Foiling on open ocean downwind swells is a lot harder than it looks. The conditions need to be good and it takes a huge amount of effort to overcome the additional drag from the foil to get the board up to foiling speed while making sure your feet are in exactly the right place. My first few attempts were frustrating and humbling. On my second downwind run with the new GoFoil Maliko 280 I finally started getting some longer rides and once the board lifts off the water it feels amazing- like you are flying with minimal drag. I'm still using a 12'6 board as I need all the glide I can get to catch the bumps. I'm thinking in really good conditions I would like to try a shorter board soon.
Since there is not much information available on the Maliko 280, we made this video review and comparison to the original Maliko 160:
