I was lying on my stomach, floating on the Ashley River on what appeared to be a surfboard until I pressed a couple of buttons on the remote-control unit strapped to my wrist. I started to glide across the water’s surface, and then I pushed myself up into a standing position. After getting used to controlling the movement of the board by shifting weight between my front and back foot, I pressed down slightly with my back foot, and suddenly I was flying.
Foiling is the next big thing in water toys, and Fliteboard is leading the way with its series of e-foils—battery-powered hydrofoils that, once you work through a small learning curve, literally let you fly through the air as the foil underneath knifes through the water and lifts you above the surface. It’s like surfing without a good swell or wakesurfing without a boat, but the foil underneath adds that extra dynamic that makes it so exciting to play with.
David Trewern, Fliteboard’s founder, first started conceptualizing the idea for an e-foil in Australia in 2016, and first brought the unit to the US in 2019. I got to test one at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in the fall of that year, and instantly thought it was one of the coolest experiences I’ve had. There was one catch: The price tag for it was around $20,000, keeping it out of reach for most watersports enthusiasts, save for wealthy yacht owners looking to add to their toy collection. Brunswick bought Fliteboard in 2023, realizing its potential appeal, and set out to make it more accessible. Soon after, Fliteboard introduced the Flite Air, a beginner-friendly model with a board made from a soft but rigid foam board, as opposed to the more advanced carbon-fiber boards, that starts at $6,995. It’s similar to the original model I tested in 2019, and offers greater stability for first-time users…