Review: DPS Koala 111

• Length Skied: 182 cm
• Weight: 2184 g
• Stated Dimensions: 139-111-127 mm
• Stated Sidecut: 18 m
• Recommended Mount Point: -4.5 cm

The DPS Koala 111 is available now.

Intro

Since its inception, DPS’s Koala line has been a bit of an outlier for the brand. The previous Koala 118 and 103 were much heavier and less directional than the rest of the brand’s skis. And now, DPS has introduced the Koala 111 to bridge the gap between those skis.

That puts the Koala 111 into a well-populated space; the 110ish underfoot playful do-it-all ski category is full of great options, so I was excited to get time on the new Koala 111 and find out how it stacked up.

Length and Mount Point

I skied the 184 cm Koala 111, which is right in line with what I’d usually choose for this style of ski. At 6’2” and 200 lbs, I could probably size up to the 189 cm Koala 111 with minimal issues, but I got along with the 184 cm version really well, and, as we’ll get into later, I don’t think there’s a ton to be gained here by sizing up for stability vs just choosing a slightly different ski. DPS offers the Koala in four sizes from 168 cm to 189 cm. That’s a solid range.

The Koala comes with two mount points marked on the topsheet: one at -7 cm from center and another at -4.5. I spent my time at the -4.5 cm line, and nothing about the Koala motivated me to bump it back. This ski does well when driven from a centered stance, but for more directional skiers (especially those coming off DPS’s more traditional offerings) that further back mount makes a lot of sense.

Where does the Koala 111 shine?

I came away from my time on the Koala impressed by its maneuverability. It’s fairly easy to make a wide variety of turn shapes on, and slarve and slide through tight terrain. Nothing about this ski is catchy or grabby–instead you can slither your way through obstacles without worrying about your tips or tails hanging up.

It’s easy to get into the air, and once you’re there it feels balanced and ready to play. And in deeper snow, it floats pretty well for its class, and is easy to throw sideways and play around on. On groomers it's fairly quick and energetic, it’s a fun ski to bounce from turn to turn on firm snow. “Quick” is a good descriptor–this ski feels fairly light and easy to change directions on in most situations.

In fact, I skied the Koala 111 without weighing it, or looking at its published weight, and came away convinced that it must weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 g less per ski than it actually did. It felt like a 1900 g ski to me. That’s because it’s got a fairly low swing weight, and that weight feels distributed in a balanced manner. In fact, I found myself wondering why more folks didn’t throw a touring binding on the Koala 111 and use it as a playful backcountry ski. The Koala 111 skis lighter than the scale would indicate, and while that has its upsides, it’s a double-edged sword.

Where does the Koala 111 make some compromises?

In this class of 2200ish gram, 110ish underfoot skis, there’s a surprisingly wide range of variability. Skis like the Volkl Revolt 114 feel fairly substantial–they do a good job absorbing the impacts of cut up variable snow, and plowing through obstacles. Even skis like the slightly lighter Moment Deathwish offer an impressive level of composure in less-than-perfect snow and at higher speeds. But I found the Koala 111’s top end a little lacking in comparison. I noticed the tips and tails flapping at fairly low speeds, and found that if I wasn’t on my game, skiing the Koala 111 fast through variable snow was pretty, well, exciting.

And that leaves the Koala 111 in kind of a weird place. In terms of capability in variable snow, it felt most similar to skis like the Atomic Bent 110. But the Bent 110 weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 grams less per ski. That makes it a much better candidate for applications that involve walking uphill than the Koala. If I was looking to put a 50/50 or touring binding on a 110ish underfoot ski, the Bent 110 would save me a bunch of weight, without sacrificing much performance. And if I was looking for a pure inbounds ski, I’d be tempted to go with something like a Deathwish or Revolt 114 that offers nearly as playful and slashy a ride as the Koala, while being much less work to ski in variable snow.

Sure, you could size up to the 189 cm Koala 111, but why do that when you can get the same stability bump from a different ski without sacrificing even more weight and maneuverability?

What would a perfect day on the Koala 111 look like?

The snow is crispy and light, the sun is shining, and you’re headed out to search for side hits and jump off of things into fresh snow on the Koala 111.