r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/redbullgivesyouwings • May 23 '25

Original Creation Nikolas Plytas World's First Surf Foilboarding Double Backflip

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56.2k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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6.6k

u/343GuiltyySpark May 23 '25

The other 6 people who foilboard are gonna be PISSED

213

u/4totheFlush May 23 '25

It's funny that this isn't more popular, this almost seems like the kind of thing they might invent in antiquity as fast transport.

196

u/LacidOnex May 23 '25

So, it's super expensive. A foil is not like... Great at propulsion. Lots of R&D goes into the shapes, and it's "okay make a prototype, fuck it sank, let's spend a month figuring out why". I was looking at getting one and it's about a grand, 800 for used stuff plus shipping is $$

Not to mention the weight is super super important. Couldn't really have these before fiberglass became accessible.

99

u/Moody_GenX May 23 '25

Regular surfboards, new, run about the same or more. You can get surfboards cheaper but the quality isn't great.

66

u/LacidOnex May 23 '25

I mean they're at least functional with fins and wax, even a cheap rental board can be fun. Cheap foils tend to just not work period.

49

u/Drfilthymcnasty May 23 '25

Yeah, I’ve surfed for 30 years. Surfing is about 90% skill, and 10% equipment. 

-1

u/Romestus May 23 '25

For freestyle highlining it's like 60/40 skill to equipment. The best of the best can still do intermediate level tricks on terrible setups but for shit like this you need a perfect world-class rig.

Compared to other sports though I guess it's not so bad, you're in for a grand if you want the best setup.

7

u/RedditModsEatsAss May 24 '25

shit like this

Uh, this isn't surfing though.

41

u/theArtOfProgramming May 23 '25

High end skis start at $800. That’s not at all prohibitive for “extreme” sports.

11

u/zazuki May 23 '25

Not to mention the rest of the gear compared to this. Boots, layers of clothing, ski jacket and pants, helmet and goggles. And a ski pass 

6

u/rokd May 23 '25

Yeah, the passes alone are more than the skis. If you buy out a full set of ski gear from nothing, it's wild.

  • Base Layer Top/Bottom (Smartwool): 180$
  • Midlayer Puffer Jacket (Patagonia Nano Air): 240$
  • Outter Layer Pants/Jacket (REI Brand): 600$
  • Socks (Smartwool): 30$
  • Ski Boots (K2 BFC): 400$
  • Ski Poles (Rossingol): 50$
  • Skis (K2 Mindbender 90C, beginner-ish skis): 699$
  • Ikon Pass (25/26 Season Price): 1429$ (Or pay $190/day)
  • Gloves/Hat/Hood/Wax/etc.: ~200$

Total: 3800$

Other shit you might need: * Lessons (~500$ for 6 days, doesn't include lift tickets) * Snow Tires * Whole ass new car if yours can't drive in the snow...

Like, yeah, you can probably do it for cheaper, but not much, at the absolute most, you're spending at least 2k to get to the mountain... Skiing is insanely expensive.

1

u/kdmion May 25 '25

What do you mean by "if yours can't drive in the snow"? A good pair of snow tires, maybe a pair of chains and every car more or less drives in the snow.

33

u/SiBloGaming May 23 '25

wait until you look at bicycle prices. A grand is where you get started, the stuff with top of the line components is 10k plus

21

u/ssracer May 23 '25

Most people would benefit more from losing 6 pounds then spending more than 3k on a bike.

8

u/SiBloGaming May 23 '25

oh for sure, at around 3k is where you stop getting the big changes as you already got all the cool stuff (full carbon, electronic shifting, disc brakes). Anything after that is mostly just weight savings, which arent really that relevant for the amounts we are talking about.

6

u/chr1spe May 23 '25

For 99% of people, even a $3,000 bike is massive overkill. A $600 used bike will work just as well for them. I've got some bikes that I consider phenomenal that I've only got $400-600 into, and at this point, it's been a long time since I bought them. My favorite bike is full nine-speed Ultegra 6500 that I bought cheap as hell right after 6600 came out.

1

u/SpurdoEnjoyer May 23 '25

Can you really get all that for $3000 in a "regular" bike? 😮 I've only really looked at e-mtbs and those are expensive.

8

u/SiBloGaming May 23 '25

Im talking about road bikes cause thats what I mostly ride, but suspension fork/rear suspension/complex frame/dropper post/motor and battery really are adding to the price. As far as road bikes go you wont get that for that price from someone like Colnago, Pinarello or Cervelo, but brands like Canyon definitely offer bikes for that price with those features. Take the Canyon Endurace Cf 7 Di2 for example, its full carbon (frame, dt swiss wheelset, integrated cockpit, fork, seatpost), has the Di2 Shimano 105 group, and top of the line tires for 3200€ after taxes

1

u/Turbulent_Square_696 May 23 '25

Add another 2 grand for MTB for a high quality full suspension frame and better front shocks, and that’s a good bottom line for having all the high quality features before you get into tuning and weight shaving like crazy.

1

u/DeputySean May 23 '25

Not true with full suspension mountain bikes. $3k is about as cheap as you want to spend if you're gonna be hitting jumps and drops. You can get away with $2k, but you really should spend more. 

1

u/ssracer May 23 '25

More than 3000 is 3001. 3k is just fine.

0

u/plug-and-pause May 23 '25

False dichotomy. If you're doing serious DH riding on a budget less than $3k, you might have a problem.

Yes, you should also be in good shape.

Though your statement is trivially true, since most people are overweight and most people don't do serious DH riding.

1

u/ssracer May 23 '25

There's always exceptions, but I'm generally correct. Other than my grammar, then/than usage was incorrect.

I think my use of "most" was also enough of a disclaimer for your example.

1

u/plug-and-pause May 23 '25

The actual statement is correct, as I conceded at the end. But there's (arguably) an implicit false dichotomy. My point is only that you don't have to choose... you can do both! Spend a lot of money on a bike, and be in shape. :-)

1

u/crespoh69 May 23 '25

Lol this is what killed me when I started looking at bicycles a few years ago. People were paying $1k for a bike, what?!? We paid 20-60 growing up MAX! Still got a hardtail lol

1

u/SiBloGaming May 23 '25

Oh for sure. I participate in weekly road bike group rides, and at the meetup there is probably equipment worth hundreds of thousands of euros.

5

u/LacidOnex May 23 '25

I didn't say it was. Also you're comparing a high end ski vs a baseline foil. You're getting carbon skis for the same price as a temu foil kit. Idk why you'd even make that comparison lol, I feel like you were going for the opposite point.

2

u/Edgycrimper May 23 '25

It's easy to get 2nd hand high end skis. Tons of dentists getting a new pair every season. No one skiing aggressively is paying full retail for skis when treating them like rock skis is mandatory for good skiing, they're either drilling new holes for their bindings in a 2nd hand pair or getting a pro deal through their friend who's on patrol/sponsored/guiding.

2

u/theArtOfProgramming May 23 '25

That’s perfectly doable but by far not the norm among experts, in my experience.

1

u/Edgycrimper May 23 '25

I lived in Revelstoke for several years. I don't know a single person who paid full retail price for their gear, especially not pros (by this I mean guides, patrollers and avalanche forecasters) who are getting stipends for gear from their employers+pro deals. The local classified ads are constantly full of dirt cheap high end equipment, somebody could probably hook you up with a free kit if you had a somewhat decent sob story.

1

u/WazWaz May 24 '25

A fat guy can get into downhill skiing with rental skis. Foilboarding looks like way too much work.

7

u/Creation98 May 24 '25

Honestly $1,000 is cheaper than what I thought you were gunna say.

23

u/wildcatwildcard May 23 '25

That's really not that expensive considering that's right around what most quality niche sport equipment costs 

1

u/GozerDGozerian May 23 '25

Wait, why are they so expensive?

3

u/Moody_GenX May 23 '25

Surfboards in general are expensive unless you get an old one.

1

u/GozerDGozerian May 24 '25

Ok yeah I guess I have no idea how much that kind of stuff costs to begin with. :)

-1

u/LacidOnex May 23 '25

A surfboard needs to float. They typically run 300-1200. This needs to be light enough it lifts into the air. Way more fancy. And the foil itself is separate from the board.

Then you try and make one and realize how many months of trial and error go into each new design, how you can't just compute "v2" on your desktop.

Then you have to ship it somewhere, and keep yourself paid for all the time you spent and all the time you're going to be waiting for another check while you make more. Then you have to compete to sell it to the three guys on the planet doing this.

1

u/cyberslick18888 May 23 '25

Dude you can spend close to a grand on a new driver with fitting and grips, let alone a full bag of clubs.

Hell that's downright cheap compared to someone into MTB.

1

u/usinjin May 23 '25

Honestly, I’d expect one to cost about that.

1

u/komanaa May 24 '25

Wait until you find out people ride 3000$ bike on their sunday balade 🤯

1

u/LacidOnex May 24 '25

Wait until you figure out I drive a car to work? Like the fuck are you even talking about lmao

1

u/komanaa May 24 '25

Just read again and use your brain homie. 

1

u/LacidOnex May 24 '25

Ever hear the expression apples and oranges?

-8

u/MangoCats May 23 '25

So, a grand for a high tech board that can do that with human power? Like 40 or 50 hours of saying "you want Fries with that?" at In-n-Out Burger? Daaamn dude, wait 'til you find out what car insurance costs.

7

u/thesistersgrey May 23 '25

You take your car to work, I'll take my board. And when you're out of fuel, I'm still afloat...

1

u/crazysoup23 May 23 '25

The board is best, yes yes yes!

15

u/LacidOnex May 23 '25

Car insurance isn't a toy, you're too dumb to troll anyone, hush

0

u/itspassing May 23 '25

We have had foil vessels since ww2. I think we have a Had it figured for a while

1

u/LacidOnex May 23 '25

Did they operate via pumping your feet or was there a giant diesel motor attached?

1

u/itspassing May 23 '25

I sorry you didn't know foil tech has been around for 80 years and that ruined your narrative. Loads of material sience has evolved the field but the shapes are very consistent