I Tested a $25,000 Electric Surfboard; Worth It?

For my test ride on the Canvas, I was joined by skimboarder, YouTuber extraordinaire, and soft-top wizard, Blair Conklin. Naturally, he wanted to try the boards in the ocean, although typically they’re best suited for flat water. Blair and I learned that the hard way, while riding the boards over choppy Laguna Beach waters; and so, the LIND team, Blair, and myself packed everything up and headed for the more placid setting of Newport Beach’s Back Bay. That’s where the boards really began to shine, and the speed demon emerged.

Backstory

LIND was co-founded by Alex Lind, a Swede who was always drawn to boardsports but was geographically challenged in the surfing department. (Not much waves in Sweden.) But while in college, he encountered some fellow students working on a flatwater-friendly electric surfboard.

“It all sort of clicked in that moment,” Lind said. “I'd like to say I immediately realized there was a gap in easily accessible flatwater surfing and saw the business potential, but likely my subconscious just convinced me that this would be a great way to avoid a desk job, so I took out a loan of about $100k and decided to give this idea a shot with a friend.”

After that first company (Radinn) – and one viral video, which featured Lind launching the board off an eight-foot waterfall – he set out to create LIND in 2020.

Design

One of the first aspects that stands out from the LIND Canvas is its sleek design. It looks like it should be hanging on a wall in some hipster Venice Beach coffee shop, rather than screaming across a body of water. And surprisingly, unlike other electric novelties that have hit the market in previous years, the Canvas is relatively similar to a traditional surfboard.

“One of the design requirements when starting LIND was that it had to be constructed like a surfboard – foam and fiberglass – and be separated from the technology,” said Lind. “That would give us the best chance to make a high-performance, lightweight board, but also allow us to perfect the shape over time by working with craftsmen and surfboard shapers that are experts in their field, just as our engineers are experts in electric drivetrain technology.”

The team even looked to classic shapes of surfboard yore for inspiration. Lind continued:

“One week we'd be inspired by retro / classic designs like those of Bob McTavish and the next week by innovative glassers like Nuevo Camino Speed Machines, and every other month by something in between. It was fun to ideate, but in the end we decided to simplify and let the board's details shine. It made sense our first release would be a clean, white design.”

Technology

Prior to riding the board, I was told the battery had “2x the energy density of a Tesla Model S.” Safe to say, I had no idea what that meant. But it sounded good.

The battery – a super heavy rectangular device – fits in a compartment located underneath the board. Then, there’s a funnel on the tail, which shoots the water outward, and propels the board forward. It’s similar to a jet ski, and that’s about as much as I understood regarding the hydrodynamics of the whole operation. For specifics, here’s Lind:

“The waterjet beneath the board sucks in water, via a spinning impeller, and shoots it out the jet's outlet at the tail of the board. That impeller shaft spins thanks to dual motors, also within the waterjet module, spinning at nearly 30k rpms, that are then geared down to create torque and power which spin the impeller shaft. And those dual motors spin thanks to the energy created by the battery. The board's shape is optimized to hold rail and plane efficiently; however, we're constantly searching for the perfect shape and already have ideas for our second release. The good thing is we can pop out new shapes in about one month.”

Make sense? Yeah, I’m still lost as well. All you need to know is this thing goes.

Feeling

LIND Canvas Electric Surfboard Review (1:52)

After riding the board, I was asked by many, “what was it like? Was it like surfing?”

My answers have been: “hard to explain” and “no.”

I’ve never been wakeboarding or wakesurfing, but I imagine the feeling of riding a LIND Canvas is very similar. Maybe a touch of snowboarding on water tossed into the mix. Whatever the feeling was, it was addictive; I rode that board until my legs were Jell-O.

A few notes on how to operate the board – first of all, standing up can be a little bit tricky. Unlike tow surfing, you don’t start standing on the board underwater, then rise as you gain momentum. Instead, you begin laying down, with the wireless throttle trigger in hand. You rev the engine to get going, then weasel your way up to your feet – either by going to your knees first, or just popping up like you would on a regular surfboard.

Next, one thing about that handheld throttle controller. It takes a little practice, but it’s best to keep the accelerator steady. If you lay off the throttle completely, while moving at a decent speed, the board is going to stop abruptly, and you’re going to be launched forward. And then the board is going to follow, potentially running you over. That happened to me a handful of times during the test.

But luckily, no battle scars.

Price

As mentioned, the LIND Canvas Electric Surfboard – which comes in a shortboard (6'3" × 21" × 6", 66 liters) and a mid-length (6'9" × 23" × 6", 88 liters) goes for $24,950.00 USD. That’s just about the most expensive surfboard, electric or not, of all time.

Lind understands that, too. He explained: “The price is indeed pretty high for 99.9% of the world. We created a product that no one on our own team can afford. I tell people all the time, if we could sell the board for $1,000 and be profitable, we would. The problem is that no one has ever optimized a product for this application, so we had to create everything in-house, custom designed by ourselves.”

But like all commodities, as demand increases and resources become more available, Lind is confident that the price point will begin to decrease. He said:

“In other words, suppliers and economies of scale help you lower prices, and in our case, we could not rely on suppliers as the technology had not been perfected for this application. That .01% that can afford our boards will be key to lowering the price over time and making the boards more accessible for the rest of us.”

For 2025, they are only producing and selling 100 models.

Verdict

While I couldn’t personally justify (or afford) a Zuckerberg-like purchase of a $25k electric surfboard, the time I spent testing the LIND Canvas was undeniably enjoyable. Like my legs, my face was sore afterwards from smiling so much. And going that fast – again, up to speeds of 35 miles per hour – over a body of water was otherworldly.

LIND has certainly perfected their craft – these are top-of-the-line when it comes to the niche world of electric surfboards. They’re the Bugatti, the Rolex, the [insert singular celebrated product here] of the realm. If I had the money, yes, I would buy one. And maybe one day that will become a reality; I’ll ride my LIND from my waterfront home to the neighborhood wave pool. Dystopian? A little bit. But also very, very fun.

Check out the LIND Canvas here.