Matt Nuzzo: Got these two sick boards. These new Fliteboards are really awesome. Let's show you some of the key features of these boards because they're riding really well and it's a really premium high-end e-foil. What's up everybody? Matt Nuzzo hanging out here in the backyard of REAL. Today we got Drew Davis. What's up?
Drew Davis: Good to be here.
Matt Nuzzo: What are we going to do here today, Drew?
Drew Davis: Well, we got the Fliteboard Air and the Pro Carbon. We're going to try them out.
Matt Nuzzo: Taking out some Fliteboards. Waterman's Retreat is right over there. REAL Watersports right over there. Waterman's Bar and Grill. Beautiful day out here in Cape Hatteras. So, got these two sick boards. These new Fliteboards are really awesome. Let's show you some of the key features of these boards because they're riding really well and it's a really premium high-end e-foil. So, Drew, you were telling me one of the unique things that you really liked about riding the Fliteboards was this inline prop. That's totally unique in what they're doing. What's that do for you?
Drew Davis: Yeah, well, that just puts the center of propulsion in line with the center of lift. And so, you really feel that difference when you're carving around, and it also gives you more mast height. With the e-foils that have the props up to here, you know, you're basically losing about 8 inches of mast height to the prop there. So, that really just extends the mast height, puts the center of propulsion within line of the center of lift, and it's really effective. I also noticed that with that center of lift there, you have less nose rise. So the e-foil just kind of comes up as opposed to being like this and not planing out. It just comes up a lot easier.
Matt Nuzzo: So these are the two boards we're going to ride today. Same exact foil setup. So we got the MN, not for Matt Nuzzo, but MN 1300. This is the Air, so this is the inflated board. It packs down easy, packs down small. It's very safe, comfortable, high volume. And then we've got the Pro Carbon. So, these are the most popular boards in the Fliteboard setup because they're so usable for beginners to advanced riders. Everyone loves them. This Air is very safe, very comfortable, great for boats because you can knock it on and off.
Matt Nuzzo: Couple things about this is that the Sport battery is the biggest battery you can fit in here. And then over here, this has a Sport, but it also has this little cartridge you can take out. If you take out that cartridge, then you can put the Explorer battery which has mega mega run. So before we get started here, just a couple things. The controller, really safe controllers. They have a setup where this controller will not connect unless the latch is closed and latched. So this thing will not turn on unless it's closed and latched. And then also has a setup where you have to pull the throttle, then activate it. So this will not just false alarm and, you know, hit the trigger and start going unless you're ready and actually set up to go. So, really nice features.
Matt Nuzzo: The Air has some pretty basic handles here, but when you get up to the carbon in these more premium setups, these beautiful handles, really amazing deck pads. Both have deck pads that aren't going to eat you alive. A lot of these deck pads just tear you up, whereas this has really nice high-quality deck pads. So, I'm going to start out on the Flite Air. Drew's going to go out on the carbon. Let's go out and take these things for a spin out in the foil garden.
Matt Nuzzo: So, we walk out to the foil garden. Nice thing about staying here, Waterman's Retreat, it's nice and shallow. Great for learning to kiteboard, learning to wing. Then you get out just a little bit farther, it's deep enough to ride these foils. So much fun. But it's also not too deep to stand. So, it'll be like chest deep for as far as you can see out there. Chest deep, it's pretty wild. So, you have the options to change the amount of power you want. It goes through 1 and 20. And I have it set at level six because I'm at 150 pounds. I don't need 20. And after that you can pull the trigger and it lets you release it and now you have 5 seconds to gun it. Love all these built-in safety features that this has. That's what you get when you get a premium e-foil is that you have the opportunity to have different gears, different safety settings.
Drew Davis: I'll set mine to six as well. Get out there, go for a rip.
Matt Nuzzo: Okay, trigger minus. Ready to go. Really stable board. Even just running the board down on the water like that, still really stable. Move back a touch. Fine. Just almost no nose rise on this e-foil when you're taking off. So different than any other e-foil I've ridden, which has a lot of nose rise and takes a lot to get it clean. So, I'm on level six. It's only about half throttle, and this is plenty to go through. Great thing about these foils is they're extra smooth. Really easy to ride as well. And also, if you breach the prop, you'll hear them pop a little bit, but you don't just cavitate and have everything blow up. Most of the e-foils I've ridden, as soon as you breach that prop, you are done.
Matt Nuzzo: Hey Drew, let me try that carbon Air. Really great start. So easy to ride. Feels really stiff for an Air board. It's got that big kind of hard box in the middle. It's actually a really stiff board. A lot of Air boards get sucked in the water or just are kind of just not stiff enough. This thing is plenty hard, plenty rigid. It feels super durable. Felt like a heavy-duty Zodiac. All these big pipes. How was the carbon going, bro?
Drew Davis: Oh, it's great. Super light for an e-foil. It's just so responsive. It's like we were talking about with that propeller being in line with the front wings. It's just super responsive when you're turning. Super stable, super easy to get up. I feel like I don't have to be on the nose, you know? Like, yeah, you have to be a little bit further forward, but it's not like some of the other e-foils that have a huge amount of prop rise. A huge amount of prop rise, you're basically riding the nose.
Matt Nuzzo: One thing to note, Fliteboard controllers kind of float. So, it came back up. It's not really going down, but it's also going to be kind of hard to see. So, if you drop that thing off a dock or something, you're going to be able to get it. This strap is really secure. If you're like passing up a dock or a boat, it kind of floats, but you should get it quickly if you drop it. Okay, ready. Ready for action. Push the trigger. Push the minus. Got 5 seconds. 4, 3, 2. Let's get to the foil garden.
Matt Nuzzo: This pad is so much more comfortable because if you do a lot of this kind of getting going on your knees, it just doesn't chafe you up like other pads. Move out again. Wow, this board's amazing. Okay, that inflatable board felt really good and very stiff, but going to the full carbon, wow, this thing is sick. So good. These foils feel so good. They're actually really, really smooth and quiet. Just kind of silent. They turn well, but they have a lot of stability, too. This board is amazing. Loving the full carbon deck pad. Really comfortable board positioning. Just feels great. Really nicely set up. Drew, how's the sesh? Give me a report.
Drew Davis: Oh, it was great. It was really good to ride these back to back and feel the difference between the two. You can really tell that this is great for around boats, you know, because it's like semi-inflatable and it still has a rigid back to it. So, it's pretty stiff when you're riding it. It doesn't have much sponge to it. One downside compared to the Pro is that it is a little bit more sticky on the water takeoffs, right? And also when you touch the rail down too. That's expected from the inflatable board, but it has a lot of stability when you're doing water. So, it's a good trade-off.
Matt Nuzzo: Yeah. And so if you're trying to decide which is right for you, the Pro Inflatable or the Pro Carbon, the Pro Inflatable is a much lower price point. So that's a much more entry-level price point for these Fliteboards. You're getting all the same guts, the battery, the computer, the controller, the foils, but you don't have that really Gucci carbon board. These carbon boards are stiffer, easier to take off with. Much easier for touchdowns and like when you hit the rail down or something like that, it definitely bounces back. It doesn't stick like Drew was saying on the inflatable board. So, if you want more reviews, reach out online at realwatersports.com. Give us a call at the shop at 252-987-6000 or come and join us here at Waterman's Retreat. Try these out for yourself. realwatersports.com. See you guys on the water for the next session.
