WindyBear forum posts in last 60 days

Ok so after some deliberation I decided to sell my Foil Drive because it just wasn’t delivering for me. Living in Norway on a coast with wind-driven short period swell where the the swell dies when the wind dies, I just feel the parawing is such a better tool than a foil drive. With the original intention to learn downwinding with foil drive , I just felt it did not deliver the goods for me.

here’s what I learnt from my short 8-month stint with the Foil drive:

- it’s noisy as hell 😂
- maintenance is surprisingly easy and is not the main disadvantages
- integrated mast reduces drag but does not eliminate it completely
- the box underneath creates a lot of drag and IMO is a deal breaker when it comes to thinking of using FD only as a backup / safety tool for long offshore parawing or wing - powered sessions
- no matter what anyone says, you absolutely feel the weight underneath you and it is a significant disadvantage IMO
- batteries are a real fire risk as a post on Progression project forum demonstrated
- flat water pump foiling with foil drive is actually quite boring 😂

Add it all up and for my conditions it just ended up being a big expensive distraction. I recuperated 60% of purchasing value which I am very happy about.

If I were to advise someone now about foil drive I would say: it probably is a fantastic tool for windless but swell rich regions where you want to go wave riding or downwind foiling. For all other disciplines I am quite skeptical and actually I think Foil Drive oversells the benefits of the system for downwind foiling, learning to Sup foil, pump foiling etc . Maybe wake thieving on a lake too there is some benefit to it. But anywhere there is wind I would say: think very carefully before an expensive purchase like this.


not to bash foil drive which is a great tool for certain conditions but I see too little focus on the potential downsides in all the social media being pumped out by the shops and influencers out there.


Some free advice for anyone willing to listen 😉

Reading through the posts and trying to work out where the v2 silks sit vs the enduros:

- v2’s offer just a bit less glide than the enduros
- can get just as much glide as Enduros if you size down / pair with other tails
- mast need to be moved up the board for compared to other wings

so I guess if you want an ultra playful but still glidey foil the v2s are your ticket. BUT at the expense of having the skills to handle smaller or more advanced tails such as the UG series or other? And the tradeoffs with the enduro being that with an enduro you can get the same glide but with less skill needed. Did I interpret this right?


Was eyeing an enduro 700 or 800 for both winging and very high power wind / big but short period swell parawinging to complement my e1000 and e1300 based on BWalnuts review of the e700. But wondering if a silk 750 would be better choice now.


ah, the endless gear choices 😅

Thanks Jeroensurf and Foilthegreats - interesting. Seems the UG41 shines best with the small sized wings. Planning a first ‘offshore’ Parawing downwinder for my next session so may stick to what I know best for the time being!

BWalnut said..
Congrats on the progress! Soon you'll be measuring progression by 10 minute marks.

ug41 is an awesome glider that will outsurf your HA and the skinny 80 is a super fun and slippery mast. Both great upgrades for your kit.

The new ultra 600 is insane but I haven't tried the 750 or 900. I'd expect ridiculous glide out of that 900.

10 minutes would be amazing! Let’s see how it progresses. Thanks for the tips for the gear. uG41 sounds like a no-brainer choice 👍

Look what just showed up. Answered my question!

impressive, transparent, well communicated. Takes the guesswork out of it. Well done Sroka.

Wait have we come full circle back to kiting? I’m not a kiter but this looks very kite-ish….