Electric surfboard firm Awake aims to make waves with first e-foil

By James Attwood

8 Mar 2022

Swedish firm Awake is best known for its range of pioneering electric surfboards – and has now branched out into the burgeoning e-foil market with the new Vinga.

Founded in 2017, Awake offers a range of electric surfboards, including the extreme Ravik S 22. The idea is that they are suitable for wakeboarding, but remove the need for the surfer to be towed by a boat.

The firm has now taken that technology and applied it to the growing e-foil market. For the uninitiated, e-foils are effectively surfboard that feature a hydrofoil and electric propeller mounted on a long arm on the board’s underside. The propeller moves the board forward, and at speed the hydrofoil acts like an airplane win, creating lift that raises the main board out entirely out of the water. Several racing yachts and new electric boats feature similar technology.

Not sure if you’d want an Awake surfboard or an e-foil? Well, Awake claims that electric surfboards are designed to be “powerful, fast and intense”, while e-foils are “serene, smooth and controlled.”

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The Awake Vinga is designed for both e-foil newcomers and veterans, and features the firm’s ‘Click-to-Ride’ driveline, designed to reduce the time taken to assemble it. The machine also uses the same size of removable batteries as Awake’s surfboards, allowing the unit to be used for both machines.

Awake says that the the Vinga has been designed with a short but wide board that makes it stable and agile, with a focus on ensuring a quick response rate. Two front wing sizes will be offered: the Powder 1350 is suitable for people weighing up to 80kg, while the Powder 1800 is intended for beginners and those weighing above 80kg.