The 2019 DPS Uschi 82.2 Alchemist is carving itself a spot right in the middle of the ladies front-side ripper category. With a progressive turn radius and camber underfoot, the wood core wrapped in carbon offers some sweet turning prowess combined with lively snap and pop. The end result is a trail-oriented ski that will satisfy a great majority of intermediate to advanced lady skiers. That lightweight nature does come with some baggage, though. If you’re looking for a stouter, sturdy, race-inspired ski, there are better options for sure, but for the bulk of skiers, the Uschi 82.2 Alchemist is going to suit all of your carving cravings. All of our testers skied the 165 cm length, which is the longest version made by DPS.
Katie Nichols picked up on the lightweight nature of the Uschis right away. Her top score was for playfulness, which is a true sign of being able to manipulate the flight path of your skis whenever you see fit. If a ski is heavy, it will not do this. Conversely, she also found that due to the lightweight character of the skis, they didn’t retain the same edge hold as a more race-oriented ski. Katie has a race background, so this doesn’t really come as a surprise. She notes that the Uschi 82.2 will be “great for intermediate skiers, felt really light.” This is your typical blessing-to-curse ratio that Katie is picking up on here. The lighter the ski, the less the performance (from a racing/expert perspective) but in this case, the general audience of the ski will appreciate the lack of heft, no doubt.
Another skier with a race background, Ann MacDonald, found the opposite to be somewhat true. It’s nice having dissenting opinions on skis; that gives us the ability to winnow down all these options for you. She found the ski to be quite stiff, and more capable and willing to perform longer turns. “Good torsional stiffness. Better at bigger, GS type turns.” She also goes on to note that more aggressive skiers will prefer a heftier ski, but that the target audience will appreciate the easy-going nature of the skis.
Also a fan of the torsional stiffness and edge hold of the Uschi 82.2 Alchemist was Mar Kuhnel. She also gave high scores for stability and versatility. “When I found the balance point of the ski, I found it to be stable and sure through soft, heavy snow and crud. The tapered tip and tail allow for some nimbleness in the bumps and trees.” Mar’s overall impression of the ski is favorable, and it sounds like she echoes a lot of other testers when they say the DPS skis are meant to be skied in the middle, and not by overly pressuring the tips.
Susan Dorn loved the flotation and stability of the Uschi 82.2, and gave the skis average scores for the rest of the categories. For the snow conditions on test day (heavy, slow snow), she found that they felt a little light. We would not disagree with her on that. Heavier skis (and skiers) fared better than their lighter counterparts. However, Susan went on to comment that the skis “are very stable good for intermediate to advanced skiers as smearing turns was very easy.” Susan is speaking to the variable turn radius employed by DPS. The pilot is able to dictate the turn shape and duration quite easily thanks to the shape and construction of the skis.
The bottom line from our testers is that the 2019 DPS Uschi 82.2 Alchemist is a lightweight, stable, and versatile product that will appeal to a broad range of today’s skiers. Ladies who love carving turns on groomed slopes will find a slick dance partner in these skis. Remember when you are skiing on them to stay centered, you’ll glean the best performance from a fixed stance.
