Shape, Profile and Sidecut

For the profile, Drake has gone with what it calls ‘Skate camber’ – flat between the feet, with rocker sections at each end. It’s pretty flattened off at the extremities too, so whether it’s a heavy nosepress or textbook lipslide, there’s little chance of catching an edge.

With the central flat section raised off the snow by the rockered parts, you get an approximation of camber’s pop, too. It won’t have that irreplaceable edge hold that you get from the true bend, but if you’re using this the way you’re supposed to, that won’t be a big concern.

As the graphic suggests, the Tao of Drake has a pure twin shape. Blunted-off ends make it even more freestyle friendly, with spins (whether onto rails, or into the air) that much easier to execute.

“Whether it’s a heavy nosepress or textbook lipslide, there’s little chance of catching an edge”

Construction and Materials

The extruded base on the Drake Tao of Drake isn’t exactly premium, but it’s fit for purpose. Given that you’re much more likely to be bashing this off metal than trying to keep your speed at the end of a pow line, you’re better off with a less costly material that can take some punishment.

On a similar theme, the sidewalls are packed with urethane. Even when you make dodgy contact, the steel edges have a much better chance of walking away intact, thanks to urethane’s shock-absorbing qualities. It’ll also come in handy when you hit choppy terrain. At the centre of it all is a pure Aspen woodcore, with no frills. Again, that’s just the ticket for a park-focused board, and keeps the price down too.

Nothing revolutionary, then, but it ticks all the common sense boxes. A sturdy, reliable, faff-free ride like the Drake Tao of Drake is the ideal steed on which to deepen your trick bag.

“What you still don’t see very often is a board that wears its suitability for both men and women as a badge of honour”

Roundup

While hardly the first board that anyone of either gender could ride – technically they all are, really – this serves as a nice reminder of how far snowboarding has come since ‘shrink it and pink it’ was the norm. Maybe the approach taken by the Drake Tao of Drake will remain a rarity, or perhaps this is a step towards a more physiological approach to snowboard selection, with gender an afterthought at best. Either way, this is a highly admirable park board – so if that’s what you’re after, take this for a spin.

Pros:

• All the right ingredients for its purpose, and nothing superfluous. Quids in!
• We’re into this approach to positioning snowboards for riders regardless of gender

Cons:

• The size range tops out at a mere 154, so even average-sized shredders might be left wanting

“I didn’t know quite what to expect from The Tao of Drake, I’d ridden another Drake board earlier in the week, and didn’t really get on with it too well. But I have to say this was a real eye opener for me, I really enjoyed my time on it.

Thanks to the hot weather, we had no option other than to ride thick slush all afternoon, which for me can generally leave me riding pretty sluggish and slow. The Tao isn’t the fastest board I’ve ridden, but it handled the stickier snow well and stayed agile even when it got full mashed potato later in the afternoon.

A fun and playful board, you can really load up the nose and tail when you’re popping onto features and it just felt like it had a lively, dynamic energy that you could tap into. I felt like it definitely shone most for mellow freestyle riding, locking into flatland presses and hitting rails and boxes.”

“The ‘Tao of Drake’ is our first unisex board with sizes ranging from 145 – 154w. An affordable, fun, twin, freestyle oriented board that everyone could ride. The design has inputs from many of our male and female team including “The Simpson Brothers, Paula Benito, Kael Hill and Chiara Grisorio” The graphic aims to symbolise the balance of all things but more specifically the balance between man and women. A balance that we as a snowboard community and brand are yet to achieve but are working hard towards.

This board has been a bit of a catalyst of change within our brand and since it’s birth we at Drake have set ourselves the goal of a paid pro team of athletes made up of the same number of women as men by 2025. Watch this space or our latest project on this topic by searching: “Tao of Beginnings.”