SiFly Stellar X

In the rapidly evolving world of eFoils, SiFly have established themselves as a well-respected player. Founded by ex-Formula Foil kitefoil competitor Alexander Bachev, SiFly eFoils have been developed with the intention of bringing the ‘real world’ foil feeling to the masses. We have previously tested the Rider Series which is the entry level, beginner friendly eFoil and at one of the most competitive price points currently on the market. It’s a great eFoil and perfect for learning the basics and for general cruising around (it also offers a soft top construction making it bomb proof both in terms of handling knocks and in terms of being nice and soft if things don’t quite go to plan…)

For this test we jumped right to the other end of the line up, where all that SiFly have learnt over the last few years has been refined, tweaked, and developed into an eFoil designed to compete with the very best on the market: the Stellar X. This is a sleek and refined eFoiling machine – coming in at a one-size-only 75 liters (which is small by eFoil standards). With a full carbon sandwich construction, an EPS core, and a length of only 4’6 it looks more like a prone board than an eFoil board… In terms of the shape, there is a pronounced nose rocker with a double concave running from the front of the board pretty much all the way through to the mid-section. The board is super light, super stiff and feels about as premium as you can get in the world of foil boards.

We rode with the 75cm mast (we did not ride with the recently-released Quick Mount system but we did try it on the beach and it is as easy as it looks in the promo), and with the raciest Sport 700 front wing and SP 240 stab. As always with eFoils it is a shame to put a bulky battery into the set up but that is what this part of the sport is all about (and having a 2+ hour run time when I have been used to squeezing 30 minutes out of a Foil Drive battery feels decadent!). That said, even with the battery, the setup feels pretty light by comparison to other eFoils.

For the test we had Alexander come and ride with us in Portugal and we were lucky with conditions with a flat launch and then out into a really solid, high period, rolling swell. It was the first time I had been out in waves with any real power on an eFoil, so it was a prefect day for the test…

Before heading out we did a few laps around the flatwater bay. Getting up on the Stellar X is – unsurprisingly – more challenging than on a standard volume eFoil board. You need to have your weight way over the nose and feather the power on, once you start to plane you can pop up and then bring the power back a bit as required. The SiFly battery and remote configuration is seamless and the power on and off is predictable and smooth. As with the Rider setup, for cruising, around 20km/h feels about right and gives you plenty of control and speed and means that you can really lay into turns without carrying too much speed and really feeling like you are engaging the foil. Overall the balance of the Stellar X is superb – the construction is super stiff and transmits movements immediately, and the reduced swing weight means that you can really commit to the set up and build your confidence… The biggest difference, however, is in the touch downs. On a standard eFoil board, if you touch down with speed and are not going completely straight then the board will grip the water and begin tracking and you have a good chance of coming off, but with the Stellar X, the generous nose rocker and concaves meant that you had the lightest of touch downs before the board pops straight back up – no stickiness and you’re back off and riding.

Heading out into some swell and the Stellar X is keen to gather some wave powered momentum – once you have tuned the speed of the foil into the speed of the wave you can really lay down some lines on the open faces and feel the ocean’s energy complimenting the prop-power. We had some super long runs and – although not really ‘surfing’ – still found this added an extra dimension to riding and a great way to spice up your session. As mentioned, the battery just keeps on giving and riding in waves and at speed is a workout so it was great to come in feeling nicely ‘sessioned out’ too.

With the Stellar X, SiFly haven’t held back. It ticks all the ‘premium’ boxes but is also a very well thought out and well-engineered set up. If you’ve not ridden an eFoil before then it’s not for you, but if you have some experience riding eFoils or if you come with experience from other foiling worlds then you’re going to love it – it’s possibly the funnest eFoil we have ridden…