Are you looking for a Naish Drive review? Then you are in the right place because we have already kitesurfed a number of sessions with this kiteboard. All the more so because I have used a number of other kiteboards from Naish and you can therefore indicate some differences. The Naish Drive is the "High Performance Freeride" kiteboard from Naish. A twin tip designed to be able to participate in everything on the water and then in the "highest gear". Read the findings in this Naish Drive test.
Findings Naish Drive review
Naish Drive big brother of Naish Motion
The shape of the Naish Drive is based on that of the Naish Motion. So it also looks the same in shape. This is clearly visible in the round corners, the processing of the top and bottom of the board and the handy thinnings in the board especially for 'board-offs' etc. The 5 centimeter fins are also the same size.
Also watch: Naish Motion review
This makes the Naish Drive unique
Light and extremely strong kiteboard: Naish Drive review
First of all, the Naish Drive is the lightest kiteboard from Naish. A light kiteboard is of course very nice. The lighter the better you would say. The Naish Drive owes its light weight to the construction that incorporates carbon and fiberglass. In this way, the combination of light and strong is achieved.
Rigid yet flexible: how?
Kitesurfers who have kitesurfed with carbon boards in the past may immediately think of how stiff such a kiteboard can be. Extremely direct and nice for a perfect take-off for a jump, but it wasn't always nice for the knees and ankles. The Naish Drive is of course a lot stiffer than the Naish Motion. Still, I notice that the Drive is somewhat flexible and much more flexible than the carbon kiteboards of the past. This probably also has to do with the correct ratio of the rocker. This ensures that the Drive still feels playful. The combination with the Naish Apex footstraps in the soft configuration means that the board does not feel too stiff for the ankles and knees.
Weak ankles or knees?
Do you have sensitive knees or ankles and kitesurfing in the most extreme form is not your ambition. Then its little brother, the Motion, might be just right for you. The Naish Drive is just a lot stiffer and so the landing after a jump is harder unless you teach yourself to land softer. However, you also get a lot in return. You can read that below.
Extra grip and therefore go extra high
The Naish Drive has channels in the middle of the board and on the edges. These 'edging channels' look like grooves. Although not very deep, as with the Naish Monarch, but deep enough for extra grip. The combination with carbon means that you can charge the kiteboard to the maximum for 'big air' jumps. I jumped so significantly higher with it than with the Naish Motion. This was mainly due to even tighter sales.
My sessions are often very active and last about 1,5 hours. I noticed with the Motion that at the end of a session, as I started to get more tired, I found it more difficult to launch a perfect push-off for a high jump. The process of timing and keeping pressure on the board for a perfect take-off takes energy. I find this easier with the Naish Drive. The board itself is stiffer and it seems to take a lot less energy to achieve a perfect take-off for a high jump. The Drive can therefore also be nice in combination with a larger kite in less wind. For a jump you have to lean a little longer while the big kite starts to pull hard forward.
Playfulness of the Naish Drive
With the Naish Drive you can easily make nice turns or break a wave of barrels with an aggressive turn. As I said, I think this is partly due to the rocker of the board. I want to get some more experience with this. The fact is that the Drive is less playful than its brother, the Naish Motion.
Overpowered, the Naish Drive is in its element
The Naish Drive comes into its own in strong winds and gusts on top of that. You feel every movement well and the kiteboard can be easily pushed away in the water so that you keep a grip and can brake if necessary. The kiteboard is nice to put pressure on for a jump or trick, but also to provide sufficient counter pressure when your wind increases.
walking height
The fins are 5 centimeters high. This is quite high so you can sail well on the fins. You can therefore also maintain good contact with the water when you are crossing a wave or have pieces with many small waves. This also helps to kitesurf sharply against the wind and to walk at maximum altitude. What is also striking is that it is a fairly fast kiteboard. The board invites you to kitesurf at speed. I weigh 86 kilos myself and am 1.87 meters tall. The Naish Drive 138 x 41.5 is the right size for me.
Conclusion Naish Drive kiteboard review
The Naish Drive kiteboard review has passed. I have been kitesurfing since 1999 and expect a lot from a kiteboard. The Drive is my only kiteboard this season and that says enough for me. The board has everything I want: going even faster and higher, freestyle tricks, braving the storm etc. I am particularly impressed by its light weight and that it allows me to jump even higher without using too much energy when I am tired start to hit. Despite the advantages of the Drive, I hope to gain even more experience with the Drive in the waves in the coming period.
