FWIW, I ended up getting a Lift and am really enjoying it. It can be heavy to carry over distances and a little awkward to get out of a shore break, and I appreciate that the mast isn’t that sharp. I personally find I naturally take my finger off the throttle when I fall. Best safety tip I’ve found is when you’re off the board, put the control in the opposite hand so that it’s “outside.” E.g., I’m right handed so I have the strap on the right and then the control fits in my hand. When I’m off/paddling back/getting on, if I put it on my left hand, the control’s on the left side of my left hand so my finger doesn’t sit on the trigger. That means I don’t accidentally squeeze it/power up.
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Thanks man for sharing your experience and awesomely simple safety tip. I’ve just re-read what Lift writes about their safety features and I’ve found something I haven’t noticed before: “Controller… shuts off your board if it’s submerged in water” …Any experience with that? So if you fall, it should cut off the power…?
@Jetsurfingnation Mate I understood you have a Fliteboard, can I please ask you to comment on my safety question above? (Looks like Flite is in minority around here, heh) Especially on the sharp mast & wing edges …some people say they can easily cut you, I mean… really so sharp??
Dr3aMakr
It’s very hard to find any information that is unbiased. What i see lately is a fight of the flite vs lift dealers going on everywhere. Each trying to trash other group…
I do have a fliteboard but i am not a dealer so I dont care what you will buy. I got flite because lift was not presented well in europe last year. now it changes.
Yes it is sharp. very sharp. I use the wetsuite and rubber booties ALL the time when i use it and i still hit myself almost every time when I pack the board, carry the board and put it into the watter. Not a big deal if you are in the wetsuite.
I honestly dont remember if lift is same sharp or not, i did not use it much and did not pay attention on how sharp it is, probably all foils are same sharp.
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Appreciate the honesty mate, thanks!
Josha and Dr3aMakr, been following the conversation with almost identical questions.
Dr3aMakr, Did you decide on a board? If so, how has it been?
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.
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.
Here is a direct comparison:
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.
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 …
Is this a game changer? Looks very promising what Lift Foils announced today:
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 …
Wh would you say that fliteboard is second in line and not on pair?
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.
@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 
Hi, yeah, I purchased the Lift 5’ a couple years ago and have been quite happy with it!
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Compare Flite and Lift 2022 models side by side:
Very helpful video and side by side unboxing always helps!
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.