Would be incredible to have opportunities to demo boards or foils prior to buying. Does anyone have a singular place where they find upcoming demos? Perhaps this could be a place to note them if you see them upcoming.
It’s so hard to commit to a $2k purchase without having ever seen it in person, let alone tried it. I’d be willing to drive a few hours… seems like this only really happens in hubs like Sydney, Maui, Hood, etc.
Every day at the foil shop in Seal Beach, CA.
I organized the last one here! What do you want to demo? Call some brands and organize that shit!
Selfishly, I want to test some of the new downwind boards for SUP foiling, and easy winging in light wind, as my back is still jacked up and making foiling prone about impossible. Bigger foils for that as well, Uni Prog 200s, Armstrong APFs, etc. etc.
I love the @Bwalnut idea. I hope it takes off in Hood. Wish it could be a national thing, but probably only works in a market like Hood with a deep pool of gear. I threw out a foil demo subscription idea a few months ago, but this definitely makes more sense.
I think you have a great idea. I have so many surfboards in my garage that just sit. Similarly would be nice to make a little money and share the stoke. It’s a tough problem to solve.
The cost of foiling is one of its biggest growth limiters. I imagine it is going to get better w/used gear that is worth buying though.
You’ll never get a brand to demo those boards. They just suck too much to ship. We have 2 riders here on em, dragonfly and barracuda. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you trying them out!
There is a company doing this with all kinds of gear for rent and for sale called SENDY. Not being used yet for foil gear but could be a great resource with the tech in place.
Wing demos too! I just spent too long on an old wing not knowing a new one could be oh so much better!
It’s a new service… people can rent or sell just about anything. Could be a good platform for sharing gear since it seems buyers/renters get screened and are required to have credit card etc on file hopefully keeping scammers away. Just a suggestion since the system looks set.