DownWinding with Foil Drive - I love it, but there's a catch

Foil Drive is the BEST way to learn to DW foil. ...but when is it time to pull the plug?

[@gcammar]

Agree about all the limitations of the Foil Drive gen2. What most people don't know is that, as long as you have a board big enough that you can stand on it (with the help of cruise control speed) and you manage to place the battery box in between your feet, the Foil Drive Plus is far superior imo. Here's just a couple of the many reasons why I think that: - I can place the pod as close as 10cm from the bottom of the board (closer than that and it cavitates). That means that, even with a 75cm mast, my pod NEVER touches the water while flying. Not even need for tape at that height. - I can use a small battery and the total weight is WAY less than a Max (or even a Slim!) My board is 4.10x26x85Lx10pounds. Thanks to the fact that I help the take-off with paddling, I can use as small of a foil as I can handle. This video shows an epic run in Maui with an F-One Eagle 690: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGObe3ecaLKcp8k I've done hundreds of runs like this (starting with an Eagle 890 and then progressing to the 690) and the Foil Drive was absolutely key for my skill improvement. At this point, I could easily get a barracuda style board and do downwinders unassisted, but I have no intentions to do so because I would need a bigger foil (at least 1000) to get up. What's better a 4.10 board with a 690 foil or a 8 footer with 1000 foil? No brainer for me! Cheers.

[@boardmeetingusa9405]

Great edition of the Foil Brothers (from another mother). All great points. Ultimately you want to be able to paddle up at will. It's the journey that can be a pain in the XXX. Keep these coming Foil Brothers.

[@Foiljourney]

awesome rundown guys. hope I make it back to the west coast one day to ride with you guys again. Patrick was my sensei for a day before my first Chicama trip.

[@thefoilshop6371]

Can't wait! Let us know when you get back out this way!

[@kylemaligro]

Yeah boys, good stuff! Foil Drive is cool, but in my opinion it really shouldn’t be used for downwinding. Foiling is expensive already, and to add one of those to the quiver is next level bucks and the main thing to me is downwinding is a fricken journey, hardest thing I’ve ever done, and the suffering and pain is all a part of it and through that you learn the most. For those of you trying to get into it, keep going, head down. You’ll get it eventually and experience one of the coolest things you can do on water. 🤙🏾

[@stefanfuhrmann-wt3zd]

Hey guys, I disagree on that. I am using a 90cm mast, which I also use for winging, and it gives me enough range to ride without touching with the motor, most of the time. Using a 20cm cable length. Yeah, the cost is obviously a tough one. But I can use my same wing/prone board Duotone Sky Surf 4'6" for surfing and Downwinding. On a 1000cm Whizz Duotone which I just found out is amazing for Downwinding and Wake thieving and surfing slow and small waves, thanks to Foildrive. So instead of buying a DW Board and Foil, paddle, (bigger car😉) I got the Foildrive. But I respect your ethics of wanting to paddle!

[@ozoneflysurfer9491]

I see the foil assist as a tool to get out to the wind line and ride a small board but once out there its a hinderence. My question about the new downwind board shapes is there a downwind board that's stable enough to comfortably stand up and paddle out 2 miles (not on foil) in chop to the wind line and swell and still be efficient enough to pop up ? My only experience is on the KT Dragonfly 7'7 x20 @160lb and when it's choppy it's not very efficient or stable enough to go the distance.

[@foilwithmefoil90]

The new generation of longer DW boards will for sure make that more manageable. But, paddling 2 miles In Choppy water will never be fun

[@patrikol]

The catch is about 10000 usd. For most people I guess!

[@onquarter]

What is instead of using a foil drive you use a wing? Just do a couple down-wingers until you know the bumps, then switch to the paddle?

[@thefoilshop6371]

I find it extremely hard to downwind while managing the wing. That was my strategy at first. I wasn’t going to use Foildrive at all. I was just gonna use the wing and learn how to ride the bumps before learning to paddle up. For some reason that just didn’t work well for me.

[@onquarter]

@@thefoilshop6371yeah the wing is always in front of you so it’s hard to see. But if you can do it with a wing in your way, you can probably do it without? And you certainly save yourself $5k haha

[@janschenk85]

Nice talk, thanks. What's ur recommendation for a 77Kg intermed, DW on lake, short small bumps, still learning Board?

[@thefoilshop6371]

Are you using Foildrive, or no?

[@janschenk85]

@@thefoilshop6371 Without...?

[@foilwithmefoil90]

The barracuda from KT is a fan favorite here. Fornthat weight the 115L would be solid for you for sure. I believe the first gen shapes are on sale now through the shop. Hit up Josh to get a price if you’re thinking of grabbing a board 🤙🏼

[@punchleasure]

Wait. FD isn’t the most amazing tool for everyone from noobs to pros?! But, nearly all the influencers are using it all the time now, right? 😂 Thanks for the honesty, guys! Following. 👊🏽

[@DigitalPosion]

You missed a big point about foil drive enabling you to get up wind on motor without using a car.