Chinese entry from Xfoil

In the early 2022 an interesting crowdfunding campaign popped up on IndieGoGo - a presumably (we will get back to that) California-based company XFoil started gathering money to create a 3-in-1 universal device, that could transform into a sup/jetboard/efoil mode.

Half a year later the campaign is still a huge success, attracting more than a million euro. It kind of makes sense - the company is offering a lot of cool stuff. Check this out: the basic prototype is promised to go as fast as 55 km/h, providing 75 minutes of battery life in the standard configuration, and all the necessary safety options (propeller cover, automatic shutdown, short circuit protection, etc). Add up adjustable mast length which is the strongest selling point - ride it as a sup, a jetboard, or fly it as an efoil. Plus the good history of crowdfunding and backers engagement. And the caveat: indiegogo backers can purchase the device for whopping $3799. Looks promising!

But there is always something shady about Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, right?

Many users online point out that XFoil looks like a scam. Most of the provided materials are clearly mass market chinese products, repackaged to look like an American brand with decent reputation. The retractable mast that would change its length also rose a few eyebrows - many riders doubt that it is a sustainable technology and are skeptical about its implementation. The company is also silent on social media, and no rider who sent a request ever got a reply.

On one hand we have more than 250k backers, a sufficient amount of money and democratic pricing. On the other - the story that is just too similar to Waydoo (a chinese company that turned out to be a scam), a lot of technical complications and suspicious media silence.

We will keep you updated on this one as more info appears.