Sandals instead of footstraps on homemade board?

[Invertedflyby]

I'm building my first board and was thinking of different ideas for it when I glanced into my closet and noticed my sandals I bought for $10 from Kmart about 4 years ago. I use them to wakeskate with right now. They would be easier to get into than bindings and hold your feet better than staps and they are comfortable.

The only downside I can see is I imagine they are a little heavier than straps, and they will hold your feet to the board in a crash unlike a strap but not provide the ankle support that a binding would. Also, I'm thinking the sandals will make the board look not quite as upscale as other boards, so I'm planning on painting it black with red trim and putting a big Dale Earnhart 3 on it.

Has anyone done this? Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

[murdoc]

just to be sure:
when talking about sandals, you mean these light and airy summer-shoes, right?

i simply doubt that sandals will take the punishment of being screwed on top of a kiteboard for a long time.
after all, kite-footstraps are heavy duty stuff (for a reason).


but why not give it a shot? all you can loose is a peir of sandals

[EdDy_DiFfUsIvItY]

hehe The thought has occured to me too but I think its just a cheap alternativve to pads and straps.

Depending on the cost of your sandals ! a good quality pair of sandals may cost the same if not more than a pair of maui magic pads and straps you now. but if you have an old pair - why not give it a shot.

Next thing we will see army boots doubling up ans wake bindings - I think it'd be great !

[MadMick]

This idea is not new. I believe it is suggested on "Zeroprestige.com"

What they suggest is to screw a strip of webbing over the sandal to strengthen it,like a footstrap.

[dt]

I wouldn't use sandals with a strap between the front and index toes because sometimes when I land jumps my feet get rammed way inside my straps. Thong type sandals would split my feet in two.

dt

[Invertedflyby]

Ok, I'm waiting on the paint to dry on my board before I put the varnish on.

Thanks for everyone's input. I couldn't find anything about sandals on the zeroprestige site. I'm not claiming I'm the first one to come up with the idea, I'm sure it's been done before, just wanting input from other's experience because I hadn't heard anyone talking about it. And I guess for good reason. I went ahead and mounted the sandals on my board, I'm going to try it out behind the boat since I don't have a kite yet but I suspect that I'll have to spring for some real footstraps. The only thing I am worried about is injuring my ankle.

The sandals are leather ones with brass buckles and wide leather straps. I'm pretty sure they are durable enough, the soles are about 3/4" or maybe an inch thick and I used 8 bolts on each one. They don't have anything between the toes, that would be "toeicide". They only cost me about $10 and if they don't work out I can still wear them. I'll let you know how it works out.

[MadMick]

Stop fuckin around and wasting your time and buy a REAL kiteboard !!!!

[tonycp]

the 2 boards on the right have $10 sandals from payless mounted on them.

I used heavy-duty belt strap material bolted through the ply (the yellow and black straps) to actually take any pressure. The sandals are just there for comfort.

There's a safety/usage trade-off: if you put the heavy strap near the tip of your feet (as in the shorter, unpainted board), you'll get pulled out of it more easily but you won't get stuck in the binding. If you put the strap closer to the more comfortable feeling middle of the foot (as in the larger white board), you'll come out less often but you might find yourself getting twisted if just 1 foot comes out.

Of these 2, the wooden board works better, but I prefer the white board's straps. IMO, straps are the hardest thing to get right on these DIY planks.

tony