Off the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii there’s a place called Banzai Pipeline, which is legendary among top surfers the world over. In fact, they come from just about every corner of the globe looking to ride the Pipeline’s big waves and near-perfect barrels. The place isn’t for the inexperienced or faint of heart, but for those up to the challenge it is one of the top surfing destinations found anywhere on the planet.
That’s exactly why pro surfers Kai Lenny and Jamie O’Brien recently made the pilgrimage to those hallowed waters, setting their sights specifically on a place called the Third Reef. But unlike most surfers who venture into the Pipeline, they didn’t come to ride it on just any old surfboard. Instead, they came to see how a hydrofoil board performed on those wild waves, and lucky for us, they caught the entire experience in the video below.
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Hydrofoil boards are quickly becoming a popular alternative to traditional surfboards, in large part because they are beginner-friendly and can ride just about any kind of wave — even those that are less than impressive. A hydrofoil board looks like a standard surfboard in most ways, with one important difference: It has a long pole connect to the bottom that is affixed to a wing that sits beneath the surface of the water. When the surfer catches a wave and starts to move, just like the wing of an aircraft, the hydrofoil wing creates lift, raising the board — and the surfer — out of the water. The result is improved speed and maneuverability.
Lenny has been an advocate for hydrofoil boards for some time. The big-wave surfer is drawn to this unique experience that allows him to turn mediocre waves into incredibly fun rides. On top of that, a hydrofoil has an incredibly long range, allowing a surfer to skip from wave to wave in an endless fashion. This has allowed Lenny to pull off such stunts as racing a sailboat, ride a river in Idaho, and ride for 50 miles between two islands in Hawaii.
These feats have been turning heads and leaving other surfers to wonder if hydrofoils are the future of the sport.
Goodbye, coolers. The EcoFlow Glacier doesn’t need ice — it makes it
Every cooler operates on borrowed time. It leaves for your camping trip brimming over with crisp produce and ice-encrusted beer that looks straight out of a Super Bowl commercial, and returns with a soggy block of foil-wrapped cheddar cheese floating in a pool of mustard water. Mother Nature always wins.
Perhaps that’s why I was so enamored when I saw the EcoFlow Glacier at CES 2023. Less a cooler than a mobile battery-powered fridge on wheels, the sleek electric Glacier not only obviated the need for ice, it would make ice for me in 18 minutes. My home fridge can’t even do that, and I didn’t even know I wanted it to until just now. When EcoFlow offered to let me try the Glacier, I envisioned sipping a perspiring glass of whiskey in the tropics and accepted the occupational hazards of my job.
I was wrong. E-bikes are so practical, they’re a transit cheat code
Confession: Despite loving both bikes and gadgets, e-bikes never excited me. Compared to my bicycle, e-bikes seemed unfair. Compared to my motorcycle, they seemed slow. Compared to my car, they seemed impractical.
But with $1,500 federal e-bike rebates potentially on the horizon at part of E-Bike Act, I decided it was past time to reconsider. Not just because 30% off would make them way more accessible, but because the entire idea that e-bikes could be worthy of a rebate changed the way I looked at them: less as toys, more as transit. Had I written off an entire way of getting around because I was looking at it the wrong way?
Upway launches one of the best marketplaces for certified e-bikes, new or not
This content was produced in partnership with Upway.
It wasn't too long ago that e-bikes were a rare sight, but all of that has changed, and rightfully so. Electric bikes are all over the road these days, and there are many brands either venturing into the technology, to launch their own versions of the sustainable transportation option or reiterating existing and traditional designs. From Aventon to Schwinn, or RadPower to Momentum, with so many opportunities, the prevailing question is, where do you go to find the best deals and the best information about these brands and their e-bike models? The answer is Upway, the number one certified electric bike provider and an official partner to many of the aforementioned brands.
What is Upway, exactly? It's a marketplace, specializing in e-bikes, featuring an inventory that's sourced from some of the best brands in the world. There are American brands -- like Specialized, Cannondale, and RadPower -- and European brands -- like Riese, Muller, and VanMoof. The best part is the discounts, offering up to 60% off retail, for a plethora of brands. Upway is on a mission to make sustainable mobility affordable for everyone. It's also one of the best places to go for a new or pre-owned e-bike, and here's why:
