Drift Carbon Drift Boards Split Board Alternative

2020 Drift Board Review

The Drift Boards are a split board alternative for those that want to take their solids on short to medium slackcountry or backcountry runs. It is a hybrid of a touring ski and a snowshoe with skins permanently attached to the bottom. Everyone that tried these in our crew ended up buying them. Taking a Drift before the lifts has become our thing on powder days.

2020 Drift Boards Upgrades

1. The top sheet is glassed so it’s more durable.

2. There is a hard urethane edge instead of a carbon fiber edge.

3. There are new skins on the bottom that grip and glide better than the old ones.

4. The weight went up from 2.4lbs to 2.6lbs.

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews.  No one is perfect and we do make money from the “Where To Buy” links below, but this is our best attempt at an honest and objective review from an average riders’ perspective.

How This Review Happened:  After a demo, I liked these Drift Boards so much I bought 3 pairs so I can Drift before the lifts with friends.
Days: James 40+, Steph 20+, Peter 15+, Grant 5+, Nick 60+ 
Boards Ridden: Capita Spring Break 158 Powder Glider, Capita Spring Break 161 Tree Hunter, Jones Mind Expander, Gentemstick Mantaray 156, Korua Dart, Korua Pencil, Korua Stealth, Korua Tranny Finder, Korua Tranny Finder Plus, Yes Optimistic, Rome Pow Division MT, Endeavor Scout, Jones Flagship, Never Summer West Bound, Lib Tech BRD, Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker, Loaded Algernon, Capita Mercury, Endeavor Pioneer, and many more…
Snow Conditions: Everything from firm snow to over waist-deep powder and a lot in between.
Terrain: Peter, Grant and I mainly use them in bounds. Our mountain has a great uphill policy. It’s regularly patrolled but has some steeper approach angles. Steph and Nick have ventured out to the backcountry more.

The plus side of Drift Boards:

1. You can ride any board you want in places you normally couldn’t. Having these little approach ski Drift Boards changed the way I look at uphill travel with solid boards. As a person that owns a sizeable quiver of solids, this is a truly welcome addition that gives my boards access to places that were barely possible before.
2. They are massively faster and far more efficient than snowshoeing. It’s to the point that I’d like to never like to snowshoe again. They are more like splitboarding than snowshowing.
3. These Drift boards allow you to go up in the skin track with splitters which is huge. You are no longer in the nasty uneven boot pack.  You are going up the same way with the same technique as split boarders do.
4. The Drift Boards can keep you on top of the snow in pretty deep powder. I was worried that something so small would not float very well making your own tracks but it does a very good job. There was a storm that snowed 48″ in 48 hours. On one run down I couldn’t make the traverse out on a smaller board I was testing. I got off my board and sunk down past my waist. I put on the drifts again and I was back on top of the snow. Now, this was medium powder and not the super blower powder you can find in Utah or Japan. It wasn’t thick either.
5. These are very light and efficient. What really makes these little things keep up with normal split’s is they are super stiff (can’t even flex em) and the weight.  Here is some rough math I did on it that might have something to do with it based on a study showing that 1 lb off the foot is equal to 6.4lbs off the back. [Authors: S. J. Legg a; A. Mahanty – This study was conducted in partial fulfillment of an MSc in Human and Applied Physiology, London University 1982. Published in: Ergonomics, Volume 29, Issue 3 March 1986, pages 433 – 438]
6. You can transition much faster than you can with a Split. All you have to do with Drift Boards is undo the bindings, put them on your pack and strap in on your board. In comparison to splits you have to, take off the skins, put the board together and change the binders into riding mode. It’s more than twice as fast which makes a difference on short laps.

About The Weight

Drift weight: 2.4 lbs per board and the new 2020 Drifts are 2.6lbs per board.

Avg Split Setup Per foot: 6.25 lbs

Difference: 3.85 lbs per foot. So based on that study it takes 24.64 lbs off back per foot or 49.28 lbs total. Take -11 lbs for the average board on your back you get 39.28 lbs.  I haven’t dried Mtn Approach but the older models were about 6lbs per foot each and had a pretty big footprint on the back. I think they are making a newer and lighter model and hope to test it.

So…yeah whatever that means. I can say that using Drift Boards instead of Snowshoes felt like it was almost twice as fast and massively less exertion even on the first day I did it with really shitty form.  A few days before in about the same depth of snow, it took me about 40-45 min to get up about a 3/4 mile ascent in snowshoes. I was up in about 20-25 minutes with Drift Boards but with massively less exertion. Being able to hop on the skin track and not worry (well too much) about agro pre-work skinners passing my out of shape ass was really cool.

Uphill Ease

You have a much more normal gait width when going up. At 6.75″ wide they aren’t spreading your legs out as much as snowshoes do so that’s easier too. The bottom line is everything about these is easier except for having to put on the Drift Crampons if you hit hard snow but who cares when you are that far ahead compared to snowshoeing.

Hard Snow

They also have crampons to put on if you hit some hard to icy snow to keep your traction but the edges don’t work well in hard snow.

Price

They are expensive but 1/3 the cost of an entry-level split set up.

There are a few drawbacks of Drift Boards vs. Split Boarding:

1.  On some ascents near the top where it was pretty steep, I felt like I could use more ankle support out of these Drift Boards. When I put on split board bindings the support was much better.  This is really cool but I could feel the added weight on the ascent.  You lose a pound on the Drift Boards but gain close to 2lbs with most reasonably priced bindings.  For example, my Union Expedition FC’s weigh about 1.8 lbs mounted on the Drift boards so the total weight rises from 2.4lbs per foot to 3.2lbs. It is still almost half the weight of the average split per foot.  You save a few pounds on the back going up and down but that doesn’t seem to matter that much compared to the feet.  I’d love to see them create some sort of additional support like a better ankle strap.  Maybe adding a light flip-up highback like attachment or just some rod that flips up along the side of the boot with an additional strap near the top would really help with support and maybe even be better than most split bindings.
2. The Drift Boards skins don’t grip as well in harder snow or climb as well in steeper snow as splits. Still, with proper technique, it’s not a deal-breaker. Also, the 2020 Drift Boards have better skins that do climb better.
3. The Drift Boards don’t have the glide of a regular split board. In long flat situations split boards are faster here. This is minimized a bit because there is less weight per foot so, as discussed above, there is less effort every stride.
4. I wish the hill assist lifts had a little rubber on them so it wouldn’t be metal on metal every step. They don’t have the shock absorption that a mostly camber or hybrid camber split has. a little dampening rubber in the right places would go a long way.
5. You have to put the board on your back and this can suck on a windy ascent. With a good pack, it’s not as bad but still nothing like having just a backpack on.
6. Also if you plan to go out for a long adventure or tour from hut to hut with a loaded backpack having a board there as well isn’t ideal

Conclusion

So I wouldn’t say these are going to make people pissed they just bought a split and used splits will start popping up everywhere on Craigslist. Far from it. However, these Drift Boards for sure do kill it for people who dabble in short uphill travel at their local resort.

It also is great for riders that like different boards for different conditions. It’s about 1/3 the price of an average split set up and it opens up your whole quiver to new terrain. So I think in many situations going with Drift Boards over Split Boards is the call. Or it’s a great addition for those that split but also want to ride some of their favorite solids on shorter backcountry runs.

I can now ride whatever I want and not have to ride the same split every day.  For a gear whore like me, that is glorious. It makes drawbacks far from being a deal-breaker. The positive aspects of the Drift Boards outweigh the drawbacks.

Be Careful!

Just please be safe! Don’t go stampeding off to the Backcountry and kill yourself. Take an Avy class, get the right safety equipment, use common sense and do it right.  It’s dangerous out there.