Stoke BOOST + UNDERBOARD RECEIVER

Stoke’s no-fuss propulsion system is one of the easiest new ways to electrify your hydrofoil. This simple and streamlined design clamps to any mast in seconds, its powerful motor providing up to 25kg of extra push at the touch of a button.

It’s a bolt on drive unit that has the potential to change your foiling game. Double your paddle speed and stroke up easily into miniscule waves. Use it as a training tool to dial in smaller foils and boards. Wingfoil on near windless days. Paddle long distances without the effort, and escape the usual crowds to find peaks that no one else can ride.

Installing it to your setup is a very simple matter of clamping the unit to the mast at the preferred height, sliding in the underboard receiver into the board’s box track, and using the supplied silicone bands to secure the thin (only 2.8mm diameter) length of cable running between. It’s a clean and unobtrusive looking piece of kit, and you don’t need to be tech savvy to work out how to use it. Build quality is clearly evident, with all components salt and sand proof. It’s designed to be used and abused by foil-brained addicts in all disciplines.

Focusing on the underboard receiver briefly, this is a really great solution for transmitting signals between the submerged motor pod and the handheld remote. No cabling or other unsightly trip hazards need to be run up to the deck of the board or around the tail. It sits neatly in the track and works flawlessly. During our time testing the Boost, not once did the controller connection drop.

The nose cone battery, with capacity for up to 50 assisted launches, is able to be unscrewed easily for recharging or swapping on the go. Depending on your discipline, the wireless remote can be handheld or attached to your wing or SUP paddle, with four power modes available. Use it for simple paddle assistance or supercharge your setup into a pseudo eFoil. The drive unit has plenty of kick.

We installed it to our rig for a SUP foil session at the local reef break, which usually involves a 15 minute paddle out to the peak. Lumpy conditions often make balancing really difficult, especially when riding smaller gear, and this paddle-out slog can eat away time and energy in the session. However, not with the Boost installed. The paddle assistance made getting out back a breeze. If you’re feeling particularly tired or lazy, you can just tow yourself back out.

It’s hard to fault this system, which only adds 3.8 kilograms to the setup. The pod’s mass is perfectly distributed fore and aft of the mast, which contributes to an overall balanced swing weight while pumping. One can hardly notice it. If you dip down while riding and the drive unit submerges momentarily, its streamlined profile and folding propellor don’t seem to bog you down.

The superhuman paddle power the system grants for getting onto waves is addictive. Chip up into bumps wherever and whenever. There’s enough juice at your fingertips to get up even on the flats. This system will bring fun to even the tiny days and let you ride waves that usually require a tow-in.

We installed it for a downwind run in light winds, attempting paddle ups onto groundswells using a smaller foil. It was a fun time, our paddle strokes and propulsion power synchronizing to lend us the speed required to get flying. If you’re learning to downwind, Stoke Boost will take the stress out, letting you zen out and zone into the conditions with ease. By the end of our run, we actually had enough battery life to chug 2km upwind and go again. This system will certainly accelerate any person’s downwind progression.

It’s clear that Stoke Boost can be used as both a learning tool and a session-extender. Spend more time on foil and less time grinding. Use it to teach your family and friends to foil, and share the froth. Take it off, add it on, use it when you want to or when the conditions require. This ruggedly reliable standalone system does exactly what Stoke say it will and build quality really is notable – it is beautifully and robustly built.