AXIS Frank Mako Downwind Carbon Foilboard

This collab between AXIS and Frank Foilboards is something a lot of people have been getting excited about. Frank has been leading the charge in terms of shaping progressive customs on Maui over the last few years and has now teamed up with AXIS to launch a production board. These new generation of downwind boards are a huge leap forward in terms of performance.

The Mako comes complete with a custom fitted bag

From AXIS:

Downwind SUP foiling at its best. 

Designed on Maui by Francesco Maffei (Frank Foilboards), the MAKO is the result of extensive testing on countless Maliko runs and many design reiterations and refinements.

The goal was to create the most user friendly and high performance Downwind SUP available on the market.

There are a few key details that separate these boards from what’s available on the market.

A revolutionary rocker line designed to increase board speed and effortlessly release from the water surface for extremely smooth takeoffs. 

The combination of the rocker line and the rail design makes this board extremely stable. This allows for a reduced board width which is key for increased displacement speed. 

The bottom design purpose is to increase acceleration through the water for take offs but also to maintain forgiveness during touch downs at high speeds.

This ability to increase board speed also improves stability due to the fact that the board is navigating at higher speeds through the water engaging the foil that will help balancing on the board.

The extra rocker noticeable on the back of the board ensures that the tail doesn’t catch on the water surface while riding on foil and also it prevents the board from tracking on a straight line too aggressively causing loss of balance. 

Our flat deck allows for comfort and direct feel during long downwind runs and it offers a wide area to move the feet around to accommodate the rider’s stance preferences.

Volume is concentrated around the middle of the board which results in an extremely balanced feel while padding and when on foil. 

At the same time the low volume on nose and tail reduces the swing weight making this downwind boards feel much shorter than what they are. 

A full carbon construction with high density foam sandwich under the pad is critical for the overall stiffness. 

Every bit of energy put into the board will transfer to the foil resulting in maximum efficiency and performance.

All Mako boards ship with a custom fitting board bag designed for ultimate protection and utility, it features a dual zipper system, allowing access from either side, built-in ventilation, and stow pockets. 

Designed and tested extensively in Maui, his board brings a whole new level of performance to the downwind world and will help riders push their limits in this growing discipline.

Head designer at AXIS, Adrian Roper gives a run through some of the new kit for 2025 as well as the Mako board from Frank in the video below from the BOOT show in Dusseldorf Jan 2025.