We’re covering the Waydoo Flyer One Plus eFoil. Known for it’s breathtaking moments on the water giving riders the ultimate flying experience.
One glance at the Waydoo Flyer, you’d think it’s a foiling machine. However, when you dig deeper on the internet you begin to unravel it has a controversial past within the efoiling community.
Today we’ll be looking at the specs, benefits, and the cons of purchasing a Waydoo Flyer One Plus. That’s right the good, the bad, and the ugly.
We’ve covered this eFoil before in previous posts but we’ve never done a full in-depth guide on the Chinese eFoil. We’re gonna find out why some riders think the Waydoo is the ultimate cruising experience. And why others loathe it.
Waydoo Flyer One Plus eFoil Product Review
The first model was the Waydoo Flyer in 2020. Followed by the Waydoo Flyer One and now the Waydoo Flyer One Plus the most recent model of the efoil.
The original model was flawed to say the least. The team was expected to ship a working product in 2019 but that didn’t happen until 2020. Throw a pandemic on top of a rushed product and you get the idea.
We’ll cover the early sins of Waydoo’s first model shortly but for now we’re focusing on the the newest model.
The Waydoo Flyer One Plus efoil is available in two different board materials. One is carbon fiber and the other is EPP foam reinforced with aluminum alloy frame.
It comes in a compact carry case and a propeller protection case as well.
EPP Dimensions: 65.8 x 28.7 x 6.3 inches / 167 x 73 x 16.2 cm
Board Weight 21.6lbs/ 9.8kg
Volume: 110L
Carbon Fiber: 66 x 28.3 x 6.3 inches / 168 x 74 x 17 cm
Board weight: 34.4lbs / 15.62kg
Volume: 110L
Battery Life
The team claims the board can fly for 2 hours during a single ride. The power unit sits on top of the board and can easily be taken on and of of the board.
Ride time: 2 hours
Charge time: 2 hours
Waydoo Flyer Wings: Explorer package vs Patroller Package
The wings: The explorer wings and the patroller wings both are available in nylon and carbon fiber. Where these two packages differ is the size of the wing. These two packages may look similar but provide the rider a completely different experience.
The explorer wings offer a shorter mast but a larger front wing. While the Patroller wing is much smaller and the patroller mast is much larger. The explorer package includes a comfier smooth and steady cruise while the patroller wing package is more maneuverable better suited for expert
Nylon Explorer Wing
Nylon size dimensions: 17.7 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches 45 x 13 x 3 cm
Nylon weight: 0.7lbs/0.3kg
Cabron Fiber Explorer wing
Carbon fiber size dimensions: 2 x 11.3 x 2.5 inches 81.4 x 28.8 x 6.4 cm
Carob fiber weight: 3.31lbs/1.5kg
What is the difference between Waydoo Explorer and patroller wings?
The Waydoo explorer wing comes in both carbon fiber and nylon. The main difference between using carbon fiber and nylon wings comes down to budget.
Carbon fiber is more expensive but is better suited for efoiling pros who want more precise turns. However, they’re less durable than nylon.
Nylon is less expensive and is better suited for efoiling beginners just starting out. These are less likely to get damaged when riding.
Choosing the right wings depends on your skills and budget for your efoil.
Jet One Controller: All efoils come with a trigger control to easily control the speed while out on the water.
The Waydoo’s remote control has stable bluetooth connectivity with the board. The Jet one controller records your tracks with built in GPS to track your speeds and distance which can be seen on the app or on the inch screen.
Is the Waydoo eFoil any good?
Depends on who you ask.
We think the Waydoo Flyer One Plus is a great eFoil for it’s price. Most complaints from customers show the defects seem to have been fleshed out since the early models.
That being said, we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t show you the potential problems with purchasing a Waydoo Flyer One Plus with your hard earned money.
A lot of people who have the newest model love it but the people who purchased the older Waydoo flyer models aren’t as stoked about the brand. We’ve seen good, bad, and everything in between from the early reviews on the Waydoo Flyer. The first generation was clearly rushed and produced mix results.
Which if you look at the carnage, a lot of riders had every right to be pissed.
Concerns about the Waydoo Brand
The Waydoo Flyer One Plus efoil gives riders an opportunity to experience breathtaking moments but, there are some concerns about the battery life and the the claims of using “high quality materials”.
When Waydoo first completed their kickstarter in 2020, they rushed to mass produce their eFoils as fast as humanly possible. This ended up being an ambitious mistake on their part.
Many of those riders who ponied up their funds to kickstart Waydoo received eFoils that had plenty of defects. Issues ranged from broken wings, bent foil masts, breaking boards, and even motors falling apart.
The Bad
We’ll start with the bad, the ugly and end on a good note because we do believe the team is improving and trying to ship the best product they can.
Customer Service: There’s no customer support hotline. Everything is done via email. We’ve seen a lot of riders complain about their queries not being answered in a timely fashion. However, we saw one kickstarter backer get quick customer service when he shared his review in 2020.
Propeller noise: A complaint we saw was many users reported the Waydoo Flyer was too loud.
The Waydoo team heard those complaints and in the next upgraded model they totally redesigned propeller system to be quieter and more efficient on the water.
Lithium ion battery capacity concern: We’ve seen numerous complaints about the battery life.
According to Waydoo, it takes two hours to charge the battery. This allows the rider to glide through the water for 120 minutes at exhilarating speeds. The battery is unique in the aspect that it is also the deck of the board compared to other efoils that are within the actual efoil board.
There have been reports of low battery warning in as little as 32 minutes of riding on a full charge. The battery level drops could be a result from improper storage of the powerflight cell battery.
The powerflight cell battery must be stored in a cool, dry location to prevent damaging the battery life. It’s possible with the shipping crisis in 2020 that could have ruined a lot of these batteries in transit. But that’s on Waydoo and the team should honor their warranties.
The Ugly
We noticed that the Waydoo team used Kevlar as a material between the first and most recent models. Safe to say this was a mistake. There’s a reason other brands only use fiberglass and carbon fiber.
Runaway board issues: This was dangerous for many reasons. If a rider falls they can lose their efoil or even get hit by it while it’s still moving. This issue was patched by a firmware update.
I mean just read this account from a Waydoo purchaser who had it happen to them in 2022.
Pretty serious stuff that can cause a lot of damage for your riders.
The Good
The team has acknowledged their complaints from their customers and have since taken steps to fix the flyer one issues. From what we see, the newest model preforms quite well compared to the earlier boards.
How fast is the Waydoo? The efoil has a top speed of 29 mph or 44kmh.
The max speed allows the rider to fly freely during an unforgettable adventure on the water regardless of your riding style.
Extremely easy assembly: The board’s pieces fit together like a glove, giving the rider ample time to assemble and hit the water.
Flight Freeze: The upgraded controller will automatically lock when the rider falls off.
Epic Foils: Our Take on the Waydoo Flyer One Plus
You get what you pay for.
The Waydoo Flyer one Plus is the cheapest board and that comes with some growing pains early on. As you can see, we didn’t mince words when peeled back the onion on some of the concerns.
We still believe the Waydoo Flyer One Plus get’s a “buy” rating from us. But, riders should proceed with caution and know what they’re getting into.
We would not touch this efoil without a warranty. Used flyers or any older Waydoo Flyer models should be avoided.
FAQ on Waydoo Flyer One Plus
How much is the Waydoo Flyer One Plus?
The Waydoo flyer one plus eFoil costs $7,655. An unbeatable price compared to other efoils that cost much more than the Waydoo.
It’s the most affordable eFoil we recommend buying but as we said, proceed with caution. To order the Waydoo flyer one plus efoil you must contact Waydoo on their website via email.
The Waydoo team offers buy now pay later financing through Klarna.
Where is Waydoo made?
Waydoo is designed and built in Shenzen, China. Shenzen is widely considered the Silicon Valley of China.
Waydoo admits that their supply chain is fully autonomous with a strong technical team behind it. We find this interesting because this is completely different from any other major brands. Most efoil board makers build their efoils one by one by hand.
Waydoo can seriously crank out quantity boards but as we saw back in 2020 it came at a cost to their customers.
Who started Waydoo?
Dennis Zhu is the founder and CEO of Waydoo. He has a background in wakeboarding.
He is also part owner of the drone manufacturing company DJI, which also has a stake in Waydoo.
What is the weight limit for Waydoo?
In their Kickstarter, the Waydoo team recommends riders should not be over 220lbs or 100kg. The user’s weight absolutely matters in how the board will preform.
If a rider is over the maximum weight limit it can damage the foil, deck, and even the wings.
What is the warranty on Waydoo Flyer One Plus?
The warranty for the Waydoo Flyer One Plus is a year or 100 battery cycles.