Seems ambitious (and fairly un-googleable…) They are now accepting $100 refundable pre-order deposits
https://www.getfoil.com/order-v2/
Thoughts?
Overall this brand looks like an exciting newcomer. I hope they can deliver at this pricepoint.
Here are some things that caught my eye:
- Bold claim to declare it as the most advanced efoil available!
- The design looks pretty good. How in the world are the building it all out of carbon fiber including the masts for this pricepoint?
- The marketing looks pretty well done, but the people look kind of awkward riding them. Maybe this is the surfer/boarder in me, but none of them have good riding style. They all look like they are either stiff, about to lose control, or just generally nervous riding it. It does make me question how well it works compared the Lift board where they are towing other foil riders into overhead waves and displaying crazy confidence in the marketing videos.
- First full picture of the board you see at the top of the page, it is on the sand with NO duct. Not a very good way to advertise safety to the masses for a mass produced product.
- The ranges don’t quite match up with themselves and the stats. In one place it says 15-18 miles, then another 14-17 miles. The lower numbers may be more honest, but seem low. 1.5+ hour ride time then means, you are averaging cruise around 9mph, but the wings don’t look that big to me. This brings me back to some of the video where you can see people riding them at stall speed. I got nearly 20 miles out of a Lift board my first time riding one. I wish they just showed the voltage/aH or watt-hours of the pack like every other legit EV on the market.
- There isn’t a whole lot of info about the company, founders, etc. so it is hard to feel like you can trust them. The whole page (and even some of the product) has elements of the Cybertruck launch and pre-order, but that is a very well established brand.
- I am heading to Pensacola soon and thought I might check them out. The business address they have listed on their site is for a subscription service called Snack Crate. Did they takeover the space or are they subletting a corner of the warehouse? Not totally crazy for a startup, but seems a little odd for something of this size in cap and effort.
That’s the founder’s main business - this is his side-project:
What is a Maverick Direct Drive motor?
Looks like they will be booking demo days in South Florida mid-March. Very curious to see what they are building and how it compares to what’s on the market already.
A few updates based on their recent Facebook posts - also appears that only the top end $7k version is full carbon (mast + sandwich board, I presume):
We spent two years designing, building, and testing our own proprietary waterproof connector. It screws into the battery directly from the mast via a hole in the board cavity. The only visible wire in the entire product. Its so strong that it also acts as the emergency teather for the battery if it were to fall out. This connector is made in the United States.
The boards have no electronics in them whatsoever. This keeps the cost down and allows you to swap into a new one in literally no time if it gets damaged. They are as replaceable as any normal surfboard. There’s lots of spare room for your wallet, keys, phone etc in the board cavity.
The controller matches the color of your board. The controller is pretty cool. It has a full color display, gps, accelerometer. All the normal stuff. But it also monitors the waterproof seals in itself and the battery. If the seal on a battery is damaged the controller knows that the pressure and humidity within the battery casing have changed and alerts you to get it serviced. It also tells the battery to no longer accept charging from the charger. That alone prevents the majority of battery fires that can occur. The controller is made in the United States.
The entire product has just one button. That is on the controller. Just push it to turn Foil on and off.
The controller attaches to the battery with magnets. It’s a nice place to keep them together when it’s not being used or it’s being transported. The battery casing shown here is a prototype. The final casing is soft rubber.
The controller charges wirelessly when its resting on the battery.
If you want to swap batteries just tap the controller on the battery and they connect. No crazy pairing procedures.
The battery is assembled in th United States.
The battery is 50aH. The largest ever for an eFoil.
“battery has a phase changing material that surrounds the cells. As the cells heat up the material surrounding them liquifies and absorbs the heat. When the material cools it turns back into a solid again. It “changes phase”.”
“the computer is in the battery. The battery is both the brain/battery and the controller charger all in one.”
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