Northwave’s history begins in the 1980s when Gianni Piva started making shoes in Montebelluna, Italy. The Piva family had been making performance footwear for years and when snowboarding became popular in their local mountains in the late 80s, Piva’s footwear expertise was sought out by snowboard brands looking to incorporate decent footwear to their line and he was quickly contracted to manufacture them. With a bunch of R&D under his belt, Piva decided he had the ingredients needed to build his own brand and so, in 1991, Northwave boots was born and the first line debuted.
Their boots are complemented by their sister company, Drake, who produce boards and bindings that interface seamlessly with the Northwave snowboard boots. Northwave boots come with super lace systems, T track tech closure systems and normal laces so there are options for everyone no matter what system of boot tightening system you prefer.
As you’d expect of a company based in the boot-making capital of the world, Northwave have the knack for making comfortable, performance-enhancing footwear loaded with proprietary tech. Be it the liners, sole units, shell or lacing system, everything’s been thought out to complement the boots’ fit and functionality. Whatever your price point or riding preference you’ll find a model for you, reflected by their diverse team of rippers – from Tyler Chorlton to Veroniqi Hansen via the swift swiping of Alex Stewart and Ethan Morgan, who recently launched his signature boot, the Gaper 69.
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Scroll down or select from the links below to check out our reviews of this season’s best Northwave snowboard gear.
