Great review - thanks for writing all that up. Sounds like Waydoo has more than a few hitches to sort out, but overall has a great product on their hands.
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Thanks for the review. Bit of a sales pitch at the end? Are you or do you hope to be a distributor?
I imagine people who are already experienced foilers will have much more luck with these working well for them.
I have no motivation to become a distributor. I am an avid watersports fan and really excited to have an affordable efoil. Since the retail network is still being establish, I had asked where to direct people who want to buy one. Being an affiliate would be something I would do, but my main motivation is to see Waydoo and other commercially available efoils have success.
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There’s a lot of cynicism about affiliation and competition here, isn’t there?
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If you spend enough time on kiting, ebiking, or tech boards where there are expensive goods with cutting edge technology you will find the experienced people become sensitive to it, because they have seen so many different flavors of shills.
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I don’t think a $4K commercial eFoil is realistic in… 2020. From 2021, lessons learned, … probably.
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I have a Lift and will soon get delivery of a Waydoo One (WDO) to ride with my buds and kids
The Waydoo Ones are now getting delivered and the backers/owner’s group has primarlly happy campers posting videos and reports of their new personal watercrafts. Redirecting...
A google sheet has started to list a slew of issues (some sound potentially catastrophic) and so far Waydoo seems to be learning from their kickstarter backers/beta testers and promises to get what it is needed out to backers through a network of distributors that they are now developing.
I share this to support full transparency for others who are curious about the Waydoo One and what a handful of the ~500 backers in the Facebook group are reporting as their boards have recently been getting delivered. I want Waydoo, Lift, Flightboard, Takuma, efoil builders and all others to increase the affordability, durability, fun and safe function in their products for the highest good of all concerned.
Problem/Defect Description
- Board is absorbing water into the EPP foam
- “S” and beeping sound from remote
- Battery was blinking red and blue.
- 31" Mast bent…Shorter mast no bending reported
- Front patroller wing bolts too long. Bottoms out before fully tight so bolt need to be cut down
- Clip holding battery to board falls off
- Battery shutting off randomly - in the board - Seems to be related to a misalignment of a safety-magnet that is easily corrected
- Battery shutting off while charging (not fully charged)
- Backing peeling off battery
- Fuselage corroding (salt water?)
- Remote fails, display turns off, condensation or water inside remote
- Rear composite wing holes are too small, screw does not easily pass through
- Wing mast bolt won’t stay tight
- Unlock function not working properly
- Waydoo goes slower than normal, can’t foil at highest speed
- Short battery life
- Prop hitting guard when spinning
- Screws strip easily - not over tightened
- Round battery clamp pops off of screw when board turned upside down w battery in board.
- Remote control (“error 1”), no connection to board
- Front wing snapped off a the fuselage casting on some early boards that used prototype parts
- Rear wing mount bent
- Main wing screw holes not threaded
- Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin not yet provided so the boards can not be registered
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Owners are still saying they can’t get a Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin from Waydoo and cannot register where required. I suppose this is a complex or costly process because they may need import licenses and Waydoo decided it would be cheaper and easier to lie.
A Waydoo Rep on the Facebook Kickstarter backer’s group reports that they used some of their prototype castings on some of the first boards that were distributed and these castings have since been redesigned to increase strength and will be replace for those who experience a failure within one year.
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A question for you DIY’ers - how difficult would it be to shorten the EPP Waydoo board down to 5’ or 4.5’?
One of the Waydoo engineers posted an image of a torn down ONE board, and it doesn’t look like the frame would be too hard to cut through. It would look janky, but a layer of fiberglass would improve things.
The bigger concern would be the change in weight distribution. As I understand it, the 4’4" Lift is heavier than the 5’ version, and is heavier toward the front. I’m sure this makes a big difference in how it rides.
Any thoughts?
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Can you post the torn down images?
As backer #14, I have had my Waydoo Flyer One for a month now. Right out of the box, I was very impressed with what Waydoo put together in this model. I opted for the longer 31.5" mast and smaller Patroller front wing. The only issue I have had was with the magnetic battery switch. The magnet is set within the battery compartment, and was recessed approximately 1/16" too low. This stopped the magnetic switch inside the battery from activating. I got ahold of customer service and they forwarded my issue to the N. America distributor. This was a Friday afternoon in Los Angeles where I live and he was in N. Carolina. I was very impressed when he called me back because it was the end of the day, maybe even after hours when he called me to troubleshoot the problem.
This magnet was a new issue to him, but he quickly narrowed down what the problem was. The solution was as easy as placing a 1/16’ plastic shim underneath the magnet and problem solved. I have ridden the board a number of times so far. We have an experienced group of LA Foil Club members that go out together and just about all efoil brands are represented as well as DIY builds. We switch boards so others can get a feel and compare other brands. We invite others that want to try efoiling, and we tow foilers behind us, which the Waydoo does well.
My overall opinion of the Waydoo Flyer One is that it does what it is intended to do at a fantastic price point. The stoke on it is real and it gets my adrenaline pumping and puts a smile on my face… E-Foils are awesome!!! Spread the stoke and Aloha!!
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Go on any forum or site where owners discuss their new product. The vast majority of posts will be highlighting issues and problems. The vast majority of actual experience is hidden to you as backers use the product with no issues and no posts. Waydoo communication is improving quickly - they are still right in the middle of delivering a slew of backer boards and attempting to deal with broken parts at the same time. The design is solid and incorporates some ingenious items. Lets give them some time to get their feet on the ground and issues taken care of. Fact - there are way more Flyers operating fine with satisfied owners than the few that have shown issues. These thing work and are a blast to ride
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You guys are like prisoners with Stockholm Syndrome
I am in all of the owners groups and none of them have had problems like Waydoo. Fliteboard also uses aluminum but they have NEVER had a single bent mast. Not one. The Waydoo backers group has AT LEAST 6 bent masts and they only started receiving boards a month ago.
Do you also condone the way they lied about reinforcing the fuselage? When the first fuselage broke they promised they would reinforce them before backer boards shipped, but now many backers have had their fuselage snap for no reason:
Clearly it was not reinforced as Waydoo promised. Speed is not what Waydoo promised. Battery life is not what Waydoo promised. Quality control is a disaster. No one can register their Waydoo because they don’t have proper paperwork. Distributors have no parts for warranty service. When will you realize this is a company full of liars?
Dude, we get it. You think the board is shit, that Waydoo is a cabal of crooks, that it’s all unforgivable and unlikely to change. We get it. W e . g e t . i t .
Others (myself included) agree that the quality is way below standard but believe that the design and the platform are solid, that Waydoo is willing to improve things but are currently slow to respond.
There are others that think the sun shines out of its exhaust.
It’s ok to have a different opinion.
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Hey @FoilFiesta - at this point it is unlikely that anyone is buying a Waydoo via retail channels until they get these issues sorted. Us Kickstarter backers are the guinea pigs here - personally I expected this when I backed them.
You are presenting one side of the story though by cherry picking posts from the private backers-only group - At least also show that they are aware of the issues and actively working to remediate them. For everyone one of these disaster posts you decide to highlight there are 2-3 more posts of backers happily riding their WFO’s. This is not endemic, and is hopefully limited to an early production batch issue (but that is still to be determined)
No one is lying - keep in mind this is a largely Chinese-speaking company dealing with a majority English speaking customer base at this point. There have been some miscommunications no doubt, however they have a reputable North American distributor. Parts are currently scarce but they are well funded and working on fixes and will be shipping them out soon to their distributor partners.
Take a breath, man.
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The issues shown are not ”early prototype” issues…
If you can’t cut a thread properly or are so eager to ship that you let the customer handle it then you’re a pretty poor company.
If you can’t design a mast that does not bend in ordinary use then you obviously didn’t do any verification or, again you disregarded it then you’re a shitty company.
Customer can maybe forgive this if warranty is handled swiftly but is it?
I think Waydoo is really not handling this well.
Foil fiesta cherry picked an old post from the private users site…to give a false impression that nothing is being done. In point of fact, Waydoo has been responsive…and is improving daily…and has taken care of my issue. No one is saying they aren’t having teething pains, but his comment contains much misinformation…battery life, parts, registration…all of these in the green or close to it… There are currently many flyers operating as advertised with many happy owners. The big guys had early teething pains as well…let’s all relax and give Waydoo a chance to get established.
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I have had my board with the long mast and small wing for two weeks now. I have ridden it 50+ miles over 8 different sessions. I have had no negative issues. Mast has not bent, remote has not taken on water, board has not absorbed water and the battery has charged as expected. I am an experienced non motorized foiler, so I spend most of my time up on the wing. I am very pleased thus far. While I feel for those with issues, I feel like I may be in the silent majority who are loving their boards and having no issues.
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