Fliteboard or Lift?

eFoil
27

I did get a 5’0 Lift with a 170 wing. It’s been a lot of fun! I’ve heard the mast on the Fliteboard is sharp, and I’ve found that between carrying the board from the car to the water and maneuvering it to get out in the surf, I tend to hold the mast a lot, I’m glad I went with the Lift.

If I were to change two things, I’ve found that when I had a couple minor issues (e.g., battery wouldn’t charge all the way and the website didn’t make clear doing a battery reset is the thing to try), Lift’s not the most responsive company. They tend not to reply to emails, and often when you call, there’s no answer.

I’ve also noticed a little rust on the bolts that hold the mast to the board (I ride in saltwater, remove the mast each session, and do spray it all down with freshwater). I’m surprised those parts weren’t titanium or something completely rust proof.

28

I ended up getting the Lift 5’ too and really have enjoyed it. No rust issues but rising in freshwater only so far. I am lucky to have a local rep in central Florida who has been very responsive.

29

Here is a direct comparison:

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Very good video and covers well the differences in the design of the boards.

From what I understood they are Lift dealers and rentals and work with Lift many years but were impressed with Fliteboard experience as well.

I wish they had more time with flite to give more details on comparison of the riding style.

31

For me it looks like Lift is still ahead. The recent announcement from Flite sounds a little bit like copy cats. “Look, we have it now as well”. I am interested what Lift will announce for 2021 …

32

Is this a game changer? Looks very promising what Lift Foils announced today:

33

I am a big fan of Lift. They were the first one on the market and did not stop to improve. Now in the 3rd generation. As far as I can tell they have sold more eFoils than all their competitors together. They are an inventor with innovations such as the folding prop and so many wing options. Super robust and reliable.

Fliteboard is certainly second in line, but be careful with Takuma, Waydoo and other cheap solutions. They have too many disappointed customers. As you can see here in the forum and several Facebook groups. You get what you pay for.

Just my 2 cents …

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Wh would you say that fliteboard is second in line and not on pair?

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There is no first or second in line… there are fans of each brand and it’s normal. Mac vs PC… iPhone vs Android. Windows vs Linux… Pepsi vs Cola… This will never stop.

Lift is really great in terms of robust technology, sturdy materials, good selection of wings, silent motor.
Fliteboard is very innovative in terms of unified fuselage and motor is so small and aligned with the wings which makes it so easy to foil and no connectors inside the board except 2 power cable. (in lift we have cooling cables, 3 power cables and 1 data cable with many small pins that can break. )

Takuma seems very good but i hear a lot of problems in customer service not replying fast. Waydoo oh well we all know on other topic about quiality issues but I know a lot of local waydoo users who enjoy and ride it every day. Most of those broken masts happy probably because the rider is too heavy for such a weak construction. All my friends are very ligthweight 50-70 kg and did not have any issues with it.

36

@Joshua, did you figure this out? We were out in LA last week (we’re from UK) we did a session with Sam at OC Foil (Newport Beach) he runs a Flite school but is also a dealer, I believe he either currently has stock or has some boards coming in very soon… so if you’re still looking its worth having a chat with him as he’s super helpful check out www.ocfoil.com or call him on (949) 520-0830
Hope that helps :slight_smile:

37

Hi, yeah, I purchased the Lift 5’ a couple years ago and have been quite happy with it!

1 Like
38

Compare Flite and Lift 2022 models side by side:

39

Very helpful video and side by side unboxing always helps!

40

Wondering about the two community sizes if Lift has really sold more?

Fliteboard Owner
Fliteboard Owner810×520 157 KB

Lift Foils Owner
Lift Foils Owner794×502 111 KB

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Social media gives conflicting signals… for example fliteboard has much bigger Instagram but smaller youtube presence. Fliteboard is also more effective in Email marketing and media presence, they have established newsletter.

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While I agree with social media it’s hard to judge I do feel with an owners group that the majority of subscribers are either owners or seriously considering one. Even if there are some tyre kickers in there Flite is 4 times the size!!

43

From one of the Facebook groups:

Would love to hear your reasons for the switch from Lift to Flite. I routinely ride with a buddy who chose to go with Lift because of an undesirable reseller experience. Things happen and everyone has to make their own decisions.

We have swapped efoils a few time and I have made a few 👎🏼and 👍🏼observations:

👎🏼Observations

1 - Lift runs out of battery much more quickly

2 - Lift remote is large and provides very little information

3 - Lift has no safety mechanism and when powered up propellor operates any time the trigger is pulled at any angle ⚠️

4 - Collection of cables and water cooling seems like a hassle

5 - Lid seal seems to be a pain in the ass to open both pre and post ride

6 - Propellor breach is not as gentle or manageable

👍🏼Observations

1 - Lift does not require any maintenance schedule (additional customer expenses) within the 2 year warranty period

Definition of a warranty and common understanding for most vehicles means manufacturer replaces faulty items at no cost.

My buddy has had a few things fail and all repairs were handled at zero cost and Lift definitely seems to be supporting their warranty without enforcing any preventative maintenance

2 - Lift remote seems to allow you to preset a gear and progressively pull the trigger when starting up

Not a big issue but might be a nice to have for experienced riders to not always be required to start on gear 1 and toggle up to get planing

3 - For riders in North America supply chain and transportation delays do not seem as troublesome

I am very pleased with my choice to purchase both a Pro and Ultra setup and there are numerous reasons why I think Flite is a better product. These were just some differences I noticed based upon the couple times I have ridden Lift and comments that I have heard from a Lift owner.

44

I will comment as independent rider…

1 - Lift runs out of battery much more quickly

Though I agree Flite is more efficient and gives up to 15-20% more battery life, I would not call it “MUCH MORE”… Especially with high aspect wings you can get a lot of battery life from lift as well.

2 - Lift remote is large and provides very little information

When you ride the board you barely need any information except the remaining charge. Main advantage is you don’t need to worry about charging Lift remote.
So many times i came to the beach with a dead fliteboard remote that I forgot to charge.

3 - Lift has no safety mechanism and when powered up propellor operates any time the trigger is pulled at any angle :warning:

It’s not true, with their last updates they have same safety features…
Additionally Lift wings, mast and folding prop is much smoother and don’t have sharp corners like Flite’s

Collection of cables and water cooling seems like a hassle

yes if you plan to disassemble it each time. But majority of users never disassemble the mast so it’s irrelevant.
But I agree Flite is much more advanced in tech and it is also lighter little bit because of that.

Lid seal seems to be a pain in the ass to open both pre and post ride

The “stuck lid” issue is related to pressure and temperature difference and not related to the brand. Flite has same issue with the lid getting stuck from time to time. Simply let it rest for half an hour and then pull one of the lockers. worst case dissasemble the mast and depressurize…

Propellor breach is not as gentle or manageable

Normally after few sessions you learn to never breach, it’s non-issue for any pro rider.
However,
If you do rentals - Fliteboard is much better with their Inflatable option and easier to learn.

Lift does not require any maintenance schedule (additional customer expenses) within the 2 year warranty period

I think having good maintenance schedule is rather advantage of Flite. It’s like saying “I don’t need to go to dentist in 3 years” - how is that good? The more often you check, the more issues you can prevent. Both companies have awesome post sale support and service!

Not a big issue but might be a nice to have for experienced riders to not always be required to start on gear 1 and toggle up to get planing

I’ll be honest I prefer Lift idea of no locking and no gears instead of changing gears. I do not like idea of remote getting locked up, it’s good for complete beginners but for pro riders it’s just annoying. Especially in waves I want to get started as fast as possible.

To summarize - Fliteboard is much more advanced in technology and efficiency but some things I prefer from lift (their simplicity of remote, ability to change wings with their non-efoil traditional foil boards, it’s less sharp, their folding prop seems having less drag than true glide etc)

The both boards are amazing top choices and you can’t go wrong with any of them.

45

I am also interested in this comparison. I am beginner and still don’t have any efoil. I think the best choice I can make is between this two brands.

I like Lift but my main concern is with the battery I saw a lot of posts and videos about faulty batterys and the battery is the most expensive part.

My main concern with Fliteboard is the sharp edges, It doesn’t sound and look very safe, and I imagine a lot of bad scenarios.

Can you give me more feedback on this topics?

46

Yes seems like Fliteboard battery is safer and much better and more advanced in technology, I have not heard of any major issues with them. It’s also cheaper.

Fliteboard wings are very sharp on edges and the metal mast is more sharp vs little smoother carbon fiber of Lift. The folding prop is also more smooth vs Fliteboard’s prop which is sharper. Fliteboard also makes little bit of high pitch noise and Lift is more silent.

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