YES Drive Bindings Review

Hello and welcome to my YES Drive bindings review. 

Overall, I found the Drive to be smooth, damp, responsive-but-not-overly-aggressive bindings that struck a really nice balance between support, agility and comfort. They had enough stiffness and support to lay into carves and handle rougher conditions, but they still felt easy and natural at slower speeds and for more playful riding.

In this review I will take a look at the Drive as all-mountain snowboard bindings.

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Drive a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how they compare with other all-mountain bindings.

Overall Rating

Bindings: YES Drive

Price: $349 (USD recommended retail)

Style: All-Mountain

Flex Rating: Stiff (8/10)

Flex Feel: Medium bordering on Mid-Stiff (6.5/10)

Rating Score: 87.1/100

Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain Bindings

Overview of the Drive’s Specs

Check out the tables for the Drive’s specs and available sizes.

Specs

Who are the Drive Most Suited To?

The YES Drive are best suited to riders looking for bindings that can do a bit of everything, but with a slightly more performance-oriented feel than softer bindings.

They worked really well for riders who wanted good response for carving, decent support, good dampness and smooth slow-speed maneuverability, without going into super stiff, locked-in territory.

They would be a good match for intermediate to advanced riders who liked riding groomers, carving, side hits, some jumps, trees and general all-mountain laps.

I’d pair them with boards around the 4.5/10 to 7.5/10 flex range. They’d be particularly well matched with boards in that 5.5/10 to 6.5/10 flex range, in my opinion.

Test/review details for the Drive

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Drive are capable of.

Demo Info

Binding: YES Drive, M

Date: February 24, 2025

Flex

The Drive didn’t feel like ultra-stiff, hard-charging bindings to me. YES position them on the stiffer side, but on snow I couldn’t really get them past a 7/10 flex feel and I’d say they’re just south of that, so for me, more like a 6.5/10. They were stiffer than my control bindings (Burton Malavita) and had a little more composure when riding faster or getting into deeper carves.

They weren’t massively more powerful than the average bindings, but they were a touch more precise and damp.

In-Hand

In hand, the Drive felt like they had a decent amount of support, but they weren’t ultra rigid.

The highback twist flex was fairly forgiving. It was softer than something like the Bent Metal Transfer and not far off bindings like the NOW/YES Axtion. There was very minimal pull-back flex in the highback - just some really subtle movement, but nothing major.

On-Snow

On snow, I’d put the overall flex around 6.5/10 to 7/10. They were stiffer than my control bindings, but not by a huge amount, and they didn’t feel like an 8/10 binding (which YES rates them at) to me.

That flex level made them feel versatile. They had enough backbone to handle faster riding and stronger carves, but they weren’t so stiff that they became hard work when riding slower or making quick, short turns.

Responsiveness

This was one of the things I liked most about the Drive.

At slow speeds, they felt really good. Quick turns felt sharp and easy, and they had a similar kind of nimbleness to my control bindings. I didn’t feel like I had to muscle them around, and they responded really naturally when weaving through tighter sections or making slower, more controlled turns.

For carving, they had a bit more power than my control bindings. Not a huge step up, but enough that I could feel a difference. They held up a little better when I was leaning into a carve and riding faster. There was just that bit more support and dampness underfoot, which helped when conditions got chattery.

They weren’t ultra aggressive, though. If you’re looking for a super locked-in binding that really drives a stiff board at high speed, these probably wouldn’t be the first thing I’d reach for. But for everyday all-mountain riding, they had a really nice balance of quickness, support and smoothness.

Board Feel / Butterability

Board feel was better than I remembered from previous rides on NOW/YES bindings. Each time I ride them, I feel like I appreciate the Skate Tech style feel more.

The Drive had OK board feel overall. Presses, ollies and spins all felt better than I expected. They didn’t feel as locked-down or dead underfoot as I’ve felt them in the past.

For presses, they weren’t ultra soft and buttery, but they weren’t difficult either.

For spins, they felt smooth and predictable. Setup turns were easy, and I didn’t feel like the bindings were fighting me. They weren’t super loose or anything, but they still had enough freedom to make spins feel natural.

Pop / Ollie Power

Ollie power felt about the same as my control bindings/felt normal.

They didn’t give me a massive boost or make the board feel dramatically more explosive, but they also didn’t sap energy.

Most bindings, in my experience don’t really move the needle that much either way for this aspect – and the Drive were no exception. They felt normal/average in terms of pop power.

Shock Absorption

Shock absorption was one of the stronger areas for the Drive, not surprisingly given my experience with previous YES/NOW/Jones bindings.

They handled chatter well, and there was plenty of chatter to deal with on the day. They were a step above in terms of dampness. Landings also felt nice and cushioned, with excellent impact protection coming through.

Comfort

Comfort was good overall. The extra dampness helped make them feel smoother in rougher snow, too.

The ankle strap felt comfortable and supportive. It held well and gave decent support, but it wasn’t ultra locked-in.

The highback had a little padding in the top corner, with a kind of lower-case “r” shaped pad. It wasn’t heavily padded, but I didn’t notice any discomfort from it, which is the most important thing.

The toe strap was also comfortable and did its job well. Like a lot of toe straps, it was softer through the middle and firmer on the sides, which helped it conform without feeling too flimsy.

Adjustability

Adjustability was decent, with one particularly interesting feature.

There was no heel cup adjustment, no ankle strap position adjustment, no toe strap position adjustment, no gas pedal extension and no highback rotation. So, in terms of traditional adjustability, they certainly weren’t loaded.

But you could run the disc horizontally, which helped with stance width adjustability, and the bindings were Channel compatible. Highback lean was tool-less, and the straps were also tool-less, which was expected but still nice.

The most interesting adjustment was the bushings. The Drive comes with hard bushings, but you can change them out, which gives you another way to tune the feel of the binding. They didn’t come with extra bushings, as far as I could tell, but you can get them separately and being able to change those is a pretty cool feature.

Entry / Exit

Entry and exit was nice and easy. The ratchets were really smooth - up there with the better ones I’ve used. Most brands are getting pretty good with ratchet smoothness now, but these were definitely above average.

The ankle and toe straps both had hinges, which helped keep them out of the way when stepping in. That made it easy to get my boot in without standing on the straps or having to constantly move them around.

Otherwise, they were standard traditional strap bindings, but the process was smooth and hassle-free.

Weight

They felt normal in terms of weight, both on the lift and when riding.

They didn’t feel noticeably heavy underfoot, and they didn’t feel ultra light either. Just normal. I didn’t really think about the weight while riding them, which is usually a good sign.

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.

The YES Drive impressed me more than I expected.

They had a really good mix of dampness, response, and comfort and the board feel was better than I remember from when I tested these when they were the NOW Drive. They were stiffer and a little more composed than the average bindings, especially for carving and rougher snow, but they still felt really good at slower speeds and didn’t lose that natural, easy-turning feel.

They weren’t the most adjustable bindings, but being able to swap out the bushings is a nice feature to have. For all-mountain riders who wanted something supportive, smooth and damp without going too stiff or too dead-feeling underfoot, the Drive worked really well.

For me, they sat in that sweet spot where they were performance-oriented enough for stronger riding, but still fun and easy enough for more casual, playful all-mountain days.