Do I need a Foil Drive Gen 2 ? An honest review & test !

An honest review and some further thoughts on the new Foil Drive Gen 2. Should you get one yourself? What's better for me: Max or Slim battery? Watch the video and find out!
A big thanks to ‪@stephank6580‬ for letting me have a go at his new Foil Drive Gen 2 Electric Assist Kit with the Max Power battery.
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[@Megahegs]

Been using one a mate lent me for a bit. To be honest, im not feeling it. I think i miss the au naturale aspect of foiling, the silence and the light feel of a nice board and foil combo.

[@hoppline]

Absolutely with you !! Nothing beats my super light MIO / Sabfoil PIUMA setup and I wish there was a way to catch more waves on this set. I can ladder start it into tanker waves but I do have to nail the start and once I fall it's all over. Jetski is a little over kill in my eyes and my solution is the FOIL DRIVE SLIM with Performance battery. For riding tanker waves I so much prefer it over the MAX and it allows me to go out on even smaller front wings than the ones I can ladder start. If you can try the SLIM and you might fell the difference. It does really get close to that pure super light board and foil feeling and for me it does the trick.

[@ozoneflysurfer9491]

I've been watching your videos great content! You definitely don't need a Foildrive. I owned 2 Foildrives V1 and V1.5 and sold them. They were good for what they were intended for downwinding. But honestly if you already know how to foil and pump and have waves wind or a paddle you don't need one. Especially since you have a downwind board that already catches everything

[@hoppline]

Hey, for 95% of my foiling you are absolutely right! I don't need a foil drive! But like I said in my video, there's a very specific 5% where a foil drive would be very handy: Approaching tanker waves here on my local river. I can dock or ladder start into the waves, which works fine, but once I crash, the wave is lost. There's only a few good tankers a day, so I can't just go back and catch the next one. That's what I bought the Downwinder for, but the waves are really small and close together, so they are hard to catch. Unfortunately I still need a Leviathan 1150 to get me up on foil and once I am on a wave I do need something faster. A Foil Drive would allow me to start on a smaller frontwing and catch up with the tanker after a crash. So in the end I would get a lot more riding time and practice hopefully leading to me being able to do the same without the foil drive one day. I do use a small wing instead of a Foil Drive but for this I need wind and I do miss out on those glassy days. All very specific and absolutely questionable if it's worth getting a Foil Drive. Time will tell (-: .... and of course the household treasures and how good I can hide the expense from my wife (-:

[@foildrive]

Awesome video! Thank so much for sharing your open and honest thoughts and feelings about it! Let's get in contact and see if we can work together more 😊 -Ben

[@hoppline]

Got in contact with Dominic, maybe he can fill you in?! Would love to do more in depth videos on this topic!!!!

[@tedp3408]

I used the foil drive gen 1 to learn winging. I did not want to do the walk of shame or slog around. After 20 sessions I sold it. It was fun learning winging that way.

[@hoppline]

Exactly my point. Thanks for sharing your experience !!

[@boardmeetingusa9405]

Really great review and tips. Thank you also for the "Kaohi Leash" exposure. FD is amazing - wing, DW, surf, lake etc. anytime. 🙌

[@hoppline]

Not on purpose....but it's been a pleasure

[@Alex_Kuzmin]

Hey, when you said about investing instead of a bigger board - you forgot very important point - to sell not used board ))) Lol, first time seen so expensive toys sold like an investment!

[@hoppline]

Hahah, thought someone would come back to me on this one (-: You are right, but selling a used beginner board usually burns a lot of money. You could by a used one in the first place to prevent the loss, but the actual point I wanted to make is, that buying a foil drive is an investment and you will get a good amount in return once you are ready to sell it ... if you manage to let go (-:

[@charleschandler6669]

Excellent review. Thanks for sharing.

[@hoppline]

THANKX (-: If you have any further questions, just let me know. If took a deep dive into the MAX and SLIM the last couple of months.

[@Foilfun]

It's foiling insurance!! FD is overpriced but worth every dime. 😁

[@hoppline]

Looking at all my foil gear it's often the more expensive parts that give me the most joy.

[@MACkiteboarding]

Nailed it Nico! Completely agree. We've been riding both and the MAX is definitely the shop favorite. -Tucker

[@hoppline]

🔥🔥

[@slappysurf]

Any reason the Max is the fav Tucker? I'd expect for people like this the Slim be the way to go

[@hoppline]

@@slappysurf From my perspective: Can't beat range !! The slim is just a tat cheaper and I guess the drag from the slightly larger housing can be neglected. The Foil Drive Gen 2 has more than enough power to get you on foil no matter what version you choose. In my eyes the only reason to opt for the Slim is weight, making your whole set a little more agile and responsive, but sacrificing range and versatility. Guess most clients will go for the MAX, just because it offers such a broad spectrum of use. Now it's Tuckers turn @MACkiteboarding

[@MACkiteboarding]

@@slappysurf I thought I'd be all about the slim but the extra range and versatility of the max is a nice thing to have. I don't find the slim has any notable advantage in weight or dimension when I am riding anyway. -Tucker

[@flywithandryx-tw9zk]

if you can afford it?!... the price is really insane..

[@hoppline]

Yep, it's a steep investment and I am not sure if and when I will pull the trigger. But on the other hand it really opens up a whole new potential. I guess in a few month we will see a growing second hand market....maybe that's the way to go for some people.

[@slappysurf]

Which Axis front wing were you guys using? Thanks for the review!

[@hoppline]

Hey, we were using a Axis PNG 1150, a front wing I only tested briefly. For me it could have been a smaller wing and a lighter board with less volume but my Foil Drive journey is just about to begin. Lots of things to test and find out

[@Stanton_High]

Yes you need it. Plz sponsor me foil drive!

[@hoppline]

Your comment alone should be worth a set (-:

[@Stanton_High]

Has anyone backflipped a foil drive? I'll take that challenge

[@hoppline]

@@Stanton_High Hahaha....I bet someone tried but love to see you give it a go!

[@youdigsurf]

damn im jealous, i would take one if i had the budget, or a stoke foil boost one . will be realy usefull for surf foil or working on pumping without dock , i totaly agree with you you can separate steps for progression, it's a quick way of progressing for week end warrior for sure.

[@hoppline]

Exactly! Never hear the expression "week and warrior" before but that's exactly what it is (-: !!

[@slappysurf]

@@hoppline It's "Weekend" (Saturday+Sunday) :P It means those of us who work 5 days a week and are lucky to get out one day on the weekend.

[@hoppline]

@@slappysurf ..... THANKS !! Got it ... giving away my german heritage. Weekend warrior makes sense and I thought @youdigsurf was suggesting that a Foil Drive is a great tool for the "weak and warrior" .... meaning beginners and experts alike

[@Little_waterman]

Very cool video 🤌🏼

[@hoppline]

Thanks....more to come 🙏🤘

[@johans8597]

Really the best review on this, now I need one!

[@hoppline]

🙏 Thanks ! There's going to be more once I get back on my feet!

[@windaddict]

I really hope they can bring the price down

[@hoppline]

That's what I thought for a long time. But at the same time we all want a premium product, long range, convenient use, state of the art technology, app control and fine tuning, all packed in a small package. I know it's a steep price and a tuff decision, but I rather have a great product at a more expensive price than something that I struggle with for a bargain. At the end, all my foiling gear is super expensive. I look at it that way: If I spend a lot of money on something, it really needs to give something back to me. Whatever it is, it needs to make my life easier, faster, more convenient or just add joy to whatever I do. The higher the price is, the more I asked in return. In terms of Foil Drive I think you have to ask yourself how much it will help you, how many more sessions will you have, how much will your learning curve benefit? Very personal questions! If I do the math for me, a Foil Drive Session will cost me less than a visit to the movies and at the same time giving me heaps more joy and fun. I am really much looking forward to those perfect flat and glassy summer days, using Foil Drive to catch some perfectly clean tanker wave and utilize days that other wise would have been wasted (in terms of surfing). But that's me.....I would kill for a session (-: ....especially now, that I broke my feet.

[@hoppline]

Hey, just a quick question? Did you delete your first comment or did youtube deleted it? I just want to make sure that an opinion (within the rules of normal behavior) get's out here and is not blocked (-:

[@joostgolsteyn3193]

Overpriced big time

[@drcool56]

Thanks from France

[@hoppline]

You are welcome....way more to come shortly

[@FrederickAGUILAR-ym9yb]

Hi, for your own use, would you prefer the slim or the max?

[@hoppline]

Hey, for my personal, very specific use I would go with the slim Drive and the Performance battery (corrected from "sports" battery thanks to @davewestfoils reply 👍) with short cone. I would trade in range for less weight and max punch. My goal would be to get some support for catching tanker waves and ride with a maximum light set up without assist. I would go up stream on the river with the possibility of drifting back with the current.....so very specific.

[@davewestfoils]

Do you mean the Slim with the Performance Battery? The Sport is only with the max.@@hoppline

[@hoppline]

@@davewestfoils Yes! Sorry, my fault. The only reason I would go for Performance instead of Endurance would be 40 volt compared to 24 volt.

[@rolotomassi3197]

How much ist EXPENSIVE?

[@hoppline]

Depends on the set and battery, but roughly 5000 Euros in Europe. The set we were testing will set you back 5500 Euros.

[@rolotomassi3197]

A bargain 😅🤑

[@hoppline]

@@rolotomassi3197 😂😂.....for sure!