It’s been a while since I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing a product by Ape Piaggio, so it was with a sense of expectation and curiosity – Ape’s products have never disappointed – I received the WALT (Water, Air, Land Technologies) Jet Board a few weeks back for a sort-of final evaluation (others had done a lot more work than I in helping Ape bring it to market). And the expectation proved justified.
A jet board is essentially a short surfboard with a water jet propulsion module and hydrofoil suspended beneath it. It is ridden in much the same manner as a surfboard, standing atop it and using bodyweight transfer to steer it. The key difference is the propulsor powers it along rather than it being used to ride waves, with the thrust of the propulsion unit controlled via a hand-held remote operating either wirelessly or via a tether to the board.
Modern, electrically-powered jet boards entered popular use in the 2010’s when board races started to become a common water sporting event. However, their history goes back as far as the 1960s, while precursor to the whole idea, the powered surfboard (the motor in this case allowing the surfer to ride the board our into the surf rather than having to paddle it) goes back even further. However, it is the modern electrically-powered version of the Jet Board that Ape has produced.
Priced at L$800, the WALT Jet Board is delivered in Ape’s familiar “toy box” packaging (which is attractive in and of itself), and comprises the Jet Board, the WALT Adjust Tool Box (a HUD and script which allow any personal animations added to the Jet Board to be properly adjusted), and an instruction manual. The board itself is a nicely detailed, clean design, weighing-in at 6 LI. Unlike other products by Ape, it doesn’t use a dialogue-driven menu system to access controls and options; everything is managed through clicking on the board itself, with information displayed via a hovertext HUD.
Jet Board Controls and Operation
Using the Jet Board is as simple as rezzing it out on Linden Water and and then right-clicking to sit. This will trigger a nice little animation, positioning your avatar in the water at the back of the board before making a “kick jump” to raise out of the water and straddle-sit the board. Doing so will trigger a local chat display of the board’s key controls, as outlined below.
| Seated, board stationary | Seated / standing, board in motion |
General:
Hold-click options (toggle on / off):
|
Throttle:
Driving controls:
|
Once seated on the board, the easiest way to get used to it is to give a double-tap on PgUp. This will set the throttle to 100% and your avatar will stand on the board and ride it as it jets off. You can then use the Left / Right Arrow keys for steering, and the Up Arrow key to push the nose of the board up. This is the equivalent of shifting your centre of mass more towards the back of the board, encouraging the tip to rise. When this happens, the hydrofoil under the board starts to generate lift, pushing the board out of the water, reducing drag.
Once up on the foil, it is not necessary to maintain full throttle. The art is maintaining your centre of gravity over the sweet spot: if you have the full hover text display enabled, you want to keep the nose of the board up around 410mm. at lower speeds this may require occasional taps on the Up Arrow to maintain – but be careful not to over-do it; get the nose too high and the motor will be unable to pull sufficient water through the propulsor, killing forward momentum and dropping the board back down onto the water.
When the speed is too low for standing, or if the throttle is cut, you’ll drop down into the straddle-sit position. If you want to move around on the board while seated, just give the PgUp key two or three individual taps to get the throttle up to 10-15%, and you’ll make headway and be able to steer.
Motion on the board is accompanied by some nice animations. When standing, your avatar will constantly bend and flex its legs is response to whatever buffeting / rising and falling the board is experiencing. When you turn, your avatar will naturally lean into the turn as if using bodyweight to influence direction. Similarly, when seated and in motion, turning will see your avatar use one or other leg as a rudder.
Permissions, Animations, Battery Charging and Texturing
Driving Permissions
There are no driving permissions associated with the Jet Board; if you rez it, anyone can hop on and use it. This means it can be easily combined with a rezzing system if desired, or copies of the board can be used with family and friends. However, if you do want to lock a board you’ve rezzed out – then, when you are not seated on it, left-click on it for about 2 seconds and the engine lock will engage, preventing any use of the board. You must repeat this step to unlock the board when you want to use it yourself.
Sit Animations
The WALT Jet Board comes with four default sit animations beside the straddle sit. These can only be activated when the board is stationary – which make sense. They can be cycled through by left-clicking the board when it is at a complete stop.
You can add your own animations to the board as well. Instructions on how to do this and in using the WALT Adjust Tool Box to fine-tune such additional animations are provided with the Jet Board. However, when using the Tool Box, note that while it supports couples animations, the Jet Board is a single person / single seat craft.
Battery Charging
A battery charging system is included, and the need to recharge can be toggled on / off via a hold-click option, as noted in the table above.
- To initiate charging simply left-cleck the board when not seated on it. The battery cover will open and a little solar charger on its own floatation device will be revealed, with cables connected to the battery.
- A hover text charge status is displayed over the board as charging takes place.
- Once charging is complete, the charger will de-rez and the battery cover replace itself. If you do not require a full recharge of the battery, left-click the board at any time to stop the recharge operation.
Texturing
For those who like to custom texture their vehicles (I generally do so with mine, but have yet to settled on a personalised texture scheme), Ape provides a dropbox containing the required .PSD files.
A Personal View
The Jet Board is a fun ride; it takes a little practice to master, but once you’re used to it, you’ll find yourself zipping over the water with ease. The lack of driving permissions makes it easy to share with friends, as noted, while the charging sequence is a nice touch.
While my tests were not exhaustive, I found it handled multiple regions crossings pretty well, even when repeatedly circling back and forth between regions, and I experienced little in the way of total loss of control. The hold-click menu perhaps takes the longest to get used to, and can cause frustration as it is easy to step past the option you want. However, given you’re only likely to want to use these options occasionally, it’s not a mark against the board.
Certainly, at L$800 for a unit that is Copy / Mod, the WALT Jet Board represents really good value and offers something very different to the run-of-the-mill surfboards, windsurfers and single-sit jet skis.
Related Links
- WALT Air Land Technologies (Santa Cruz, rated Moderate)
- Marketplace
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 
That looks like alot of fun!
LikeLike