Same here.

I'd say its not so much imitating surfing as much as it is using a kite to surf in conditions where paddling makes no sense.

Throw straps on and most of the time it's a kiteboarder's imitation of surfing more than surfing with a kite or kitesurfing... whatever the semantics. From what I see, the strapped riders tend towards bigger one hit wonders with tons of kite power and spray but also more time riding on edge under power into the flats where the wave can't sustain the ride. The guys without the straps are the ones working to keep their turns on the wave and using its power to sustain the ride. Thats surfing more than imitating it

Just look at the boards. Strapless riders tend to use actual surfboards not smaller heavier imitation surfboards.

The "fuzz" for many is the shift in sensation that you get once you feel yourself riding the wave without any real tension in your lines. That and the challenge. The bigger the conditions and wind, the more challenging it is to go strapless.

If you prefer riding strapped, no big deal, but to try and call strapless riders posers is a bit of a stretch. I bet if you poll riders out there you would find the higher percentage of people that can and do surf in the strapless group. I also bet this correlates geographically, where at windswell spots that have no surfing there is a higher percentage of strapped riders. Pretty natural, those guys are coming from twintips. At surf spots your more likely to see a lot of strapless riders as many will have surfed first.

The guy asked for advice on riding strapless, a few people have turned it into a thread about strapped v strapless for some reason. I and a few others have tried to give advice on riding strapless, the rest of the comments need to be on a thread headed strapped v strapless, which isn't what BBQ asked.

I personally don't care who rides what, how or where as long as they keep out of my way and abide by the rules of the road. Riding strapless is more difficult and challenging, most people I see give up for some of the reasons stated, but if perceviered with is rewarding.

My tips are as before, you have the fly the kite differently, use the whole foot, get a good 6 to 10 sessions as close together as possible, don't ride another board until your body has got the basics and find flat water to start with as it's easier, and be prepared for your legs and body to feel the pain to start with.

Mike

Taken with the thread title, I think he's asking why more than how.

Your gonna get some subjective answers, but I'd say the thing to look for in strapless style surfing is the surfing.

I've started riding the SB a lot more and have ridden it the last 12-15 sessions ... I no longer am interested in my TT. It is a new challenge for me. At this point I ride strapped and strapless depending how crazy it is out there ... smooth and lighter winds strapless but strapped otherwise.
If the surf is crazy I don't want to spend all my time chasing down my board.
If there's no surf I'll still ride the SB and work on my jibes etc.

Strapless is definitely more challenging in bigger surf and higher winds. In general it is much easier to trim the board correctly with no straps in the way. The more comfortable I get the more I'll ride strapless I'm sure. In big winds you can stay in the straps and boost away.

I like the challenge, like a new sport, and easier on the body than the TT. At the point now where I want to try some basic tricks.

If you don't like riding strapless, ride strapped or ride the TT ... it's all good.

The fuzz.............i see you mean........... all the FUSS !!!

What i would like to see are athletes olympians kiteracers have one event with their "straps off "

I am sure it could be done.....with a bit of practice...that would make it even more challenging

it's kind of silly discussing which is better. They're both very different and they're both fun........

Riding strapless is a compromise, there are things it's good for and there are things it's not good for......

Ride one way for a week or two, then go back and do the other..........I still ride a TT a lot as well....

It's all good.............geez

Who's arguing one over the other?

Dude's new to it and asking what the big deal is. For a lot of us it wasn't the holy grail of fun the first time out either. His first post sounds like riding no different than strapped, and not really enjoying it. Tired legs, losing the board etc. The reality is, done right, its easier (physically) than riding a twin tip. Instead of edging, you feather the power most of the time with less pressure through your legs, and the freedom to move and place you feet in the best position for whatever point of sail your on. There's a lot to learn about board trim and transitions before it starts to be any real fun. I totally understand that to a competent rider on a TT, dropping into the water on all your transitions doesn't feel like fun. Make a bad choice about conditions and your swimming more than riding.

If your gonna lose the straps you want to make it as fun and easy as possible. Pick a big enough floaty and flat board. Go on the light days when you're only other option is mowing the lawn on the TT. You wont feel like your missing out when your falling off all the time and you'll spend less time chasing your board. Comments about being light on your feet and riding the board flat using the fins instead of burrying the rail are great points. You'll get to dig the rail during the fun parts down the road, but at the beginning it is a little like starting over. You gotta learn to easily get upwind and turn around smoothly to start having any fun. You might not have that dialed in your first 5 sessions.

There are all kinds of ways to enjoy kiting. For me, tooling around sharpening skills strapless in light wind was just more fun than mowing along on my TT (which I did for years). Once its all part of your skill set, of course the real fun is in bigger wind and waves, but thats not going to be your first experience.

Thanks for the insights guys, i'm gonna stick to the strapless style a bit longer just to see what a bit more practice will do.

Guess i'm gonna have to sink my teeth into it a little bit more

All the tips really opened up my perspective a little bit more, so i'm gonna use those on the water.

Will let you know how the progress goes!

Exactly - you have to give it a go for a long time, and practice - till you find it "easy" and natural.

After that - you can decide whether it is for you, or not.

Some (but only very few) does both.

Most, no matter what level - chooses according to what they like to do, and maybe their most prevailing conditions too.
But most often not the latter that is deciding - it is most often simply personal preference what one ends up with.

No style is more "right" than the other

Peter

Started surfing over 20 years ago, so strapless made sense to me but really having a hard time on the chop. Once on a wave there is no problem and the ability to move my feet around makes a huge difference.