Silk 650 and the 707
1 Like
The new Carbon tails definitely pump better than what has been demo’d. Also do you know what Stab you were using? Sounds like one of the bigger stab from your description. The projection of the pump with a 125 stab and carbon tail is significantly better.
Hi guys,
I’ve been riding the 4’6 Amp board and absolutely love it! Proning is by far my favorite foiling activity, so it is match in heaven.
I just got back from a trip to Mexico and was catching waves I never would’ve made on my high-volume mid-length board — especially during high tide when the waves were rolling in soft. I was a little concerned about using it in 87° water, but no issues at all with batteries overheating.
I think Flite Lab did a good job with the weight distribution — I don’t find it bothersome at all. I’ve never tried a Foil Drive setup, so I can’t really compare, but the balance on this board feels spot-on to me.
That said, I did run into a few hiccups early on (hoping just bad luck on my end):
-
The deck started peeling off on 1 side of the board after my first session.
-
Around the fourth session, one of the battery indicators disappeared (there’s 2 of them) and I started getting a recurring “cell error” message on the launchpad. Thankfully, customer service was great and replaced one the batteries quickly.
-
The GPS function is glitchy (I’m in Southern California) and it doesn’t always get a signal — but hopefully the next update will fix that.
-
The bottom of the board is turning white, even though I always keep it shaded while setting up. (Chris - do you know if it’s normal?)
Despite those issues, the Amp board is game-changer. I’ve been frothing on it since day one. I can’t wait to test it in bigger conditions (adding mid-length 5’0 to the quiver soon)
4 Likes
Hey Jordan
Stoked you are enjoying it. Please take photos of the deck grip and send to support. It shouldn’t do that. My personal boards that are 18months old have no deck grip lifting nor have any of our demo boards which get a hammering but I have seen another customers deck grip lift. As for the white I have never seen that on any of our boards. Please once again send photos to support. I would like to work out what is going on here.
At 85kg is the flitelab raw 4’0 your go to when using the tow boggie? I’m the same kg loving the raw 4’4 sink starting and looking to move down to the raw 4’0. Appreciate it! -Rich
Hi Rich
I was considering both the 4’4 and 4’2 for boogie specific use (I dont own any flitelab gear just yet), but was able to try the 4’0 raw with tow boogie a few weeks ago and happy to report that it was super super easy to get up. One could even go 3’10 (although they aren’t released yet). I was pleasantly surprised and have since placed and order for the 4’0. The raw boards are insanely light, just over 2kg i think. Planing shape works really well, and the release from the water is probably where the magic lies.
anyway - 4’0 will be great!
Hey Mate,
With the 4” Raw you have no problem doing sinker starts? And in rougher conditions when there is heaps of water movement can you still get up on this via a sinker start. And what’s the smallest foil you do that with?
I was thinking the 4’4 at my 86KG for the tow boogie but you now having me thinking about the 4.0”
Thanks for your feedbacks
1 Like
i only did a couple of starts on it with a passing tow booger - water wasn’t rough but also not dead flat. I was shocked at how easy it was, on a 707.
Foil size is pretty much immaterial fwiw - mostly about the board planing shape (getting the board up to speed on the surface) . 4’0 gave me zero concerns at 85kg
1 Like
Thank you! I am really excited to hit the waves when it shows up!
You think flitelab is releasing a smaller 3’10 raw board? I have their 707/82 mast/140 tail/short fuse and it blows away anything I have been on from Armstrong to code / axis.
Loving it!
1 Like
i tried some of the Flitelab road-show setup (foil camp in bali) - there was a 3’10 proto we were using for tow. No idea if it’s planned for production or not, but assume along the road comes the 606 etc and potentiall, smaller boards.
It was implied that one (AB) could get up on the tow boogie with the 3’10 (and smaller protos) which i would totally believe.
Such a fun sport! Love all the new innovation. Thx for sharing.
1 Like
Thanks mate. I agree re on the board planning shape and the raw boards have the perfect shape for this. Have been on similar boards and anything sub 30L that is shorter than 4’4 seemed to get harder (board shape dependant) when you’re in rougher conditions with heaps of movement…which makes sense and length helps with this. Some boards no matter the volume are just harder due to less planning surface but raw boards look fairly flat so you can get away with a smaller board. 4” would be epic and at my 85KG was really only looking at the 4’4 on boogie. 4’2 could be the sweet spot though for rougher / funky conditions. Be good to test the 4’0 though in a range of conditions as once up would be so nice.
Thanks again for your feedback.
@sof We are working on a feature for the Boogie that will help getting up when it’s a bit choppy by dynamically steering the motor based on speed and load to counter the prop torque. Will help with smaller boards. Should have a beta version to test in a few weeks time.
8 Likes
Oh wicked that’s great to hear. Nice work Mark.
1 Like
Got the 4’0 Flitelab raw board in at 27L and loved it behind the tow boggie today. If you have a good sink start to drop knee technique it’s easy. Flat water windy conditions. I have the 4’4 32L version as well for pure prone and didn’t think the 4’0 was any harder to start using the tow boggie! For sure easier to sink and balance, I am 85kg. And not sure why but using the Flitelab foil setup also was easier to get up versus Armstrong HA680/180&140 and MA890/200 tail. Easy to sink the boards and smoother take offs on Flitelab (82 mast/short fuse/707/140&160 tails). I think the Armstrong foil kit has more buoyancy is a less dense build than the Flitelab kit for what it’s worth, really noticeable side by side same session sink starting the 32L Flitelab raw board for what it is worth swapping between Armstrong and Flitlab foil kits. Pump wise using the 4’0 was incredible only thing that stopped me was just fitness:) Cheers!!
7 Likes