Hello and welcome to my Drake Fifty bindings review.
In this review I will take a look at the Fifty as all-mountain snowboard bindings.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Fifty a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how they compare with other all-mountain bindings.
Overall Rating
Bindings: Drake Fifty
Price: $229 (USD recommended retail)
Style: All-Mountain
Flex Rating: Medium (5/10)
Flex Feel: Medium (5.5/10)
Rating Score: 79.0/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain Bindings
Out of the 25 men’s all-mountain bindings that I rated:
Overview of the Fifty’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Fifty’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | All-Mountain |
Price: | $229 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Weight: | Normal |
Mounts To: | 2 x 4 | 4 x 4 |
Sizing
SIZE | US BOOT SIZE | EURO BOOT SIZE | MONDO |
|---|---|---|---|
S | 4-5.5 | 35-37 | 220-235 |
M | 5.5-8.5 | 37-41 | 235-265 |
L | 8.5-10.5 | 41-44 | 265-285 |
XL | 10.5-13.5 | 44-47.5 | 285-315 |
Who are the Fifty Most Suited To?
The Fifty are best suited to anyone looking for a mid-flex binding for a lower than average price. They give you solid performance without breaking the bank.
They strike a good balance between slow and fast riding.
Not for a beginner, unless you're a larger person or particularly strong/athletic, but should work well for intermediate to advanced riders looking for a mid-flex boot.
Matches best with boards in that 4/10 to 6/10 flex range.
The Fifty in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Fifty are capable of.
Demo Info
Bindings: Drake Fifty 2023, Large
Date: February 16, 2023
Conditions
Snowing but visibility still pretty good. 75-80% visibility.
Temp: 26°F (-3°C) and 18°F (-8°C) with wind chill. 15mph (24kph) winds.
24 hour snow: 2" (5cm)
48 hour snow: 2" (5cm)
7 day snow: 6" (15cm)
On groomer: Nice. Hard packed but enough of a layer of fresh to make it real nice but still quite fast. Snow was quite light/dry.
Off groomer: Dust on crust to an extent but with quite a bit of dust! So pretty decent.
Set Up
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance Width: 555mm (22”)
Board demoed with: Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker
Baseplate Length: 24.6cm (9.7”)* and 26cm (10.2") when gas pedal fully extended.
* measured on the top of the footbed. 24.2cm (9.5") on the underside of the baseplate.
Highback Height: 20.8cm (8.2”)*
* from top of board to top of highback is 28.1cm (11.1")
Weight: 880 grams (1lbs, 15oz)*
* for one binding, including screws and disc. The average weight of a sample size of around 60 bindings (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023 models) I have weighed, was 913 grams. The lightest was 680 grams and the heaviest was 1,240grams. So the Fifty was a little lighter on the scales than average. Felt normal on snow.
Responsiveness
At slower speeds, I felt it wasn't quite as good for quick slow speed turns as my control bindings (Malavita). For higher speed carves they performed similarly to my control bindings. Nothing special all round but decent enough.
Board Feel/Butterability
Board feel wasn't bad, but not great either. Definitely not as good as my control bindings and a little below average.
Pop/Ollie Power
Again, not quite as good as my control bindings, but not far off.
Adjustability
Heel Cup: Yes! Which is a feature I really like.
Stance Width: Can run disc horizontally or vertically. With that horizontal disc you get micro stance width adjustments. And with an adjustable gas pedal and with the heel cup movement, you’d never need to run the disc vertical.
Highback Lean: Yes - toolless
Ankle Strap Position: No
Toe Strap Position: Yes, 2 positions
Ankle and toe strap length: Tool-less
Gas pedal/toe ramp extension: Yes
Highback Rotation: Yes - and it's even tool-less!
Compatible with: 2 x 4 | 4 x 4
All round nice and adjustable. Nice and easy to center boots on bindings and with board width. And to get everything fitting well around the boot.
Note for mounting that you needed 2 different sized screw heads to mount them. The screw for the footbed cover required a different size, which could be a little annoying if you don't have one that size.
Shock Absorption
They weren't amazing in terms of shock and chatter absorption but weren't bad either.
Entry/Exit
The ratchets weren't super smooth but they did the job.
Comfort
Overall nice and comfortable. No pressure points or calf bite or anything.
Ankle Strap: No pressure points and conformed well to boot.
Toe Strap: Ditto.
Canted Footbed: Yes
Padded Footbed: At heel is 2.3cm on the outside and 2cm on the inside, due to the canting. Good bit of padding and squeezing can’t feel anything hard underneath. At toe end it’s 2.5cm down to 2cm. You can feel some hard bits through the foam in the toe area, where you couldn’t in the heel area. But heels is where you want most padding.
Highback: Some padding top and bottom of highback but most importantly didn't feel any calf bite from them.
Ankle Support
They provide good ankle support. Felt about the same in that sense to my control bindings.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
RESPONSE | 3.5 | 14/20 |
BOARD FEEL | 3.0 | 12/20 |
SHOCK ABSORPTION | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
ADJUSTABILITY | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
COMFORT | 4.0 | 12/15 |
ANKLE SUPPORT | 4.0 | 8/10 |
ENTRY/EXIT | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 79.0/100 |
There was nothing that stood out as being particularly special with the Fifty but they were solid enough bindings and provide good value for the price. They are a good bit cheaper than the average price of this category.
And for the flex (softer bindings tend to be cheaper and stiffer more expensive) they are one of the cheaper options in the 5/10 to 6/10 flex range. So a really solid choice if you're looking for a mid-flexing binding but want to save some cash.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to see how the Fifty compares to other men’s all-mountain bindings or want to check out some other options in that category, check out the next link.
Leave a Reply