By jumping headfirst into the wider front-side ski market, DPS has created a winning shape and profile in the Uschi 87.2, in both the Alchemist and the Foundation construction. For this review, the Foundation construction will be covered. We had a couple of testers try out the Uschi 87.2 Foundation, and it sounds like the general consensus is that DPS has a winning formula on its hands. Whereas the Alchemist construction has a wood core wrapped in carbon layers, the Foundation replaces the carbon with fiberglass. As a result, the weight goes up, and so do the damping properties. Skiers who have skied both constructions back to back have found that the Foundation construction is more forgiving and accessible to a wider range of skier abilities. As far as our testers are concerned, the 2019 DPS Uschi 87.2 Foundation hit all the right chords in terms of a solid, stable front side performer. Both testers skied the 165 cm length
Mar Kuhnel gave high scores pretty much across the board. Her top mark of 4.5 out of 5 for stability speaks volumes about the high-end capabilities of the skis. Even though the Foundation construction is supposed to be the lesser of the two, it still maintains a ton of stoutness and strength. Mar picks up on this right away, and backs it up with a quote: “Stable at speed.” Enough said about that category. She also gave high marks for torsional stiffness, edge hold, and versatility. “A versatile ski with a nice shape for medium radius turns.” She noted that it did take a little more effort to snap around short radius turns, but that did not diminish her overall impression of the skis. She also made a special mention that “the skis were not too soft in the tip” meaning that the performance level of the skis is quite high. Although she did not find it particularly quick from edge to edge without being pushed, it still retained its integrity at speed and through different types of terrain.
Susan Dorn had a strong and consistent impression of the 2019 DPS Uschi 87.2 Foundation. She scored all 4’s out of 5 in each category for the ski. This tells us that the Uschi 87.2 is a true all-mountain performer in every sense. It performs at or above average for pretty much all stages of the game. Susan calls it a “nice overall ski. Easy to turn, good bounce back (rebound).” She picked up on the fact that the skis were damper than the Alchemist counterpart by stating that she is happy to have “a little damping today—wet crud with lots of bumps.” After all, the skis should do their job and perform properly in all conditions. Susan goes on to pick an audience for the skis: “Advancing intermediates to expert skiers who want something a little less hard charging due to its softer flex.” This type of skier is pretty much the bulk of the skiing population. The Uschi 87.2 will appeal to that broad base, and will most likely find some big fans along the way.
For skiers looking for that sub-90 mm front side ski, the Uschi 87.2 Foundation is a clear favorite. It’s capable and willing to perform on-trail, but also has the bones and guts to adventure. This type of middle-of-the-road ski has a broad appeal, and for skiers who like to do a little bit of everything, the Uschi 87.2 Foundation is a fantastic option.
