Ride What Mr Bennetts Rides — FLITELab* at Slack Tide
If you follow foiling at all, you know who Adam Bennetts is. Ex-pro surfer, ex-DJ, current fanatic — the Australian who turned professional surfing credentials into one of the most credible voices in performance foiling. His YouTube channel (@misterbennetts) has a few million views' worth of proof that he actually knows what he's doing on a foil. He's not an ambassador in the brand-trip sense. He's one of the people who designed the equipment.
FLITELab* is Fliteboard's performance division — built by a small team of hydrodynamicists and engineers, tested obsessively by Bennetts and a handful of others. The wing sets carry his initials. The AMP boards were shaped around how he rides. It's the kind of involvement that shows up in how the gear actually performs, not just on the packaging.
We stock and ride FLITELab* at Slack Tide. Here's an honest account of what the setup is like.
What FLITELab* Actually Is
FLITELab* sits outside Fliteboard's main eFoil lineup. It's unpowered foiling — prone surf foil, wing foil, downwind — with an optional foil assist system called the AMP Jet. The idea is simple: a high-performance foil platform that you can ride raw, or bolt a self-contained motor cartridge into when the conditions or your energy levels call for it.
The boards are built around carbon — light, stiff, shaped for performance riders rather than beginners. The FLUX wing range is where Bennetts' input is most visible: mid-aspect wings optimised for rail-to-rail carving and low-end pump, tested at his home break in Wategos, Byron Bay, then refined until they worked everywhere else too. The AB suffix on wing designations (FLUX 808 AB, for example) marks the signature shapes he had a hand in developing.
It's not beginner gear. It's also not unapproachably technical. If you can foil consistently, you can ride this setup and immediately feel what the fuss is about.
The AMP System: What It Does and When It Matters
The AMP Jet is a self-contained propulsion cartridge that drops into a reinforced cavity in the tail of the AMP boards. 55lbs of max thrust, fully integrated, zero external drag when it's not running. You can switch between assisted and unassisted in under ten seconds — pull the cartridge, put in a blank, ride raw.
In practical terms, the AMP system is useful in three situations. Prone foiling in marginal surf — where the energy isn't quite enough to pump through flat sections — the AMP Jet gets you through. Downwind sessions where you're still building the pump fitness to link runs without motor assist. And winging in light wind, where a brief assisted start removes the faff of drifting around waiting for a gust.
What it isn't: an eFoil. It's not designed for cruising around on flat water under motor power. It's a tool for extending what you can do on a performance foil, not a substitute for learning to foil properly.
Riding FLITELab* North Devon and North Wales
North Devon gives you a useful range of conditions for a setup like this. Woolacombe Bay on a small swell day is exactly what the FLUX wings were built for — clean, rolling energy, room to carve, enough push to get the foil flying without needing to be Adam Bennetts to make it happen. The Menai Strait is a different environment entirely: tidal current, choppier water, technical navigation. The FLITELab* platform handles both, which tells you something about how the gear is designed.
We use the AMP boards and FLUX wing range in our own riding. Not because we're stockists — though we are — but because after testing what's available, it's what we'd choose anyway. That's the straightforward version.
Who This Setup Is For
FLITELab* is for riders who are past the beginner stage and starting to think about what they actually want from a foil. If you're consistently flying and looking to carve harder, pump longer, or get into prone foiling or downwind, this is the range to look at seriously.
It's also worth considering if you've watched Bennetts' content and wondered whether the gear lives up to what you see on screen. Short answer: it does, with the caveat that the rider still has to do the work. The FLUX wings are genuinely exceptional in the conditions they're designed for. The AMP system works exactly as described. None of it will make you foil better than your current skill level, but it won't hold you back either.
Try FLITELab* at Slack Tide
We have the FLITELab* AMP boards, FLUX wings and AMP Jet system available in North Devon and North Wales. If you're an intermediate or advanced rider who wants to get on the gear before committing to buying — or if you've bought a setup and want coached time on it — get in touch and we'll sort a session.
We're not going to tell you it'll change your foiling. That's for you to decide. But if you've been watching Mr Bennetts ride and wondering what the setup actually feels like in UK conditions, there's one straightforward way to find out.