20 July 202530:16755 views on YouTubeWatch on YouTube
Almost nobody rides both major eFoil brands back to back on the same water on the same day, which is why the comparison usually happens in forum arguments rather than in practice. This episode is an exception. The interview also goes to Joe Larson, a broadcast journalism student who knows nothing about the sport and therefore asks the questions that need asking. Dave Hickey of Fliteboard dealer Glyde Watersports answers them.
Digital versus organic: two boards, two characters
Two boards were ridden: a Fliteboard Pro, five feet long and 67 litres, on a Flyer 800 wing and a 75 centimetre mast, and the Ultra L2 with a Wave 1000 wing. The Pro is the intermediate option, stable and still playful. The Ultra L2 is the one that provokes a reaction. It is very light and very narrow, and the description offered is that you almost think about turning and the turn has happened. That lightness cuts both ways: picking up a Lift Pro straight afterwards felt like lifting something chained to the ground. The summary reached on the water is worth carrying into any brand argument. Fliteboard rides digital and modern, close to on and off, power arriving instantly. Lift rides organic, smoother and gentler, with real inertia because there is real weight. Neither is better. They are boards for different riders.
Jet drive lag is a real thing you can feel
The Ultra L2 in this test had jet propulsion, and the verdict is mixed. The jet is safer and smoother, less torquey off the bottom, and for that reason genuinely better for learning a new board. But running a slalom course exposed the delay clearly, and after enough practice runs to be comfortable, the throttle still would not answer as fast as the rider wanted. The stated preference for that riding is a fixed prop that can be dug into a turn, and the dealer’s suggested rematch is a Flow 900 with a prop on the same board. The trade is response against smoothness, and which side you want depends on whether you are learning or racing.
Five seasons of batteries, and what ownership really costs
The opening question is the one every buyer worries about, and the answer is unusually clean. In five seasons of business, no customer has brought back a battery that stopped working, and the original demo board from four or five years ago is still in weekly use on its original battery. Charging one of these costs cents per session. Set that against a boat with its trailer, gas, winterization and storage, and the arithmetic that looks bad on a showroom sticker looks very different. Four friends water skiing over a weekend each get twenty or thirty minutes. An eFoil owner gets an hour off two batteries, then goes again after lunch.
Why the sport is still invisible
The most revealing part of the conversation is how early this market still is. At a boat show, most people walking past assume they are looking at a pump foil rather than a powered board, and a manufacturer survey in 2024 suggested the overwhelming majority of the population has no idea what an eFoil is. The barrier, both parties agree, is not price but perception of value, and the only fix is getting feet on boards. Hence a dealer model built on radio-coached lessons, where most people ride within roughly thirty to forty five minutes, a free lesson with every purchase given on the customer’s own lake and own board, and community rides that move between lakes. One detail sums up why the sport spreads once people see it: fishermen wave eFoilers closer instead of shooing them off.
Subscribe on YouTube Every episode
