Magic Surf Jetboard review: You might know this board already as the electric surfboard from Germany was sold 2019 under Loawai brand and 2018 under CURF brand. New is that it has a now a different owner after Loawai investors wanted to separate.

If there is one electric surfboard in this industry which has a history then it is the Magic Surf electric Jetboard. In 2019 the brand was changed from CURF to Loawai due to a trademark issue around the name CURF.

We carry the Magic Jetboard now in our shop.

We had a Loawai board here in the office and did ride it through the summer of 2019. The board was always reliable and we had no issues. It is very robust and almost undestroyable, but with 2 batteries of 17 kg and and a total weight of 66 kg it is very heavy and you need a special beach wagon to handle it. On the flip side the heavy weight has an advantage on rough waters. Some call it a "hippo": Very slow on land but agile on water. This statement makes sense.

In November 2019 Loawai announced a new board made out of carbon fibre and we had the chance to interview investor Frank Köhler at the world premier in Berlin.  Just a few weeks later Watercrafts Germany GmbH the owner of the Loawai boards went out of business because there was a dispute between the different investors. The new owner Magic Surf is known for their Jetlev-Flyers, which are Jetpacks you connect to Jetski-like device. These are expensive toys which cost up to 100,000 EUR, so they may have the right customers to up-sell a higher priced Jetboard.

Magic Surf Jetboard Review:

Okay, coming back to the Magic Surf Jetboard. The company was using the new start to make some further improvements to the board. The new features includes:

1. The carbon fibre models are now available and 11 kg lighter than the PE version
2. The Magic-Surf Jetboard is now controlled by a remote control (not through the handle like before). You can still use the handle if you want or you remove it for free surfing.
3. The engines was optimized for an  improved the performance
4. The batteries don't need to be charged on the board anymore, so you can store and charge them in a different place
5. The Carbon fibre board can handle riders up to 140 kg
6. All this together leads to a more attractive price

The Magic Surf is offered in 4 models. The Pro, the Race, the Carbon Pro and the Carbon Race. The difference between the Pro model and the race model is the horsepower. Like the Loawai and Loawai Wake the smaller model has 14 kW (19 PS) and race model has 19 kW (26 PS) which means you would need a sport boat license in some countries to ride these boards. However, to address that Magic-Surf has limited the output of the 14 kW version to 11kW. This makes it possible to ride it without license. The Magic Surf Jetboard Race models accelerate faster and have a higher maximum speed. The Carbon Fibre models are also increasing speed and acceleration due to the lower weight.

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Operating time and max. speed are depending on weight, riding style and water conditions, but the range is around 30 minutes as most of the other electric jetboards.. You will find the pricing of the different models in our shop.

The total weight of the Carbon models is 55 kg compared to the standard models which have 66 kg. We think however that the PE (Polyethylene) body of the standard boards is much more robust.

We had the chance to test the carbon fibre Magic-Surf with the new features as well 3 weeks ago. We put it in direct competition with the Jetsurf Electric.  The Magic-Surf was outperforming the Jetsurf Electric which has only 6 kW in terms of speed and power. The JS Electric is more agile through, but also more difficult to ride. Especially if you are above 90 kg or want to tow someone you better get the Magic-Surf. It also takes less maintenance than the Jetsurf as you can read in our Jetsurf review. That shall not mean the Jetsurf Electric is a bad board, not at all. These boards are just addressed to a different audience.

Overall we had a lot of fun with the new 2020 Magic-Surf and its predecessor the Loawai. My kids loved when I was towing them in a tube or on a wakeboard. The handle makes the board agile enough for sharp turns and it weight really helps in choppy water. Yes, you need a buggy to handle it on land and last year I was annoyed that I could only charge the batteries in the board, but this was addressed and you can charge them now separately. Also the remote is a good improvement as you can now ride without the handle if you like.

Not sure about the carbon fibre model. On the one had it is much lighter, but I really like that the PE boards are almost indestructible. This is a choice everybody should make on its own. If you are above 120 kg though you need to get the carbon fibre modele to reduce the overall weight.

More information at the Magic Surf Jetboard win our forum and our shop.