Bit of both. Pump to connect waves and get back out. Miss the exit with speed, either paddle or motor back out. I use foildrive to enhance my surf style session. I’ll sit and wait til I see a set. Motor onto a wave and ride and pump til i come down. Do it again. If time between sets, i’ll just paddle out. Helps keep arms in paddle shape too. using it this way, I have gotten over 2 hrs on the Max battery.
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I can’t believe how quickly things are changing. I saw 4 guys out on FD last time I went out. Apparently a couple of riders already went in. I saw one of my neighbors with one too recently, but I couldn’t catch him to talk.
To be honest, the more I prone (which is all the time for 3-years) the more I think prone foiling is unattainable for the “average” surfer turned foiler. Seems like only experts can break through the ceiling
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You could say the same for downwind, anyone 90kgs or over is going to find it very challenging without some kind of power assist to get going.
I agree that prone is insanely difficult to learn but even the top prone guys are switching to electric so it cant just be for flattening the learning curve, it must just be “better”
I’m not convinced those high profile foilers actually enjoy using foil drives as much as they make it seem like they do. Adding that prop and weight cannot possibly feel as good as a lightweight prone set up. I tried one and thought it felt horrible. No chance they choose to use the FD if the conditions are prone-able. Only the flitelab board Bennett’s uses looks like a close to real prone ride experience to me.
They have a financial incentive to hype it up as much as possible. If they didn’t get paid to promote and get their foil drives for free, do you think they would’ve spent their own cash for it?
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I thought the same thing… Must be a financial thing, it’s not (at least the part about them riding all the time). I was at an event (Foil Surf Race League) with lots of pros, their friends and family members. It’s real. Eric is absolutely riding FD almost exclusively. When I saw Paul Cooper riding FD in person, it made sense. He’s incredible on it. It’s unbelievable to see in person. The first day the afternoon wasn’t the best conditions, 10-12 mph onshore and Paul was destroying it. Paul was 2-3x farther out than everyone and was nonstop. He was out most of the day too. Barely any rest. Considering all the top pros that were at the event, Paul kind of stole the show in my opinion (at least on Saturday afternoon)
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Figuring out how to manage pod dip and the issues it creates is key. I’m still sorting it out.
There are moments when I use FDG2 and it’s amazing, I don’t feel it at all. But there are others when I come crashing down going what feels like mach 2 and want to rip it off and wish I spent the money on other gear.
Paul should put out a video about pod dip management if he hasn’t already!
Part of my problem is on going ventilation issues I have with my mast and foil which apply to non-FD situations too.
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It’s interesting to read people’s perceptions but they don’t really match reality in aus.
Firstly Adam b prones 98% under his own steam. Jet ski day is extraordinarily rare and the amp jet is for non paddleable days or marketing of non paddleable days.
The top guys in aus using foil drive are typically ambassadors getting footage and would not be caught dead riding foil drives in paddleable prone waves because they don’t need to and it’s not worth the penalty.
The tow boogie is another story where you can ride waves that no else can and is when there is not a local prone option.
Some of the above comments show your getting caught up In the marketing guys.
Foil drives are for access to waves that can’t be paddled or for beginners on the same unbroken waves. They don’t belong in any line up with traditional surf equipment even way out the back or wide.
The learning curve in prone foiling is long and some aspects of it can be shorten by time on foil with things like wings, ski, foil drive, efoil and tow boogies but prone foiling is about the chip and the pump and you are not proning till you are doing that in my opinion as this is where the elation comes from. Use the tools wisely but be careful not to get stuck on them if you wish to progress to prone well.
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I’d agree with the above. I ride a place with the most epic foil wave(garbage surfing wave). Any time i travel some place with “Good” waves its a nightmare. Too much energy, reverb, bottom comes up fast… If i had to live with real ground swell at a proper deep water break i’d probably be clinging to the foil drive like a lifeboat but where we are it just isn’t necessary. So yeah, its about foiling waves that aren’t conducive to foiling. We ride an inlet wave with an outgoing river tide that takes you out to the peak without paddling - so we already ride all day without paddling. That or we do runners and hitch hike back to the spot. Again, no paddling so its not really necessary here.
I don’t mind seeing one kook on one but if there ever came a day where there were 10 at a spot i’d fear something happening and all forms of foiling getting regulated allong with it. (Too hard to tell which is which - better ban them all). I think we’re going to see this in places like Aus that are already regulating it - someone is going to try arguing that it isn’t an e-foil because of surf foiler logic and its going to result in a blanket foil ban.
If we’re all electric in 5 years and the sport doubles with the increased accessability it will 100% be regulated out of existance.
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I can only speak for myself, but once you get used the the weight and the difference in usable mast, I can surf at the same level minus some foam game. And the extra time on foil and low cardio access to waves means I’m learning at the fastest clip I’ve felt. I’ll be more apt to prone once our water temps are back up to the trunk range, but foil drive and tech will be a large part of my quiver moving forward. Also saying this with no financial interest in it. I got a free drive, but that’s it. I’m actually in the process of selling my ski as I’d prefer to drive for many reasons. Sure I’ll regret that on a few hurricane days, but Paul says I won’t… we’ll see.
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Interesting. I was about to ask about the ski. Very cool.
Just curious why you think FDs don’t belong “way out back or wide” at spots.
“I’ll be more apt to prone once our water temps are back up to the trunk range” <---- thanks for throwing us that bone but we know you’re not ever leaving the dark side!
Foiling with motors reminds me of wave pools. I have no interest in watching it, but I’m sure it’s fun.
If you’re out the back you will be just really annoying the surfers and if you can survive out the back on the unbroken waves then just go somewhere where the waves don’t break at all. That way you won’t be risking annoying surfers and risking the banning of all foiling in waves with surfers.
Realistically if you can’t manage to chip in prone in a line up with some surfers then it will be unlikely you have the surf knowledge to manage your heavier and more completed fd around surfers safely anyway.
So either it’s a tool for experienced foilers to access waves unsurfable by traditional equipment or it’s a tool for the beginners but either way in both cases should not be bothering surf line ups with surfers.
I do have an electric assist tool myself for accessing unsurfable waves with no chip in. But as a surfer I fully get how annoying fd uses efoiling around with breaching props could be and no body wants a wholesale foiling ban.
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The problem is as people improve, they would want to start riding critical& breaking sections… Where the surfers are.
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We had it the other way around. The surfers improved : ) First I had this fun wave pretty much all for myself, then a couple SUP riders started riding there as well, and it was still fun.
But nowadays there are a bazillion surfers there as well. With a windsurf board I don’t mind riding between them, but with a foil it does not make sense to bother them. All that has left to do is to hope it gets too cold or too windy for the surfers : )
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If fd guys want to mix with the paddlers and think they are good enough to be in that environment then it’s time to paddle also as there is no excuse. That called prone foiling.
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Yes the problem is that the foil drivers started justifying by saying they stay wide out and only go at high tide when no one else can really catch anything. But now they are crutches being used by many people who cant resist temptation to ride closer and closer to the best part of the wave. Foil drivers will be the ones who get foiling of all kinds banned at breaks.
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We should change the title to:
“The end is near: we’ll all be electric in <2 years and foiling will be banned almost everywhere”
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