We took a look at FLITELab, LIFTX and Foil Drive. What is a foil assist used for, and how do the different providers differ?

What is a foil assist?

A foil assist forms the bridge between an eFoil (i.e., a hydrofoil with a motor) and a foil without a motor. The latter is used, for example, for prone foiling (surfing in waves), pump foiling (foiling with muscle power), wing foiling, or kite foiling.

The pioneer of foil assistants is Foil Drive from Australia. Foil Drive assistants are also available from our E-SURFER shop. Many very ambitious eFoiler who already ride the shortest eFoils see a foil assist as the next step towards prone and pump foiling. That's why eFoil manufacturers are now coming out with similar products, including Fliteboard with FLITELab and Lift Foils with the LIFTX.

While an eFoil can achieve ranges of up to 2 hours with its electric motor, a foil assist only has very small batteries to save weight. The range here is only 15 - 30 minutes.

Unlike the eFoil, the Foil Assist is not about riding with motor power; the motor is only used as an assistant. It provides support for takeoff and takes the surfer from one wave to the next.

The motor on the Foil Assist is positioned further up towards the board than on the eFoil. This is because it is only intended to provide temporary assistance and should not interfere with foiling without the motor. A folding propeller is used, which folds up when the motor is switched off to reduce water resistance.

While eFoiling is the easiest form of foiling, prone and pump foiling are the supreme disciplines. Wing foiling is somewhere in the middle. A Foil Assist can help a wing foiler get started in very light winds. However, it is mostly used for prone foiling in waves.

In prone foiling, the motor assists the surfer in catching the wave at the right moment. It also takes the foiler to the next wave as soon as they have ridden the last one.

FLITELab

Fliteboard announced the FLITELab project back in 2023. However, things have gone quiet around FLITELab. I suspect this has something to do with the sale of Fliteboard to Brunswick Corporation. The small Australian start-up Fliteboard is now part of a group with over 15,000 employees that distributes brands such as Mercury, Bayliner, Boston Whaler, Sea Ray, SIMRAD, Quicksilver, and many more.

I'm not sure if FLITELab products fit the typical Brunswick customer target group. In addition, key Fliteboard employees have left the company. Not least the founder and former CEO David Trewern, who was largely responsible for new developments.
As a Fliteboard dealer, we already felt the effects of this in 2024. More failures and poorer support. But back to FLITELab:

FLITELab uses two different products for its foil assist: the AMP Mast and the AMP Jet.

FLITELab AMP Mast

The AMP Mast from FLITELAB is a typical foil assist with a folding propeller, as seen on the Foil Drive. The drive is mounted higher up on the mast to assist takeoff without interfering with foiling. The FLITELab Amp Mast can be seen at the top right of the picture.

FLITELab AMP Jet

The AMP Jet takes a different approach. Here, as with a jet board, a jet drive is used directly in the board. This has the advantage that the mast is completely free of resistance and can be used entirely for foiling without a motor.

However, this means that it can only use the motor power on the surface. This probably makes it a little more difficult to handle as a starting aid, and when riding from wave to wave, you have to stay on the surface, which is likely to increase energy consumption.

FLITLab availability

Even after two years, there is still no official launch date for FLITELab. As mentioned above, I wouldn't be surprised if the project is discontinued or sold. Fliteboard's range has become too large anyway, which is leading to more and more product defects.

In addition, there have been clear signs since 2024 that the Brunswick Group wants to improve Fliteboard's cost structure in order to make more profits. There is a high risk that a project like FLITELab will fall by the wayside. The market is relatively small and the target group is not necessarily that of the Brunswick Group. We will of course continue to follow FLITELab.

LIFTX

Lift Foils is also investing in the foil assist solutions market with the LIFTX. Unlike Fliteboard, which is purely an eFoil manufacturer, Lift has a wealth of experience with foils without motors. It's in the DNA of founder Nick Leason and his team. Not only are they active foilers themselves in the waves off Puerto Rico, but they have also been producing prone foils for around 15 years. That's long before Lift launched the world's first commercial eFoil in 2018.
The LIFTX was unveiled in January 2025 at the boot trade fair in Düsseldorf. Of course, we were there and made the following video for the E-SURFER YouTube channel for you:

Like FLITELab and Foil Assist products in general, the LIFTX uses very small batteries to save as much weight as possible. With years of experience with foilsfor surfing, pumping, kiting, and wing foiling, we can't wait to see how it performs.

It's safe to assume that the board, mast, and wing are perfectly matched. Two special features of the LIFTX are worth mentioning. First, the board can be assembled and disassembled without screws thanks to the LCS (Lift Connect System). Second, the mast can be rotated. The latter allows it to be used as an eFoil and Foil Assist. The motor is therefore either at the top or bottom of the mast.

The LIFTX comes in three board sizes:

• LIFTX 5'2 (157 cm) – For beginners, the largest board
• LIFTX 4'8 (146 cm) – The golden mean between stability and maneuverability
• LIFTX 4'3 (131 cm) – For true experts, the smallest board

The LIFTX can now be pre-ordered in our shop. We expect the first deliveries in June 2025.

Foil Drive

We have been in contact with Foil Drive from Australia since 2022. Since 2025, we are now an authorized Foil Drive dealer. As two of our trainers are talented pump foilers, we have the necessary internal know-how to successfully distribute such a product.

Foil Drive is the pioneer of foil assist products and introduced the concept of “hybrid foiling,” i.e., foiling with and without a motor, back in 2021. The Foil Drive Gen2 (Generation 2) is now available in various versions.
Unlike FLITELab and LIFTX, Foil Drive does not produce complete boards, but only the drive consisting of a battery, motor, and folding propeller.

The concept behind it is “maximum flexibility” for the foiler, as the components are compatible with the masts and boards of the leading foil manufacturers.

The foiler can not only choose the board, mast and wings themselves, but also the height of the drive on the mast. This makes it ideal for anyone who wants to tune their foil themselves.
The Foil Drive Gen 2 is now available in our shop.

Conclusion

A foil assist is aimed at experienced foilers (or those who want to become one) who focus on foiling without a motor. For example, surfers who want to get from one wave to another or need a little boost to reach the wave.
When purchasing, the question arises as to whether you prefer a complete system including a matching board, mast, and wings, or whether you want to use existing equipment.

If you want to use your existing equipment or value individual configurations, I think the Foil Drive is the best choice.
If you want a perfectly coordinated complete package, I would recommend the LIFTX.
Whether FLITELab will ever be launched under the leadership of the Brunswick Group remains to be seen. And even if it does, the product is unlikely to be the focus. Therefore, I would wait and see for now.