The Lampuga Surfboard is produced by a German electric jetboard manufacturer based out of Ratstatt. They started shipping the Lampuga Air model in July 2020 which they had already announced at the boot show in Dusseldorf in January 2018.
Lampuga Surfboard history
You may have heard about the “old Lampuga” which was a company from Hamburg in Germany who released the Lampuga jetboards already in 2016. This company however went bankrupt in April 2017 and doesn’t exist anymore.
The new Lampuga Surfboard is completely designed from scratch and even if they use the same name and somehow look a little bit similar you can not use any parts for the old boards. Investor Nicolai Weisenburger bought the assets and patents in 2017, but closed the factory and moved to Rastatt where he hired new staff and developed completely new Lampuga Surfboards.
Nicolai’s main job is in real estate, but he was an early investor in the old jetboard company (which went out of business) as he was fascinated from the beginning about electric surfboards. He believed in this trend and thought he can make a better e-jetboard with the right strategy and staff. He hired a complete new crew including a new managing director who runs the daily business.
He build completely new factory with over 1,500 square metres where the jetboards are produced. It is based in Rastatt which is close to the black forrest in Germany. His engineers studied the weaknesses of the first generation board in order to improve the manufacturing process and reliability. According to Nicolai one of the most challenging tasks was to figure out all the legal requirements to launch such a product as well as finding a reasonable way to transport the lithium ion batteries to customers.
Lampuga Surfboard 2018
The big coming out of the new Lampuga surfboard was at boot 2018 which was in January of that year. Lampuga impressed with a huge booth and new colourful electric surfboards. Originally the plan was to ship in 2018, but as many other manufacturers they had to realise that it takes 2 years from a prototype to a reliable mass production jetboard. Nicolai wanted to do it right and delayed the launch to spring 2020.
Unlike other e-surfboard manufacturers, Lampuga is not selling directly to consumers. Instead they are focussing on the rental market and resellers such like the Jetboard Shop from Berlin. In theory they have 2 more models next to the Air model. The Lampuga Boost with a carbon fibre hull and the Rescue model, but they are currently focusing on the Lampuga Air which got most interest from the resellers. We meet the Lampuga team several times a year which includes their Business Development guy Sascha Platen as well as the Managing Director Alexander Pick. In June 2018 the team brought a few prototypes to Berlin and I enjoyed to test them on the Havel river.
Lampuga Surfboard demonstration
At the beginning of 2022 the Lampuga Surfboard Team visited us at our store in Berlin. The following video for the E-Surfer Youtube channel was created. It shows everything from the scope of delivery, to the assembly and also the care of the Lampuga Surfboard:
Lampuga Air rescue
Last but not least Lampuga announced a 3rd business to business (B2B) model which is designed for lifeguard organisations or cruiser ships. The Rescue jetboard is a modified Air model with some extra features such like more handles and a resttube. If you think about it, it makes actually a lot of sense to offer such a board. It is fast, has a soft shell which protects lifeguard and swimmer and has a lot of volume to carry even 2 people.
Even in very rough water it can ne manoeuvred easily and safe by laying on the board. It is like a small life raft with a powerful electric jet motor. Since this is a pure B2B product please contact us for details.
Lampuga Unboxing
We received one of the first jetboards for our Lampuga Surfboard Unboxing. While we were able to ride the board back in June 2018, mass production only recently started after some battery improvements.
Lampuga is a German company that is focused on "safety first." The battery and charger are very important components when it comes to safety. Not only on the water, but also when you charge or store the board. The company has decided to secure everything multiple times. We think that's smart, even if we had to wait a little longer.
Lampuga batteries have cells that are individually sealed, so thermal runaway is very unlikely. We have only seen this particularly safe approach in Loawai jetboards. Many manufacturers do not go this route because it is both expensive and adds significantly to the weight of the battery. We currently store batteries from 5 different manufacturers and appreciate the high level of safety, even if the extra weight is sometimes not so convenient.
Scope of delivery
So, what's in the box? Actually, the Lampuga Air comes in 3 boxes. One for the battery, one for the powerbox and charger and a third for the charging station, pump, repair kit, accessory case and inflatable hull. Lampuga offers the hull in 6 different colors: Gray, Yellow, Green, Red, Light Blue and Black. We opted for the red hull.
As far as we can see, all components have a first-class quality. The pump with Lampuga logo is equipped with single and double pump, pump up and pump down and has a display to show the current pressure.
The accessories case includes the wireless charger for the remote control, the safety line, the remote control (factory integrated in a dumbbell attached to the top of the jetboard with a rope) and a wrist strap (in case you don't want to use the dumbbell / for advanced riders), a syringe to clean the motor unit (for example, if you use the board in salt water) and 2 FCS fins.
The battery is delivered in its own box, weighs about 27 kg and is therefore even heavier than the other 2 large boxes. The complete jetboard weighs about 52 kg including the battery. When we tried to put the battery into the board or into the charging station, everything went very smoothly.
The 3.616 kWh battery charges in 2 hours and lasts for about 45 minutes of riding time. It powers the 10.3 kW (14 hp) motor for speeds of up to 50 km/h.
The heart of the Lampuga Air Jetboard is the powerbox, which contains the electronics, the motor and the jet drive. The battery is inserted directly into the powerbox. The modular design makes it easy to transport and store, but also helps the support team if a component needs to be replaced. There is no need to ship the complete electric surfboard, only the component that needs to be checked. The powerbox can be easily held in one hand with its large integrated handles.
Lampuga Surfboard assembly
The beauty of the Lampuga Air is its modular design, which allows the entire board to be stored even in the back of a small car. It only takes 15 minutes to set up the board on the beach.
The setup works as follows:
- Use the pump to fill the inflatable hull with just 20 pumps.
- Install the power box in the hull
- Pump more air into the hull (1 bar / 15 psi)
- Connect the dumbbell to the top of the jetboard
- Install the 2 FCS fins
- Insert the battery
- Turn on the battery (standby - blue light)
- Check if the remote control is paired (green light on the remote control)
- Put the magnet of the safety line on the magnet holder
- Press the power button again (Ready - green light)
- Let's go!
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