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 😉

It's good to hear honest opinions and we should be more appreciative of them.

About a year ago I had a FD setup several times in the shopping basket and super convinced to get it. I had watched dozens of FD videos and all positive about the usecases. And then there was this video on YT (can't find it now) that talked about the neverending spending you do after buying the basic setup, which was an eye-opener for me.

A year later, and not having bought it and witnessing all the flow of new bits to market, I'm glad I never jumped on the bandwagon. Of course FD isn't holding a gun to my head to buy everything, but I know myself: I have the money to spend and am a sucker for better performance. And that is exactly what FD is designed to do and designed for. I'm sure it's a great product but it needs to be relevant for ones own conditions.

I agree that sometimes it looks like influencers trying to make it look like it can cover all bases. In that sense it's also a brilliantly designed money-making platform that is super well integrated with social media channels and anyone who matters in this space.

Happy to stay away from it and much happier to spend my money on better and lighter boards, great foils (and not chucking a block of drag on them plus more noise), and getting the newest gen parawings.

Many roads lead to Rome and FD is one of them.

It’s really location dependent whether Foildrive works for you. Home for me is Moreton Bay, Brisbane, without FD many days would turn into none foiling days. If your blessed with wind over 15knots 365 day/year I understand bypassing the Foildrive, but although I love the para it is crap in anything below 15knots,
Here is my week ahead, the para’s will see no use so Foildrive only. Yes Foildrive is initially expensive, but for me actually the cheapest cost per session as I’m up around 300 FD sessions per , the other days are para.

FD is an awesome wave catching machine. You will not convince many users otherwise. Indeed people are paying high prices for used ones -as they did for yours. But more importantly, if your local conditions are not adapted, the foil assist use-case may just be less relevant for you. And you cannot blame the brand for that.