Twelve thousand dollars apiece! Plus shipping and tax.
A little real talk. Most of us are butchers on our surf crafts.
We either go too slow, too fast, we’re too loose, too stiff, our cutbacks are too far on the face or we pointlessly launch into the air.
At some point, surely, a surfer recognises the futility of time and money wasted and moves towards a pursuit that suits his failings. Golf, for instance, or wandering, ever so sadly, around shopping centres on Saturday mornings with wives who long stopped reciprocating affection or desire, who feign sleep in bed, whose bodies stiffen at your touch.
Which is why the clip below elevates my heart rate and kicks my spirits into the skies. Surf like the Hawaiian prince Kai Lenny on a hydro-foil and… best part… no skill necessary!
The electric flying surfboard’s inventor Nicholas Leason explains his vision:
To harness the power of a wave and surf like a bird, although extremely rewarding, is difficult. Not because riding a foil is hard, but controlling the source -flying a kite or surfing a wave- takes skill. To harness that type of power and gain excellent control is something that may take years to master.
So I set out to make it easy.
I started with the simple task of strapping an electric motor to our foils. My team and I took some parts we had in the shop, cut holes in them, bought some parts off the shelf and pretty much duct-taped pieces together. It took some tweaking, but eventually we got our first ride of about 50 feet.
From that moment on, I was possessed. Imagine taking someone that has never dreamt of surfing, deep powder snowboarding or flying. A person that doesn’t live the extreme lifestyle and within minutes they feel it all. They’re soaring like a bird, carving butter smooth turns and experiencing the freedom of flying through the freeways of the ocean, rivers or lakes. That was my goal, but what I thought would take a year to build took a whole lot more.
Anyway, took a few years, but the company Lift Foils is taking pre-orders for their electric flying surfboards. They cost twelve thousand American dollars, plus shipping and tax, and you gotta sling ’em a six-gee deposit to show ’em you’re serious.
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This thing has the simplicity of genius. Completely quiet, flying above the water at 25 mph? Just the idea of building the prop and motor into the foil underwater with only the battery in the body of the craft and wireless controller is a breakthrough.
I hope they’re planning on scaling this up bigly. If this thing was $3000 they could sell hundreds of thousands of them.
This is at least the future of personal watercraft. Make a 2 foil version you ride like a cycle/jet ski and a 3 foil electric speedboat. This is the way larger hydrofoils should be built too, all electric, propulsion pods in the foils, flying well above the surface with nothing piercing the water besides a minimized strut.
Why is this SUCH a frowned on technology? Ever hop on a jetski or waverunner? Yes? Well then you’re guilty of whatever part of whatever horrible man made thing it is that you object to. PLUS, it doesn’t pollute or make noise!!
It’s not replacing surfing just another way to get on the water and shred without getting beat to death in the chop. I’ve surfed all my life and now, as I’m getting older and can’t, it might be a good way to get out there a little. The price will come down once it gets more popular like everything else does
I can see why people don’t want it in the Ocean clogging up the beaches, but for those of us the are land locked and have lakes to play on this could be an awesome device. The price point is just double what it should be . $4-6K maybe. $12K no way.
Mmm, I’ma gonna say more like dystopia.
can always go the cheaper route: https://www.youtube.com/wat…
“Golf, for instance, or wandering, ever so sadly, around shopping centres on Saturday mornings with wives who long stopped reciprocating affection or desire, who feign sleep in bed, whose bodies stiffen at your touch.”
Ha. As if surfing is somehow harder than golf.
Reminds me of the Wavejet which cost $7000 to lease and you had many restrictions of use such as no out of country travel. Where are they now?
I would buy that shit if the decimal point moved to the left a little bit. Maybe Walmart will come out with a Chinese knock off.
I don’t think anybody where I live will buy one of these things since most people around here don’t spend that much on a car.
Looks epic for inshore tuna trolling…..wonder how it would handle a high speed hook-up.
The fleshlight of surfing ?
Yes this certainly is perfect for all the people who do not live the extreme lifestyle.
Made for “A person that doesn’t live the extreme lifestyle”; lol, wtf.
Just re-brand it the ‘Given Up’.
Respect to that honest branding.
America’s Cup are 2 words I never figured would be used on BeachGrit. Of course, Laird Hamilton and menstruation were never 2 words I figured would be used in the same sentence here either. Good on you Seas nail! How’s ‘ai kukae a make Zuckerberg Rooster Sanctuary goin?
I was disappointed when the foil didn’t hit a submerged pier piling and throw him headfirst into the pier at 25mph.
Yep, gotta admit, even though I knew it was advertising for the thing, I was still hoping the pier would get him. That superior wave to the crowd who were clearly telling him to fuck off got me more than the price tag.
I was a bit disappointed his toes weren’t tapping along to the Frank Sinatra swinging soundtrack.
Surely ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ would have been a more appropriate choice. You know, with the price and all.
Laird endorsed this water craft as the preferred board for menstruating women.
I saw one of these things at Ponto yesterday… guy was trying to wrangle one back into his car. No one was helping him.
The vid is killer, it looks like a hood ornament…
Not our beloved Ponto… Love to see someone try to takeoff on one of those in the middle of the pack in front the south jetty. Much like looking for a Great White shark at lowers, someone has to scan all the hours of the Ponto Surfline rewind and get the video.
I loved this line from the advert… “…flying through the freeways of the ocean…” if that isn’t the best visual imagery for most of our best surf spots I don’t know what is.
“At some point, surely, a surfer recognises the futility of time and
money wasted and moves towards a pursuit that suits his failings. Golf,
for instance, or wandering, ever so sadly, around shopping centres on
Saturday mornings with wives who long stopped reciprocating affection or
desire, who feign sleep in bed, whose bodies stiffen at your touch.”
Love the intro. If you string enough of these together, you’ve got the makings of a Evelyn Waugh novel.
Since this wavedancing machine was not endorsed by Laird, I will not purchase it.
Amen brother.
I know I’m supposed to hate this, but all I can see is a really cool shark-chopping device.
Great, another watercraft for people who aren’t watermen/women. I’m really good friends with Yu Sumitomo (No kook), and after hearing his description of his injury in detail, it mortifies me that “Yes, kooks” have another way to blindly enter our playground. If these things catch on the Apocalypse has surely dawned.
Anyone see foil boards in their lineups? I’ve only seen these used far away from anyone else. Hopefully the lineup will regulate this faster than a London drop in.
Yes an the cunt was outta control pretty much the whole time. Thankfully he was only visiting.
The Kook Apocalypse, where Charlie don’t surf, he foil boards!
the future is here its just not evenly distributed
Hmmmm……..that’s odd
The high price will ensure that only totally entitled cunts will be acting like totally entitled cunts on these.