DPS Phantom - Permanent Wax System

[shortydude]

Have any of you tried the DPS Phantom Permanent Wax System? It sounds like one of those too-good-to-be-true hoaxes. The only youtubes I've found on it are by vendors. I'm skeptical, but intrigued.

edit: I've got a pair of woody Sherpa's that I plan on keeping for a very long time and don't mind investing in my favorite sticks with my favorite graphics. I'll be in Park City in about a week may look into getting a machine base grind and DPS applied.

My question is about what angles to have ground on my Sherpa edges. I'm thinking maybe 1 or 2 degree up from a level base, then a 90 degree edge angle to stay sharp longest. Thoughts?

[newbie2011]

DPS Phantom was discussed a bit some years ago when it first got out: https://forums.skiboardsonline.com/f...ent-base-glide
Would be curious to hear more recent feedback

[mvhoffman]

The thread in the reply was started by my friend Tom. He purchased it in the startup campaign and did all of the skis for his household. He is still using the same skis with the treatment on and has not had any issues. I tried the crossbows that he did(approx 2.5 years afterwards) and I can personally attest to the feeling of a freshly waxed ski. Another member on here purchased them and to this day has not waxed once and they still feel good.

[Steeps]

I was hoping for an update on this product... it seemed like it might contain snake oil when it came out, but glad to hear it seems to keep working. I'm not too picky about wax since I'm not a racer (if you're going too slow, find a steeper run), but a one-time treatment that works well is a great option and better than adding a regular dose hydrocarbons or fluorocarbons to the watershed.

Any feedback on Phantom in very cold conditions? We had a good -27 C snap here that made the snow feel like styrofoam, and skis just don't slide well at those temps. Very interesting to ski gnar in those conditions; gravity does its job but the snow grabs in unexpected ways. Top speed is less of a concern at those temps, as blasting groomers really brings home the concept of wind chill. I was riding with a buddy that got frostbite on both big toes one of those days, and was out for 3 or 4 weeks until they healed up enough to ski again. Only one turned black, the other one just turned purple. It's a surprisingly common injury here....

[newbie2011]

Any feedback on Phantom in very cold conditions?

Like you, I'm still a bit skeptical, it always sounded a bit too good to be true, but I trust people on this forum so it seems it's not only snake oil.
The issue seem to be the application, I've read on other forums that the results were not always the same, the cure of one of the layers needs a lot of time in the sun, so the final result was different for different people.
I haven't heard of any drawbacks for very cold condition, the negatives I've read were reported in warmish, above zero, spring-ish conditions, people were saying that it was sticky to a certain extent, especially on flat portions

[Steeps]

Spring snow's pretty sticky anyways, so that might not be the biggest deal if it works well otherwise.

[shortydude]

I pulled the trigger on a DPS Phantom treatment for my woody Sherpa's while in Park City a couple of weeks ago.

Before the trip, I waxed them up with some old Swix wax that I wanted to finally use up. That turned out to be a huge mistake. The Swix felt like mashed potatoes compared to the Hertal's I've been using the past few years. I was having to do a lot of poling to even get away when getting off a lift. After 3 days of skiing the bases were already drying out and turning hazy grey/white.

One afternoon I dropped the Sherpa's off at a ski shop in the PC base village and picked them up the next day at 10am. They wanted to keep them till noon. But, we compromised on 10am. They have been doing DPS treatments for 3 years without complaints.

I had them do a machine base/edge grind and the Phantom 2.0 treatment. They also stored my boots, helmet and poles overnight.

When I picked up the Sherpa's I asked about rock damage core shot down to the P-Tex. They said that's no problem, just drip P-Tex down into the core shot like usual and there's no problem with it not sticking. They said you'll never notice the repair skiing and the skis can be retuned many times without affecting the glide of the DPS.

The first run was a drastic improvement. When I got off that first lift I didn't have to pole or skate at all to reach runs. In fact for the rest of the trip (next 3) days it was rare that I had to pole along on flats.

After 3 days of skiing my bases look as dark and pristine as the day I picked them up. Even the subtle machine crosshatching base grind pattern is still visible.

So far I'm a happy camper with DPS Phantom 2.0.

[newbie2011]

After 3 days of skiing my bases look as dark and pristine as the day I picked them up. Even the subtle machine crosshatching base grind pattern is still visible.

So far I'm a happy camper with DPS Phantom 2.0.

Sounds very encouraging, I think I'll give it a try, at least on a couple of boards that I use very often. Only have to find a shop that can do a proper application & cure.

[shortydude]

Sounds very encouraging, I think I'll give it a try, at least on a couple of boards that I use very often. Only have to find a shop that can do a proper application & cure.

If you want to do multiple sets of boards, that would be really pricy at a shop. You may want to consider waiting till summer and doing it yourself. One buddy of mine bought a DPS Phantom 1.0 kit off fleabay for $50 and did it himself during the summer no problem. The current 2.0 kits run $100. That Park City shop charged $160 for the DPS treatment which doesn't include the base grinding and tuning.

They had 2 levels of base grinds. They would do it by hand with a belt sander for $45 or with a machine for $80. They said that includes 2 tunes. They tune them once after the base grind then a second time after the DPS treatment.

So you can see that having a shop do 2 sets of boards can run the price tag up pretty quickly into full blown sticker shock. Then again Park City is a rather expensive resort all the way around. What used to be a $12-$15 hamburger a few short years ago is now $25.

[newbie2011]

If you want to do multiple sets of boards, that would be really pricy at a shop. You may want to consider waiting till summer and doing it yourself. One buddy of mine bought a DPS Phantom 1.0 kit off fleabay for $50 and did it himself during the summer no problem. The current 2.0 kits run $100. That Park City shop charged $160 for the DPS treatment which doesn't include the base grinding and tuning.

I was indeed thinking of doing two boards at first, as I heard the kit it's quite substantial and could cover two skiboards instead of one ski per pack. But didn't imagine applying the treatment in a shop would be so expensive. Heck, instead of two shop treatments one could buy a new pair of skiboards... I'll definitely follow your advice and do it myself over the summer when there's plenty of sun, thanks a lot !

[mvhoffman]

I just bought a box... only 17 left at outlet price. I shared on Facebook page as well.


https://www.campsaver.com/dps-phanto...BoChmMQAvD_BwE

[newbie2011]

Thanks for the heads up, I'm trying to get one as well, now waiting to get from them a shipping quote for France.

[Baldybob]

I just bought the DPS with the link --thanks for posting - - I will add it to my Baldy boards = 2011 KTPs that are in good shape -- and won't be after a few more years on snowrocks -- that's the Baldy base most days in SoCal. I might have to wait til summer -but expect to review it - -these boards have never had wax, as I have used Zardoz Base Build, a Dupont designed Not Wax. If I have enuf for 2 boards, I'll add the DPS to my 2018 Rockered Condors, which are near new out of the RVL8 box and on call for powder snow in the Sierras.

[newbie2011]

Any of you guys have heard back concerning your order ? Mine is still "processing" several days later

[mvhoffman]

Any of you guys have heard back concerning your order ? Mine is still "processing" several days later

Mine is in the "ready to be picked up phase". I'm sure it will be shipping this week. They may be a place that does sales all week but only ships out on certain days. apparently some places do that and pay a bulk shipping cost as opposed to separately for each item...