Snowboard Review: 08-09 Drake Player

Location: Keystone, Colorado

Snow Conditions: Cold with hardpacked groomers and some choppy terrain.

Setup: I rode the Drake Player with Drake Muse bindings and my Vans Omni Focus boots.

First Impression: It is a snowboard that’s predictable. You don’t have to worry about naked people coming out of the closet with this board.

Size: 156cm

Weight: Noticeably heavier

Flex: I thought it was stiffer for a all mountain freestyle board mostly longitudinally, torsionally it had some give to it but definitely a slower edge to edge without a softer torsional flex.

Turning: The player is classified as a mid level board which I definitely agree on, I’d even say more entry to mid level seeing that it was very forgiving on edge without putting you in too much of a carve right away and it was gradually increasing with the transitional sidecut. Overall was very forgiving of a ride.

Stable: I found the player to be quite stable for a more all mountain freestyle board. I had no problems with it when riding faster on the runs and going through choppier terrain.

Pop: I didn’t test the pop on the player by doing any ollies or other freestyle riding with it.

Switch: The player is directional and I noticed the flex was different when riding switch. Once I adjusted to it, felt fine on it making turns.

Pipe: I didn’t ride halfpipe with the Drake Player unfortunately.

Overall Impression: It was a bit less of a snowboard than I’d like, a little too easy and forgiving. Overall it was a decent ride, definitely a board for someone progressing in snowboarding to learn on. I like that it has structurn base, you really notice in varying conditions that base and how well it holds up. It didn’t impress me but it would be a fine entry level board.

Shay’s Honesty Box: I think the only board from the year that I would classify as riding a door down the hill. I was let down and think Drake can do better, a lot better.