Sizes Available: 134×41, 138×41.5, 142×42cm
Sizes Tested: 138×41.5m
Naish Says:
The Drive features a high performance and lightweight construction with a freeride shape and unmatched reflex characteristics. The S25 Drive has the same proven bottom shape, construction and rocker with a new deck shape to provide a more consistent flex throughout the length of the board. Centered inserts allow riders to comfortably ride both rails, dramatically extending the board’s lifespan. Its carbon-glass construction makes it the lightest board in the Naish line and features enhanced durability with a crisp and responsive ride. The Drive’s gradually tapering rails provide lightweight tips and defined edges for outstanding grip and optimized flex. Ideal for intermediate-to-advanced riders who demand an extremely light and responsive board, the Drive delivers superior speed and upwind performance.
Visit for more info: www.naishkites.com/product/drive/
TKB Says:
The Naish Drive does a great job of combining the feel of a super poppy freestyle oriented board while also screaming upwind with tons of speed and grip. One of the lightest boards in the Naish lineup, the Drive thrives in bump and jump freeride and will encourage intermediate and advanced riders to push their freeride and freestyle boundaries.
Tech: Supreme Pop Wood Core, 3K Carbon, Flex torsion control
Fins: 5.0 cm IXEF Fins
Bottom: Subtle triple concave with rail channel
Flex: Medium plus
Pickup the Drive and put your knee into its flex pattern and you will see and feel its carbon construction meeting a wood core for a super reflexive but higher stiffness freeride board that is ready to push freeride limits. The Drive features a rocker that creates a very active feel that is geared towards extra clean and springy releases on your load and pop. The bottom contour uses a subtle triple concave running from tip to tip with two soft spines and a small channel cut into the center of the rail. These features combine with the 5.0 fins to give the Drive a ton of grip at all angles and encourages riders to load the board up with a ton of speed for extra aggressive riding. While the rocker feels like something you would find in a freestyle board that is geared for more aggressive load and pop, the Drive still manages to feel quite fast and efficient going upwind. There’s probably a very large class of riders that can use a board with a more aggressive rocker to push their riding, but still want the ease-of-use to get upwind without a fight or having to always be perfectly powered. The Drive handles chop extremely well with its outline and tip rocker that is designed to slice through even the worst of the bumps. The flex pattern is a bit stiffer and puts this board more on the performance side of the category and is more suitable for riders that know how to load up a board and release for maximum trajectory. If you’re looking for a soft and casual ride there are other boards for that mellow/progression style of riding in the Naish lineup. The Drive really comes alive when you throw a bunch of speed and big aggressive sends at its core, as it will then produce some eye-opening results. We had a ton of fun carving and slashing waves; its grip takes a bit more to break the fins loose but it transitions from rail to rail and exits carves really well and feels fast and ready to take as much energy as you want to throw at it. Ultimately, the Drive is going to appeal to riders that want a blend of hard-hitting performance while still keeping enough efficiency and glide to skate through a wider range of wind conditions.
The Drive comes with three inserts for choosing stance width that are positioned in the center of the board. Mated with Naish’s Apex bindings you get a ton of adjustment options for dialing in the perfect placement of the straps as well as the perfect fit. The Apex footbed is extremely comfortable with a plush feeling and soft rubbery feel that gives the rider tons of grip with a raised contour under the arch of your foot with cupping around the heel. The Apex uses various foam inserts to allow you to dial in the level of your density in the footpad when you set up your board. You get two pad sizes to choose from (shoe sizes 5-12 and 9-15), there’s a subtle toe bump to keep your toes locked in and the straps feature forward and aft settings to move the strap more over your toes or more over your arch to dial in the snuggest fit. The straps offer quad Velcro adjustments that allow you to dial in each zone of the strap separately for perfect coverage. The Apex is one of the top pad/strap options on the market and has consistently earned high marks when testing for their comfort and control that gives you a supremely solid connection to your board.
Visit for more info: https://www.naishkites.com/product/apex/
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