Every foiler who has ridden a powered board knows the compromise. You bolt a battery to the deck and the board stops feeling like a board. The swing weight changes, the rail response dulls, and the thing you fell in love with — that light, alive feel of a foil underfoot — gets a little further away with every kilogram you add.
The Manta Backpack takes that weight off the board and puts it on your back. It has now had its first independent test, and Foiling Magazine — the sport’s leading publication — describes Manta as “one of the first to come with a refined, production-ready backpack battery system.”
The Manta Backpack releases in August 2026. This article covers what their testers found: the design, the honest trade-offs, and why a foil assist backpack that fits other brands’ systems matters for the whole category. You can read Foiling Magazine’s full test of the TakeOff Evo for the complete write-up.
Key takeaways
- The Manta Backpack relocates the battery and main unit from the board to the rider’s back, reducing swing weight for a more agile ride and better pumping efficiency.
- Foiling Magazine found the result made the board “feel closer to a non-powered setup.”
- It fits most foil assist systems built for a standard 90 mm track — not only Manta’s — using the matching power cable kit. A Foil Drive (FD) power cable kit (Gen 2.0, WIP for 2.5) is one of the options. Manta Foils has no affiliation with Foil Drive.
- Signal strength is a standout: the remote never lost connection during testing on a full carbon board, because the unit sits on the rider rather than inside the deck.
- The design is patent pending, and the Manta Backpack releases in August 2026.
- Important safety point: the backpack provides buoyancy of up to 3.5 kg, which offsets part of the unit weight. It is not a life jacket, not a flotation device, and will not float a person.
What is a foil assist backpack?
It is a wearable mount for your foil assist system. Instead of carrying the battery and main unit on the board, you wear them, and a power cable runs from the backpack down to the motor.
The Manta Backpack has a mounting track on the harness. You slide T-nuts into that track, position them to match the mounting holes on your foil assist unit, and secure the unit with the provided screws. An interface plate then sits between your mast and your board, and the motor cable plugs into a connector on the back of that plate.
The harness itself is buoyant neoprene, made from waterproof material, and adjusts to fit riders from S to XL. Foiling Magazine noted that many of its components feel “closer to an impact vest than a backpack” — padded and structured to be worn while riding, not just carried to the beach.
One practical detail from the manual worth knowing: the Air and Evo battery noses are not needed when running the backpack.
Why move the battery off the board?
This is the entire argument for the product, and the review addresses it directly.
Deck-mounted batteries add several kilograms to the board, and that mass sits in the swing weight. It changes how the board pivots, how the rail engages, and how the foil responds. On a light carbon setup the effect is more pronounced still, because the battery is a large share of total board weight.
Relocating that weight to the rider returns the board to something much closer to its unpowered balance. After testing on a 5’6″ mid-length with an 850 foil in small waves, Foiling Magazine’s conclusion was that the setup “really makes the board feel closer to a non-powered setup.” Manta’s stated design intent matches: reduced swing weight for a more agile ride and improved pumping efficiency.
There is a second benefit most riders would not predict. With the unit mounted on the rider rather than inside the board, there is no interference from carbon construction or from a low-volume board sitting below the surface. In the testers’ words, the remote “never lost connection through the entire time testing on a full carbon board.”
That solves a real, documented problem. In Flukes Kitesurfing’s 27-session test, the reviewer had to press the remote against his chest to hold signal when starting prone on a 25 L sinker, because the board sat deep enough to block transmission. Two independent testers, two different setups — and the backpack architecture removes the issue by design.
What does “universal” compatibility actually mean?
The Manta Backpack is built to fit most foil assist systems made for a standard 90 mm track, not only Manta hardware. Since 90 mm tracks are the industry standard on modern foil boards, that covers a large share of the market.
The compatibility works through power cable kits. You choose the right one for your system when you buy:
| Power cable kit | For |
|---|---|
| TakeOff Evo | Manta TakeOff Evo |
| TakeOff Air / Flow | Manta TakeOff Air and TakeOff Flow |
| FD | Foil Drive systems |
On Foil Drive specifically: a dedicated FD power cable kit exists (Gen 2.0, WIP for 2.5), so a Foil Drive Gen 2.0 owner can run their existing unit on the Manta Backpack and get the weight off their board without changing motor systems. To be unambiguous — Manta Foils is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with Foil Drive. Foil Drive is a competitor. We built the mount to be open because the battery-on-the-board problem is not brand-specific, and riders should not have to abandon a motor system they are happy with to solve an ergonomics problem.
Building a backpack that only fitted Manta hardware would have been the commercially obvious move. Building one that fits the category is better for riders.
What are the trade-offs?
The review is refreshingly honest about them, and anyone considering the system should read this part before buying.
On land, it feels strange. The testers described the first impression as “a bit strange — it was unsettling feeling the weight on the body and getting ready to get into the water.”
In the water, much of that fades. As soon as you float, the buoyancy of the harness takes over and, in their words, “the weight fades away.”
In hard turns, you feel it. Leaning aggressively into the foil, the mass high on the rider’s back shifts the balance point through the turn, with “a noticeable feeling of wanting to fall backwards.”
It is learnable. After a few waves the testers found the right balance point and leverage, and went on to describe “a fun wave riding experience.”
There are limits on where it belongs, too. Manta specifies the backpack for agile riding in light-to-moderate wave conditions — it is not designed for extreme conditions or big-wave surfing. It also requires a board with a strong leash plug, since the leash carries the load in a fall.
Safety: what the backpack is and is not
This matters more than any performance claim, so it deserves its own section.
The Manta Backpack provides buoyancy of up to 3.5 kg. That offsets part of the weight of the unit you are carrying. It does not offset all of it, and it does not float a rider.
The Manta Backpack is not a life jacket and not a personal flotation device. It is not a substitute for proper safety equipment. Riders should use appropriate flotation and safety gear for their conditions exactly as they would without it.
The leash system is also designed with failure in mind: the leash is deliberately shorter than the power cable, so in a fall the leash takes the load and the power cable is not damaged. The cable should be routed on the same side as the leash so both pull in the same direction, and — critically — kept clear of the propeller. Manta’s manual is explicit that incorrect cable routing near the propeller can cause severe damage and is a safety risk.
Use the short screws supplied with the backpack rather than standard ones; they are shorter by design to avoid cracking the backpack tracks.
What else did the test find?
A few observations on the rest of the system from the same test.
| Component | Foiling Magazine’s finding |
|---|---|
| Power cable | Integrated board leash in a strong bungee style with neoprene sheathing, keeping cables consolidated. Not noticeable while riding once positioned. |
| Motor | Fully sealed with no removable parts. Large in length and diameter, delivering “a significant amount of power.” |
| Controller | Large LCD showing power level and battery life, “large and easy to read when on foil and in direct sunlight.” |
| Safety lock | Auto-locking digital safety prevents accidental motor engagement; the controller re-locks after a couple of seconds. |
| Power delivery | Tested at level 4 of 10 — “more than enough power to get up on a mid-length board,” typically riding at 60-70% throttle even at that reduced level. |
That power figure is worth noting. Flukes Kitesurfing independently found the same thing across 27 sessions: level 4 of 10 was his practical cruise setting, with level 3 the minimum to get up. Two testers, different countries, different boards, same number.
The review also flags genuine limitations. The tested configuration used a motor pod with a nose cone and external cable fairing, which requires some cable taping — Manta’s integrated mast was not available at the time of testing. And there is still moderate drag when the motor pod contacts the water on touchdown, which the reviewer fairly attributes to surface area rather than a design flaw.
Frequently asked questions
What is a foil assist backpack?
It is a wearable mount that carries your foil assist battery and main unit on your back instead of on the board. A power cable runs from the backpack to the motor. The goal is to remove swing weight from the board so it rides closer to an unpowered setup.
Does the Manta Backpack work with a Foil Drive system?
Yes. A dedicated FD power cable kit is available, and the backpack fits most foil assist systems built for a standard 90 mm track. Choose the correct power cable kit when purchasing. Manta Foils is not affiliated with or endorsed by Foil Drive.
Is the foil assist backpack a flotation device?
No. It provides buoyancy of up to 3.5 kg, which offsets part of the weight of the unit — not enough to float a person. It is explicitly not a life jacket or a personal flotation device, and it is not a substitute for proper safety equipment.
Does wearing the battery change how the board rides?
It improves the board and changes the rider. Foiling Magazine found the board rode “closer to a non-powered setup” once the weight came off the deck, but noted the mass on the rider’s back shifts balance through aggressive turns until you adapt — which took them a few waves.
Does the backpack fix remote signal problems on carbon or sinker boards?
It appears to. Because the unit sits on the rider rather than inside the board, Foiling Magazine reported no connection loss at all when testing on a full carbon board. This is the same issue other testers have hit starting prone on low-volume boards, where the deck sits deep enough to block signal.
What conditions is it designed for?
Agile riding in light-to-moderate wave conditions. It is not designed for extreme conditions or big-wave surfing. It also needs a board with a strong leash plug.
What sizes does it fit?
The harness is adjustable from S to XL.
When is the Manta Backpack available?
The Manta Backpack releases in August 2026. For retail pricing, demo units, and display kits, contact your nearest reseller or sales@mantafoils.com.
Why we built it this way
Powered foiling has spent its first years asking riders to accept a compromise: you can have the assist, but the board will never quite feel like a board again. That was never a permanent trade — it was just where the engineering had got to.
Taking the battery off the deck and putting it on the rider is the direct answer. It gives the board back its balance, and it removes the signal problem that low-volume carbon boards create. The design is patent pending.
Making it fit other systems was the other deliberate choice. Riders on other platforms — Foil Drive included, with whom we have no affiliation — have exactly the same problem, and a backpack that only fitted our own hardware would have solved it for fewer people. The TakeOff Evo Foil Assist platform is what we build, but the ergonomics problem belongs to the whole category.
Independent testing is how these decisions get judged, and we would rather be tested honestly, trade-offs included, than described generously. If you are weighing up powered foiling more broadly, our eFoil vs Foil Assist comparison covers how the formats differ and who each one suits.
