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!!
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.
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
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.
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?
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.
1 Like
After changing from Lift Foils to Fliteboard about a year ago here is my latest view on this topic:
Brilliant work Adreas, thanks ror another great article, extremely informative. I would like to know what Flite has planned for the 2023 model’s update. I’m getting ready to upgrade my 2019 Fliteboard. Was interested in the Audie Etron but its not available in Australia.
Have a good one mate.
Ron
Thanks a lot, @GLUMAN. I am not allowed to share any updates about the 2023 Fliteboards yet. Stay tuned for a couple of weeks.
Thank you for a detailed article
here is a comparison we did with Andreas in Summer: Lift vs Fliteboard vs Audi
