Naish Drive Review

The new board released for the 2017 Naish line-up is the Drive.  The Drive is a new design for Naish, the twin tip is carbon fibre with a wood core.  It offers a faster riding speed, more efficiency for its size and great pop.  The Drive has been modelled off the Motion (which I have been riding for a few years now).  I have both the Motion and the Drive in 142×42.

I found the Motion is a great board to ride, with soft chop absorbing features and is a good all-round board for freeride.  The Drive is stiffer, more efficient, lighter, faster and dryer than the Motion, despite being the same size.  You can easily hold the edge while riding the Drive, and due to the speed and stiffness it has better pop.  Choppy water feels a little more rigid compared to the Motion, as it does not have as much flex. But the side effect is that you can hold an edge longer and get a greater pop off the water.

Despite the stiffness, holding the edge on the Drive felt effortless.  It locks in on a rail and just Drives though whatever water you are in; choppy or smooth.  The Drive had a lot of feedback; I could feel where it was and what was happening to the board as I rode through the chop.  The board is very light which is great for airstyle and throwing the board around with ease.

The Drive has a reasonable amount of rocker which will usually slow the travelling speed but due to its shaping and stiffness it works really well together.  The board feels like a larger size in efficiency but it’s small enough to rotate with ease.

Naish have used different fins, which lock into the board.  The fins are the perfect size to give you good up-wind and tracking but also let the board free up and spin for surface slides.

Whether you want to load and pop or to do basic unhooked tricks this board will not let you down.  Boosting is a breeze as the Drive easily loads and releases off the water.  I’m really stoked with the board and would definitely recommend a test ride if you get the chance.

Disclaimer:  Intermediate kiter who purchases his own gear, and sometimes forgets to take stickers off.