test Location: Alta Ski Area
Days Skied: 6
If you are looking for a ski that is around 100 mm underfoot and can absolutely tear apart any section of any mountain, East Coast or West, you had better get used to the color orange. The DPS Wailer 99 may look like a Creamsicle, but it is one of the most fun skis I have ever strapped to my feet.
I need to preface this 2nd Look (see Jonathan’s first review of the 99s) with a little explanation of the wide range of conditions I subjected the Wailer 99s to over a relatively short period of time. I ski at the one and only Alta, home of the greatest snow on earth. A typical review from here would include numerous accounts and photos of overhead pow, pillowy soft, knee-deep crud, soft, launchable moguls, effortlessly carvable groomers, and everything else that goes along with receiving more than 500 inches of quality snow a year. But Mother Nature hasn’t dropped the snow bomb on Utah yet, and conditions are thin.
And yet, for Alta’s opening weekend, we received around 18 inches of new snow. This allowed the opening of pretty much everything accessible from the Tower 10 traverse, including the bottom half of West Rustler, most of Stone Crusher and Lone Pine, and some of High Rustler.
Midway through the week, another storm decided to split in two and circumnavigate the state, giving us a trace of snow and two days of 50-80 mph winds that raked the mountain clean, leaving some true, East-Coast-style firmness. All of this has been perfect for testing, giving me the chance to ski the 99s in pow, crud, soft and hard moguls and groomers, wind-affected snow, blowing snow, and, yes, even barely edgeable ice. (There may have been a few early season rocks and stumps mixed in there, too.) It has turned the past two weeks into a great time to review a ski like the Wailer 99.
Hard carving on the DPS Wailer 99s.
The first thing you notice when picking up the PURE Wailer 99s is how incredibly light they are. My first thoughts were that these would be incredibly quick and effortless, and a ton of fun in the air. But then I also began to wonder (and worry) about the 99’s stability at speed, dampness in chop, edge hold on hardpack, and even the durability of such a light ski.
So far, I have found the 99 to deliver all of the quickness and ease of a super light ski, while still being stout enough to handle the demands of skiing any part of the mountain as fast and hard as you can.
This is not your typical noodly “fun” shaped ski. The Wailer 99 does require some attention because it does offer a fairly firm flex throughout most of the ski, except for the shovel, where the combined softer flex and tip rocker aid in the 99s powder performance.
The Wailer 99s are lightning quick from side to side, and jumping from one turn to the next in tight spots or in moguls is incredibly easy.
As Jonathan also mentioned in his review, the skis like to be ridden balanced or driven, and the firm tails of the 99 will let you know when you’re not in the ideal position for any sport: on your heals.
If you stay out of the backseat though, these skis will deliver any sort of turn you wish, at pretty much any rate of speed. In fact, the “any sort of turn” is what I believe makes the 99s so fun. Whether I was banging down through the moguls, trees, rocks, and stumps of Fred’s Trees while cranking quick slalom style turns; laying railroad tracks down West Rustler; or smearing GS turns down Lone Pine, the skis simply delivered. And this was true on fresh powder as well as later in the week when the mountain turned firm.
They are snappy and energetic in tight spots yet stable enough to let you push the speed limit on any run. But if you are in the backseat and going fast, that snap and energy means that the ski won’t be afraid to toss you around until you get back into the driver’s seat.
While a lot of people interested in the Wailer 99 probably won’t spend their day sessioning jump lines, if you are into that sort of thing, you are going to love the 99. Swing weight is basically nonexistent, and it actually takes a little getting used to that feeling in the air. But once you do, doors will be opened. I can’t wait to get the 99s upside down.
Jason, mute 3, Wailer 99s, Alta.
I do wish the ski had a slight bit more flair at the tail, but as long as you’re not bringing it in switch in pow, the tail should suffice. I would also recommend mounting at +1 or +2, but only if you’re looking to butter more than toast. (If you don’t know what I’m alluding to, don’t worry about it, just move on.)
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November 29, 2011 at 10:01 pm
one additional question: You mentioned that if you like to skid the turns, the tips may chatter.
When I ski a steep, narrow couloir, I end up skidding the last part of the turn, going straight down a bit with the skis across the fall line. Can you do this with these skis?
Thanks you.
November 30, 2011 at 6:21 am
You absolutely can ski this way. My comment about chatter is referring to skidding a turn at hight speed on extremely firm snow.
December 1, 2011 at 12:13 am
jason, thank you very much for your answers, one more question:
my favorite skiing is backcountry steep couloirs. I am a little concerned about what you are saying about getting in the back seat.
I went from Volkl explosivs to mantras to K2 hardsides. All these had still tails, but i felt that i coud handle them, and if I got in the back seat a little, it wasnt like with a slalom race ski, where they would shoot me in the air if I loaded the tails and not be ready. So is this comparable to the three skis I mentioned?
thank you
December 1, 2011 at 5:14 am
Judging from what you have been on for skis you will be fine with the stiffness of the tails of the 99. They definitely are nowhere near slalom ski stiff.
December 5, 2011 at 7:59 am
I have bought a pair and am about to mount them. I am used to a bit longer a ski than the 184cm I had to go with.
Would mounting them back -1 make any difference in terms of making me feel like I had a longer ski?
Thanks very much
December 7, 2011 at 5:30 am
You could definitely do that to make the tips feel a touch longer, just know that you’re also losing tail length and support. I would need to know your height, weight, where and what you typically ski to give my best recommendation. Honestly, I don’t think it is necessary to go any further back for the type of conditions this ski is intended for. I typically ski a longer ski as well, but for firm conditions up to a foot or so of snow the recommended line felt pretty perfect to me.
December 7, 2011 at 6:21 am
I just rode a pair and was super stoked, charged through everything from chunder to firm bumps and steeps.. I did find they were hooking up a bit on firm Chalk.. Should the tip tail have a bit of a de-tune.
D
December 7, 2011 at 7:32 am
Yes, they definitely should. I didn’t write about it in my review but Jonathan stated in his that I de-tuned the tips and tails during our test. My general starting point for any ski with early taper is to de-tune about 1.5″-2″ down the ski past the widest point, both tip and tail.
December 7, 2011 at 6:25 pm
What does de-tune mean. How do you do this.
I just ordered the 99
December 8, 2011 at 7:49 am
De-tuning is simply dulling the edge slightly and is usually done with a “soft” ski tuning stone of some sort. Doing this to the tip usually makes the ski less apt to “catch” an edge, while dulling the tail slightly helps free up the tail to break into a skid easier.
I would highly recommend having your ski shop, or someone you know and trust, show you how to do it.
December 13, 2011 at 12:27 am
i demoed the 184 99 hybrid a week ago on firm man made snow. I was also trying the Blizzard Bonafide in 180, and also my k2 hardsides (181).
I found two flaws with the 99s
1. pretty straight tails (101 vs 99 waist), caused the skis to stop turning now when i had my weight back
also, I lost the tail on a high speed raius turn (going pretty fast). The tail jsut lost edge and settled about a foot lower???
2. even though the 99 has a lot of rocker, i was catching the tips when going to a slide (like ngoing straight into a hockey stop).
why is this relevant? skiing steep couloirs, you end up completing the turns (completely), and sometimes this means slding downhill while you are absolutelyn sure of youir balance.
the 99 has good edge hold, and otherwise skied well. The bonafide was flawless though, and it had better edge hold.
I am leaning towards the bonafide as a backcountry ski. I ski pretty asteep lines, and I need to be totally confident on my skis as there is never any warmup, first turn is the hardest.
January 8, 2012 at 4:29 pm
I just want to make a quick correction to your post, the tail width of the 99 is actually 111mm not 101mm.
With a solid tune on the 99′s they are less prone to slip the tails.
January 12, 2012 at 8:17 am
Jason -
Wanted to solicit your opinion. I’m an east coast skier. Just picked up a pair of dedicated, zero rocker front side carvers for 90% of the days we get in Southern Vermont, and am looking to add a pair of ski’s for east powder days and west coast trips as an all-mountain ski. Someone suggested I check out DPS 112RP’s. The 99′s caught my eye as potentially a little bit more versatile. What would be your pick? Anything else I should be considering?
January 15, 2012 at 10:04 pm
Mark,
I think the 99 would do really well for what you are looking for. If you’re thinking wider would be better, and it might be depending on where you ski the most in the west, there are two skis that I highly recommend checking out and they are the Rossignol Sickle and the Nordica Patron. I haven’t been on the 112 so I can’t compare them to either of those skis, but if you are around my size/weight I can tell you the Sickle and Patron rip. The Sickle is still the best one-ski-quiver for the west I have ever skied, and it would make east coast pow days a blast whether 2″ fall, or 2′.
January 15, 2012 at 1:10 pm
Another ? about detuning. You say to detune 1-2″ past the widest point at the tip and the tail. Is the widest point the same as the contact point at the tip and the tail If not, should I detune past the contact point or the widest point? Thanks, Tony
January 15, 2012 at 10:27 pm
Tony,
On the 99, the contact point is actually closer to the middle of the ski than the widest point of the sidecut, so you won’t de-tune that far down the ski, at least initially. If you are new to this I would suggest bringing a stone with you when you ski. If the tips feel “hooky”, meaning they feel like they want to catch an edge, de-tune a little down the ski. Try them again and see if you need to de-tune more. The less you can de-tune obviously the better for edge hold. For the tail, again, start small and if they feel like the tails are too “stuck” for your liking, as in not being able to break into a skid/smear as easy as you would like, then break out the stone and de-tune a little further up the ski. Repeat as necessary.
It’s mostly a matter of personal preference and what I’m saying here is basically the process I go through with every ski I ride.
Hope this helps and enjoy your 99′s!
January 17, 2012 at 9:05 pm
For east coast trees and bumps would you mount at plus one or factory line? Would it make the ski quicker and keep u more balanced with the mount slightly forward. Would marker baron or tour bindings vchange the feel/ flex of the ski over say the griffon?
January 18, 2012 at 11:48 am
Skiall,
I would go on the factory line, no question. These skis are lighting quick and the flex pattern feels more balanced at 0 than at +1. It’s weird but the skis feel softer overall at +1. I skied them for awhile at 1 and am now back at 0. I would only recommend going to +1 if jumping, buttering, general goofing off is all you do, for the most versatility stick with the factory recommended.
January 18, 2012 at 11:59 am
Sorry, forgot about the binding question… From my experience yes, a touring binding does have a bit of effect on the skis performance vs. a true dedicated alpine binding. There are a number of reasons why with weight, increased mounting length, and stack height being the main culprits. These skis are unbelievably light, and quick, so I’m sure they will still be incredibly fun with whichever binding you choose. The Tour’s have the least effect of all the Marker touring series that I have used, but I (and others) have unfortunately had issues with durability.
February 20, 2012 at 11:14 am
“They’re also not cheap, and there are other skis out there that perform very well at nearly half the cost.” What are some of those “half price” skis you would recommend in this class?
March 11, 2012 at 12:18 pm
Rossi Scimitar is a killer bang for your buck, there is the Rossi S3, and people seem to be loving the Blizzard Bonifide (which we are going to be doing more testing on soon). If you don’t mind a little more width, the Line Influence 105 is also a consideration. Yeah, they are not all HALF the price, but significantly cheaper.
Also I feel like I need to reiterate a couple things. I absolutely loved the Wailer 99, it skis amazing, is super light, and is made from top notch components. It IS expensive, but you are not just throwing money away. If the price is the only thing holding you back they do offer the Hybrid version which drops the price to a more competitive level.
March 13, 2012 at 12:42 pm
Thanks, Jason. I decided I didn’t need the extra width and went down to Line Prophet 90′s.
March 12, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Demoed a pair of Wailer 99s in 178 length at Alta. Great in powder. I found the tails blew out a bit on groomers. Would the 184 length be better without losing maneuverability in the trees?
March 28, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Damian,
Yes, the 184 would offer a bit more hold on groomers given their longer edge contact, but due to the shape the tails still have a tendency to break free first when pushing them hard on firm groomers. Due to their shape and extremely light weight, the 184 will still slither through the trees with incredible ease.
May 11, 2012 at 3:07 pm
Detuning is crucial on DPS skis (I have 112s, 99s and 105s) in my experience. That said, and this statement might not be true for Ice Coasters, don’t overthink detuning. Just buy a gummi stone and go at it. Start small, and then get more aggressive only if needed. Bring the stone w/you to the ski area and optimize. It’s not rocket science.
August 18, 2012 at 8:07 am
How do Line Prophet 98s or Armada’s TST stack up against the DPS Wailer 99?
August 19, 2012 at 9:15 pm
DB – we haven’t yet skied the new 98 or the TST. We would love to review both skis this season.
August 20, 2012 at 5:23 am
Thanks Jonathan! You and the crew keep up the great work and have some fun ripping and shredding Las Lenas!
October 24, 2012 at 6:31 pm
hey I have been looking at these, and the wailer 105′s. I am looking for a versatile ski which I can do a bit of everything on and am not sure which to choose or if there’s a better option. Also about the pure and hybrid. I am 15 weigh 135ish and 5foot7. i am not sure which size would be best for myself. I like to ski trees, pow, and fast. Thanks a lot