Staying in footstraps?

[SteveM]

I find that the most important thing is the gap between the side of my foot and the strap. The tighter this is the better, and you can then get away with the top part of the strap been either tight or loose.

Important to have the strap making contact with the sides and top of your foot, 3 points of contact rather then just the top of your foot.

Heelstraps are a short term solution only, as in future you will want to remove them for boardoff's etc and will have to relearn how to stay in the straps. Better to spend the time now, setting up your straps properly and learning to stay in them.

Steve

[-andre-]

i had the same problem!

try some other straps. i used the slingshot cuff-sandals for one year. your feet will be sucked in well. its not the best choice for doing foot-off tricks but for everything else they are fine. if you ride with boots try "atan" with latex-soles!
but there there will be more straps with that convenience and quicker adjustment and not 8 srews!
never use heelstraps! very dangerous if you make a crash. your first trick will be a 360° or 720° but only done by your feet ! because you often slide out with only one feet!


greets andré

[wendel]

I know it's not optimal to use heel straps, and definately not for board-off tricks. But with the crappy foot straps I've got on my board I find it a great improvement. Off course I'd rather use some comfy sandal type straps, but they cost money.
I also don't think it's too dangerous to use heel straps as long as they're not too tight. I've never had any problems getting out of my straps, the inner tubes extends quite well.
The reason I started using them in the first place was to make it easier using the board as a wakeboard behind a boat, and for that use the heel straps work very well.

[GMan]

I sit here with 7 sitches on my left ankle and a lightly sprained right foot cuased when a gust hit me and my left foot came off the footstrap. As I was jerked around I kicked the board with the heel of my left foot and opened a decent gash. My right foot never came off, and sprained it. Sooo... You guys talk about technique. I tighten my straps quite a bit, but still they sometimes feel loose and on jumps often my foot comes out. Can someone describe the techinque to avoid this. I see the benefit of being able to get out of the straps, but also se the problem with them coming out too easily, particularly when you are tryint to land and have to concentrate on the kite, etc...

Will be back in the water in about a week!!

[ptraykovski]

the nice thing about the inner tube heel straps is you can flip them over the footstraps and then they are completely out of the way. I have on my boards and use them about 30 to 40% of the time. When I want to tricks with my feet coming out of the straps I leave them off. But when I start getting really powered in choppy conditions I find I have much more control with the straps. Especially for wave riding in rough condtions I like em. I have had many more out of control one foot coming off experiences without the heel straps than with them. With them my feet only come out in really hard crashes either by stretching the heel strap or simply breaking it..it is pretty weak. Anyway everyone will have theri own opinion on this one, ther are some out ther who like heel strasp.

ps have a look at some pictures of lou w riding waves on his tiny finless boards and look closely at his heels sometime!

http://www.redearthmedia.com/kite/e83b4787.htm

Well i think thaats who it is...whoever it is he is ripping!

[Hampton]

I saw the previous posts on this topic. I think they were lost in the "Big Crash." Some people wrote about the dangers of adjusting your straps so that your feet go in too far. Serious foot injury can apparently occur due to this. Tighter straps will secure your foot at a point closer to the toes instead of near the ankle. This allow your foot to give and twist as it comes out in a crash. The alternative is a sprained/broken ankle.

[XtremeBigAir.com]

As I have mentioned on my previous post, again: it is VERY IMPORTANT that you use kiteboarding wide straps so that you can avoid problems like Gman got. The asymmetric wide straps allow us to ditch the boards easily and do board off tricks, etc. I set my straps so that I can pull straight out easily and lock tight if I twist my feet outward. Old Windsurfing rectangular foot strap does not work like that. Once you learn how to edge the board efficiently, you can ride the board with loose straps or even without straps. I kite in strong wind on my surfboard without straps. I hope that this will help you in making decision of how to set up your straps.

[GMan]

Hola X..Air I was actually using NSI wide straps. It was very choppy and as I was going over a big chop a gust hit me. I was not fully prepared for this and my foot came out. Maybe the Padz are somewhat slippery... maybe it was just bad luck... I will keep on tweaking and trying new setups... as soon as I can get back in the water

[huripari]

When I was learning the best thing were fat straps - it allowed me to get out of them quicker. Even now I favour having them looser then tighter. I tightened them recently, but gashed my ankle like the previous person on this thread, s loosened them off again. In my opinion, the straps around the back of your heel are an absolute no go - too dangerous.

I think the only really important thing is to have your foot in the middle of the board - this means you'll be able to keep your edge - something important if you're learning in lighter winds. Also important for toe side later on.

In short - fat straps, no heel straps, and foot in middle of board

[Dr Surf Australia]

When I was learning the best thing were fat straps - it allowed me to get out of them quicker. Even now I favour having them looser then tighter. I tightened them recently, but gashed my ankle like the previous person on this thread, s loosened them off again. In my opinion, the straps around the back of your heel are an absolute no go - too dangerous.

I think the only really important thing is to have your foot in the middle of the board - this means you'll be able to keep your edge - something important if you're learning in lighter winds. Also important for toe side later on.

In short - fat straps, no heel straps, and foot in middle of board

I've been kiting for over three years and most of the time I've used heel straps. The type I use are Underground which are basically a padded tube over a rubber inner. I have a very high instep which regardless of any of the widestraps I've tried or any adjustment, comes out very easily at high speed in choppy conditions or when landing jumps on choppy water.

As well as using heelstraps I also sell them. During all this time I have never found having heelstraps causes any safety problems nor have any of my customers. I have bruised and cracked ribs and even broken my neck but I have never hurt my feet or legs nor have I seen anyone else with heelstraps do so. All the heelstraps do is provide a positive pressure holding your foot in position in the strap. If your straps are adjusted correctly when you crash your foot comes out easily, the same as if you were not using heel straps. I have certainly crashed enough to confirm this.

The most likely cause of foot injuries in both kitesurfing and sailboarding is having too loose straps which enable the foot to go in too far so that when you have a crash which results in a twisting motion, such as when one foot comes out, the other foot is too deeply jammed into the strap instead of popping out. This then causes extreme torsional stresses on the trapped foot.

So unless you are heavily into board off moves, have a try of heelstraps and make up your own mind. In my experience it has been positive and just added to the enjoyment.

Have fun, Dave (Dr Surf Australia)