Im assuming that you were replying to me. The reason i say their profits are mental is:
I know there entire supply chain, i know a bunch of their dealers and i know how many units they move. I know the factory where their base unit is manufactured etc… its not a nasty thing, its just the truth.
I aslo know from the dealers what fails etc.
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No, hit reply to the comment above and it doesn’t indicate that.
My point is, if you can’t or don’t want to build your own assist, FD is the best way to go, unless some better options can be provided by those philosophically opposed to FD.
You need to hit the small reply on the individual post. That might be why.?
For FD I think there a few reasons for the cost. 1 is they have a good support staff as well as electrical and software engineers which costs a lot of money to employ people. 2 is the economy of scale just doesnt make sense for them to be much cheaper. The 3rd which has been annoying me lately is how many team riders and influencers they have that are getting paid to push the product. I can’t even imagine what their advertising budget is!
In the end they are a for profit company, nothing wrong with that, I just cant, and probably will never be able to afford their products. Working on my own build now, battery build is coming along slowly!
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I hit the small reply to your post and for some reason it doesn’t seem to work consistently for me anymore. Most of the time it’s not clear who is replying to whom.
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Hey there and thanks for the thoughtful response.
It is not lost on me that
- margins are tidy
- for the most part there are ways for me to fix it myself
Only thing is that is not what I signed up for and the reason for this video is my warning to anyone that these products are a bucket load of trouble.
I am a frequent visitor to China and my experience is mixed. Some things are way ahead and we know that most things around the house are made in China … including the majority of foil gear - The majority of the time things are great, but here, not so.
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Just to add my 2 cents. Where I live I could not get Foil drive but I could get the Chinese version from seven larky. I have now been using it for almost 6 months (every other day). I did have issues with it but the company supported me well up to the point they sent me brand new unit. They are however slow to act but genuine. They respond quickly for any issues but it took some time to get the replacement.
Considering the price difference, it was well worthy for me and I am happy with what I got. I am sure Foil Drive has a better build quality and better support. But you do pay extra for it. If you are a bit of DIY person, I’d say go for chinese version and enjoy it. If it breaks, these are reasonably easy to fix.
Regardless which one you buy, you need to learn to look after the equipment. Salty water and electrics do not go well. Neither using it in sandy places.
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Another totally legit review by new user. What are the chances?!
How do you want me to prove it? 
If you have the money and live in a place you can get FD, I suggest you go for it.
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Post some pics of you with your gear or a video…
What do you want to find out exactly? I’m not sponsored by FD nor any Chinese brand
Well you’ve come here and right out punted Seven Larky. No one minds that, but realistically no one knows where you are based and why you cant get Foil Drive or Manta Foils who both ship worldwide. Simply put, showing how you use it backs up your claim as to why you suggest it.
It was not my intention to punt Seven larky. I do have it and it has issues as I mentioned above. But in my opinion it is worth considering as a valid option to enter the sport.
When I did my research (end of last year), I did not come across Manta. And there was no clear way of getting FD into Malaysia, where I moved to from UK.
Again, not trying to sell it to anyone. If you have the money defo go for FD and you will have more support around you, and most likely you will have less issues. But Seven Larky works for me well enough. This is my personal opinion.
I use it to learn pumping and DW foiling. I use it on Axis set.
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I’ve ordered the newer version Seven Larky thingo with the extra batteries. (SLBT02) I will do an unboxing vid when it arrives (a few weeks from date of this post) and will get some drone shots when I get it out on the water. I am a fairly competent wingfoiler (still not too good on the jibes), hopeless at prone foil and sup foil, but have never tried an efoil setup. So I’m very excited to try this out for low wind days. Here’s my YT if you want to keep an eye out for my 7Larky vids. https://www.youtube.com/@Wingfoiling-Noosa Hahha, I’m either going to be stoked or embarrassed!
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Enjoy! Just make sure they sent you model with yellow motor connector and not the silver one. The silver is crap.
Also, use plenty of grease on all connections and it should last you long.
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