We started our foiling love affair at a time when trying to get a kite-foil was literally like searching for hens' teeth. So, like many before, the choice was to build instead of attempting to buy. That first hydrofoil build led to the next and the next and the next. Much was learnt from kite-foiling and tow-foiling experimentation. By the time Kai Lenny got us all excited about downwind ocean foiling, the possibilities became more apparent. That was when our first surf-foils hit the water. Soon, we had excited surfers and stand-up paddle boarders foiling beach breaks across Southern Africa and frothing about their joys! Not long thereafter, the niche down-wind foiling scene in South Africa had a number of older ones that could have been Kai Lenny's parents successfully foiling downwind off Cape Town with the Cape Doctor (SE wind) blowing on their backs. Then came the "wing thing", which is now handheld, instead of the bar and lines associated with kites. It makes a lot of sense and its easier to get into foiling that way. Our big downwind foils work very well for this and clients often tell us of how they were the only ones able to get foiling in light wind conditions. So, we have developed a bunch of foils, but always with the idea to make foiling easier and more fun.We want to share the joy of flying above water.
Foil-Smart is a South African company that is based in Knysna (a coastal town located on a stunning lagoon and minutes away from surf spots like the Knysna Heads and Buffels Bay). Knysna is situated between Cape Town and Jeffrey's Bay). We have combined our love for water sports and foiling experience with top-quality materials and innovative techniques to create these hand-crafted foils.
Designed, tested and built by hydrofoilers for hydrofoilers. Yes, we produce every one of our own foils. Ours foils are NOT built in Asia or China. No automation, no AI, no child labour. We literally shed blood, sweat and tears - raw carbon fibre cuts like a hot knife through butter. But, most of the time, it's tears of joy in producing our foils by hand.
We are based on a lagoon that allows year-round foil testing as we research and develop foils. The Indian and Atlantic ocean swells roll up on our shoreline, allowing for testing foils in varied surf conditions from two different oceans.
Foil-Smart is about opening the thrilling world of foiling up to the broadest spectrum of sportsmen and -women who share a passion for water and the ocean.
We want you to experience the new world of foiling and get a #foilsmile.
Give us a call (Whatapp calls work well) and we can hopefully get you excited about foiling too.
OUR PATENT-PENDING TOOLLESS FOIL ANGLE ADJUSTMENT IS A NEXT-LEVEL SOLUTION TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS IN HYDROFOILING.
We endeavour to create user-friendly hydrofoils that are smartly designed and manufactured for a product that reflects common sense and multi-purpose applications. That means that most of our Foil-Smart components can be used for kite-foiling, wake-foiling, SUP-foiling, surf-foiling, and wing-foiling; making them especially versatile.
Each component in the Foil-Smart range has been designed with its specific role in mind and built according to that need.
Being an avid hydrofoiler myself, I design, build and test so nothing gets lost (either in translation or in misunderstanding between tester and designer). We appreciate the feedback given by our foilers and then translate that to new designs and improvements for you. We reserve the rights to make these improvements at any time so that you get the latest and best we have to offer straight away. We manufacture in-house and do not rely on a distant factory in the East somewhere.
For instance, our fuselage has 6 rear wing mounting threads. It is like having 5 different-length fuselages all in one, but for the cost of only one.
Our carbon tail wings are solid with no foam core so that you can cut, trim and sand it to your liking.
The new Foil-Smart ALULA front wing's tips can be trimmed and shaped to your liking too.
We love customising our foils for what we like, so you can too.