Dimitriadis S.A.
Northwave and Drake riders walking through an Alpine village with their boards
Perform

Northwave

Boots, bindings and boards from the foot of the Alps.

Northwave and Drake share one workshop at the foot of the Italian Alps — boots, bindings and boards designed and tested on the same slopes, by people who ride them every day.

Brand profile

The mountain is Northwave's natural environment. Based in Montebelluna at the foot of the Italian Alps — a historic hub for cycling and winter sports — the brand designs and tests every boot, shoe and board on the trails and slopes around it.

Two brands, one workshop

Boots and bindings, built side by side.

A Northwave rider holding a snowboard boot

1971 · Montebelluna, Italy

Northwave

Gianni Piva started out making ski boot liners in Montebelluna, Italy in 1971 — the same shoemaking district that's home to several of the biggest names in mountain footwear. He pushed into snowboard boots in 1991, right as the sport was taking off, then into cycling shoes in 1993 with a bold two-tone design that broke every convention of the category.

It worked: Paola Pezzo won Olympic gold in Northwaves in 1996, and the brand went on to become the first to bring Gore-Tex into a cycling shoe. Bold design, backed by genuine shoemaking craft — that's been the formula from day one.

That reputation carried into road racing too: Ivan Gotti won the Giro d'Italia wearing Northwave shoes in 1997, a result the brand still points to in its professional partnerships today.

A snowboarder launching off a wind lip in deep snow

Acquired 1997 · Italy

Drake

Drake built its name the hard way, earning a following among European snowboarders on the strength of its bindings alone, long before any big backer got involved.

Italian footwear specialist Northwave acquired the brand in 1997, pairing Drake's snow-sport focus with serious engineering resources and a genuine professional rider network.

The combination worked: Drake has grown into a globally recognised name in snowboard bindings and boards, still built with the rider-first instinct that got it noticed in the first place.

Northwave in numbers

Founded in Montebelluna
1971Founded in Montebelluna
Years of mountain footwear
50+Years of mountain footwear
Worlds: snow and bike
2Worlds: snow and bike
First Olympic gold
1996First Olympic gold

Six constants

What hasn't changed in 50 years.

Behind the lab

Innovation

A commitment to technical innovation aimed at more than good products — at measurably changing how athletes perform.

Technology

Practical engineering focused on closure systems, sole ergonomics and power transfer rather than simply the newest materials.

Design

Bold Italian design rooted in Montebelluna's shoemaking tradition, built for the demands of real terrain.

Behind the team

Passion

A genuine riding culture guides the business, the design work and the products that come out of it.

Authenticity

Northwave staff ride at lunchtime and its athletes train daily — the same instinct shapes every collection.

Sustainability

An Alpine company answers to the mountains it works in — sustainable development sits alongside performance, not behind it.

Engineered in-house

Engineered for snow.

On a mountain, performance comes down to the connection between rider, boot and board. Northwave and Drake develop boots, bindings and boards side by side in Montebelluna, so the pieces work as one system.

Northwave — snowboard boots

Northwave moved into dedicated snowboard boots in 1991, applying Montebelluna's ski-boot craft to a young sport — the result is support and durability built around how a rider actually stands on a board.

SLW Dual Dial

Closure

Two independent dials tune the forefoot and the upper cuff separately, so the fit can be adjusted on the chairlift in a few seconds without unlacing anything.

Thermo-fit liners

Fit

Heat-mouldable dual-density foam liners with anatomical J-bars that shape to the foot and hold the heel without pressure points.

540° heel hold

Control

A wrap-around webbing harness tensioned by the closure that pulls the heel into its pocket, keeping edge input direct through long heelside turns.

Stamina outsoles

Traction

Light EVA soles with rubber traction inserts for bootpack hikes and icy ridgelines, with enough damping to absorb hard landings.

Drake — boards and bindings

Drake grew up as a binding specialist and still designs from that side of the sport: boards and bindings developed together so flex, damping and energy transfer behave as one system under the rider.

Light baseplates

Binding

Aluminium heelcups on a composite chassis — low weight, immediate toe-to-heel response and genuine feel for what the board is doing.

Asymmetric highbacks

Binding

Highbacks shaped to follow the natural angle of the leg, giving direct heelside drive without biting into the calf.

Honeycomb straps

Interface

Ergonomic TPU ankle straps that spread tension evenly across the boot and stay flexible in the cold, with fast magnesium ratchets.

Sintered bases & carbon cores

Board

High-density sintered running bases that hold wax and keep speed through flat powder, over wood cores reinforced with carbon for pop and torsional stability.

Company history

Fifty years, one district, two sports.

  1. 1971–1990

    Liners, lasts and Montebelluna

    Gianni Piva founds Calzaturificio Piva in the heart of the world's mountain-footwear district, where thousands of artisans cut, last and stitch. Two decades of ski boot liners lay the craft foundation for everything that follows.

  2. 1991–1993

    A brand, a boot, a bike shoe

    Northwave launches with its first collection and moves straight into snowboard boots as the sport explodes. In 1993 it enters cycling with a two-tone design that breaks every convention of the category.

    Northwave footwear worn on a skateboard

  3. 1996–1997

    Olympic gold, a Giro, and Drake

    Paola Pezzo takes Olympic gold in Northwaves; Ivan Gotti wins the Giro d'Italia in them the following year. In 1997 Northwave acquires Italian binding specialist Drake — a natural fit for the snowboard boot business.

    A snowboarder riding above Zermatt

  4. 2002–2008

    Cobbles and rainbow jerseys

    Mario Cipollini wins Milan-Sanremo and the Zolder World Championship in Northwave. In 2005 Tom Boonen takes Paris-Roubaix, two Tour de France stages and the World Championship on Aerator shoes.

    Two professional cyclists in Northwave team kit

  5. 2011–2017

    The wave of innovation

    Philippe Gilbert and Fabian Cancellara ride Northwave at the top of the world rankings, while the in-house lab turns out the closure systems and sole constructions the brand is now known for.

  6. 2018–today

    Second generation, same mountains

    Federica Piva takes over as CEO nearly fifty years after her father founded the company, marking thirty years of the Northwave brand — still designing and testing everything on the slopes and trails outside the door.

    A snowboarder in deep powder
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