Foot Strap Tightness

[bix]

With being back on the water for the first time since breaking my leg, I started the day at Double Bluff riding my Crazy Fly Surf Baord without any straps on it. After a couple hours, I decided to take out my Crazy Fly twin tip with the foot straps on it. I only lasted about a half hour with the foot straps because of the pain in my ankle. But it got me thinking.

If you have ever wondered how tight to set your foot straps so that you can keep the board on your feet while still being safe, here is my two bits. For most of us riding the twin tips or wake board style kiteboards, set the strap so that it sits about halfway between your toes and your ankle. Looser straps will result in the board coming off and if you crash hard you have the potential of twisting your ankle and doing some damage. I like to wiggle my feet into the straps so that I can see my toes on the other side and that is as far into the straps that I get.

If you are riding a surf board with straps, you will want to be able to get in and out easily, so here I oversize the straps and use the twist the foot method to grab the strap - the NSI approach.

The other things that affect a good fit are the foot pads. There are some great contuored pads out there that complement the straps.

So be safe and comfortable. Go have some fun!

[DanielStoner]

Nice to hear you are back on the water, Doug. How'd it go?

Daniel

[DanielStoner]

Oops...Saw your response on the other thread. I'm sure it felt great to get back out. See you out there soon!

Daniel

[stringy]

thanks for the advice on foot strap placement.
Here's another little problem, i have experienced with having my foot straps is when I come down hard on a boost, my foot will get jammed into the strap real tight to the point I cannot get it back out very easily.
could this be a strap placement issue, or just too loose of a strap?

[jason]

thanks for the advice on foot strap placement.
Here's another little problem, i have experienced with having my foot straps is when I come down hard on a boost, my foot will get jammed into the strap real tight to the point I cannot get it back out very easily.
could this be a strap placement issue, or just too loose of a strap?

That is a problem that occurs more with cushey foot pads like the Liquid Force luxury pads and the Caution foot pads. It also occurs more when you are coming into hot landings a la kiteloops.

I use the Caution pads and really crank down my straps so that I can't even get my feet into them without getting them wet and either cranking them in with the board handle or more often just getting up riding then wiggling them in. I haven't had a problem since I started doing that, even with hot landings...

[bix]

For Stringy's question about getting the foot jammed, I would recommend tightening the strap by about an 1/8"
Not a lot, but just enough to make sure the feet don't get jambed. Repeat if necessary.