FLOW CUSTOM MAGIC POD FOIL DRIVE ADAPTER
I am an avid user of the Foil Drive system. I use it as a true assistive device and not as an E-foil. That means I am using it to help me paddle out to the waves and to help me paddle into a wave. I do not use it to buzz around the swells and waves. When I am up on foil, I ride it as if I do not have a motor. This has always been my objective with the use of the Foil Drive. I keep the propeller as close to my board as possible so that I can turn and pump like I would normally. If the Pod dips in the water during a wave I notice it immediately and generally that is the end of my wave, until now.
Instagram is an amazing tool to advertise. Despite all the negative aspects of it, it has allowed individuals with product ideas to get them to people. I only follow foil related material on Instagram. @flow_custom started to follow me, and I came across a post about the pod adapter they have for the Foil Drive called The Magic Pod. I knew I should try it so I reached out to see if I could buy one. Flow Custom responded and I bought two. I bought the standard and the carbon versions. I have used both versions. I have been using it exclusively on my Gen2 Foil Drive. Here are my thoughts on why it is better than the OEM.
DRAG BABY DRAG
The Magic-Pod front consists of only a thin strap that is made of plastic. It has a lot less drag than the OEM pod, which is more like a torpedo shape. This is the first thing I noticed or rather did not notice. When I was up on foil and dropped a little too low, I did not feel that instant drag that I normally would feel. I was able to pump through it and recover. Yes, there is still drag but it is not as much.
SIMPLE IS BETTER
When you first get Flow-Custom you remove the stator from the OEM adapter. You then attach the stator directly to the Pod of the Flow-Custom. You then can slide the strap onto the mast and tighten it to the Pod portion with just two bolts. These two bolts allow you to tighten and loosen the pod to the mast without detaching the Pod. This is great if you need to switch to a different mast. You only need to remove two bolts to detach from the mast. I am able to just loosen the bolts and slide the unit off the end of my Cedrus mast and onto my No-limitz mast. The second thing the system allows is for you to adjust the Pod position up or down quickly without detaching the motor. If you have 1st generation unit this is fantastic since you could move the motor up or down in the water with just an Allen wrench. I did this in the water in Hawaii and it let me go from an assist to an E-foil in seconds.
SUMMARY
The Flow-Custom Magic Pod is an excellent upgrade from the OEM. It has less drag. It allows easy on and off of the mast. It allows quick height adjustment of the Pod without removing from the mast.
