I think hes talking about when the foil assister encrouch on surfers and other people on boarda etc. It is a problem. Santa Cruz… Mondos…. I have a friend who does fd and he wants to hit surf spots with the fd. A BIG no no.
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No. It’s more like taking helicopter rides up to fresh powder while everyone else is waiting in line for the chairlift to open.
Unless you’re in the surf industry, more crowded surf breaks are never a good thing. I agree with @Theocerbo on this one. I paddle daily 500m to a reef break to avoid the crowds and wait my turn with a handful of surfers. Just one Foildriver taking off beyond the peak and we’re waiting for scraps. I don’t see how that’s positive for the community.
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I tried this foil assist for about 30mins in some horrible conditions at a Duotone demo day, I attached it to a flitelab Raw 4’2. I have also had a fair bit of time on an FD and many years of prone foiling under my belt. The finger remote is way better than the FD remote for starters, you can do a proper surfing popup with it. Having no weight and very little drag on the board is a game changer, you can rip it like you are riding prone, hitting the whitewash etc which is difficult on a FD/similar with 5kg of assist attached to your board and the drag of the system and pod. Negatives are, it took a little time to get used to the staged power delivery and weight on my back. It’s a very good product, it’s super exciting that different brands are producing these foiling toys for us. The duotone crest is also a brilliant foil, one of the best combinations of turning/glide/breaching I’ve tried, 800 in these pics.
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Nice, I’m impressed you are going for the foam, that is something I’d never dream of on the FD. Also didn’t manage any level of confidence with my DIY backpack, so that is something
Na I agree with @Ajam, it’s heli-skiing. The issue is that most assist users are clueless to the lineup dynamic they are potentially disrupting, because they couldn’t surf either..
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Sadly we have multiple videos of incidents where packs of e-foilers are tearing through and more often than not falling spectacularly while in between the flags at our beaches (this is a swimmers only section no boards at all are allowed in there) this has resulted in tension with the surfers, lifeguards, other foilers and murmurs of council looking to get involved.
It’s a pretty narrow way of looking at things to think this isn’t negatively effecting foiling as a whole including the unassisted ones who put in the time and effort to get to this level while coexisting with other water users (we police ourselves very hard).
It is a very real threat and I’m sick of it being swept under the “you’re just jealous this is the future!!!” rug
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The just released Foildrive Fusion comes with a controller with GPS functionality. Although FD haven’t stated that geoblocking is possible with their unit the Tow Boogie does use geoblocking for certain locations.
Hopefully the foil assist manufacturers can collaborate to ensure blanket bans of foiling don’t happen, if there are issues in certain spots the assist crew can be moved elsewhere.
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Great idea, sadly I don’t see FD being as proactive as Mark was but if you see it gain traction let me know so I can stock up on spring snapper remotes to sell on the black market 
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I found it interesting FD has dropped the “assist” tag with the new fusion. It’s now just an efoil.
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You might be right, but with the SA government (where FD is based) looking at increasing blanket bans on powered devices it might be a step in the right direction. Working with the authorities rather than complaining after bans happens should result in better outcomes.
The current system of appealing to users to do the right thing doesn’t seem to be working in some places.
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At some stage I’ll have to send you a video that was recently taken down here sadly it’s getting a bit out of hand.
Appreciate your level head and a mate mentioned you posted this suggestion on the FD owners group, thanks for that I hope it gains some traction!
I continue to recommend assists when used correctly and away from crowds, but we’ve given “self enforcement” a try and sadly it didn’t work and I’m not willing to see foiling as a whole at risk for a selfish few so I’d personally be all for the SA blanket bans on powered but it’s crucial there is a line drawn between powered and unpowered.
Our local crew or non assisted foilers police each other very hard, none of us wants to be the one that fks it up for the others.
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