Dirty little secret of strapless boosting?

[Bushflyr]

Cool thanks guys.

Using punt wax is sort of cheating in my book since it's almost the same as having foot straps

I guess I'm going to have to try it out for a few years before I come to any conclusions about the ethics of using it.

Ive tried it. I put some on my deck pad to give it a shot before i replaced it. The wax felt really greasy in warm water. Maybe it is better on a solid base coat, but I'm happier with good deck pad and learning to poke the board up into the wind.

[yojimbo]

The technique that I never see discussed is sheeting in during the descent. So you've reached the apex of your jump, wind is pushing against the bottom of your board, you send your kite down while sheeting in and pointing your board down wind. The sheeting in part causes your body to press down onto your board, establishing positive contact.

If you fail to do this, the wind will remove the board from your feet and cause it to spin and you could potentially land on a fin or the edge of the board.

[BWD]

the best by far is kiting in lots of wind.

agreed. Having a 5-6lb board also does wonders though, makes the board really stick to you, both because less wind pressure needed to support it, and easier to get into the right orientation as you take off and trim or rotate through the jump (even if you only rotate 90-120 and back like I do, never been any good at spinning).
A light board with a more compact shape, as opposed to a gun shape, is helpful. and wax of course.
re: yojimbo's point, I'll add that imo even having solid glass fins, especially keels or quads, also helps keep the nose higher than the tail (along with other benefits).

[longwhitecloud]

id say the opposite, sheeting out as you land in the key - look at any vid - ever seen anyone on earth do a strapless front roll on a torch or similar- no... they got their arm extended out like inspector gadget on super high powered kites - and that pisses me off cos i don't like it when u need specialized kit !!! i like one kite for everything - i wont give up... i landed handful of strapless front rolls on a torch - but sooo inconsistent.... gusty wind - no chance..

i can't believe wax would actually "stick your feet to teh board even slightly?!!!!

[omg]

ditto to LWC, the good guys are kicking the board 360 after a front 360 so glue wouldn't be an asset here. Also, sheeting out is typically the way to go, at least balancing things out.

[Starsky]

i can't believe wax would actually "stick your feet to teh board even slightly?!!!!

You have yet to experience punt wax?

Very light board, no heavy deck pad, hard base coat and a layer of punt and you are literally spider man. The increase in control is considerable.

Not disputing the pros can 360 without it, but they use it.

Phenomenal/terrible stuff even without getting into ethics!

[Bushflyr]

Very light board, no heavy deck pad, hard base coat and a layer of punt and you are literally spider man. The increase in control is considerable.

Not disputing the pros can 360 without it, but they use it.

Phenomenal/terrible stuff even without getting into ethics!

Yeah, unfortunately most of us need to use slightly heavier boards and deck pads because we have to pay for our gear. The pros can afford to destroy a board every few sessions because they get them free.


I went through the deck of an NSP fish in 1 session. High wind and super choppy. And that board was an absolute tank. So I don't really see deck pads as optional, although some people do OK without.

The best solution I've found so far is a small WMFG deck pad just under my front foot, a tail pad, obviously, and a bunch of punt wax on the middle of the board. The WMFG cut pattern is the best I've used and keeps my foot from sliding forward during airs, and the punt wax in the middle of the board puts just the tiniest bit of tack on the bottom of my feet when I jibe but not enough to get greasy like when I put some on my pad.

[Starsky]

Yeah, pads are great, but I rather enjoy having a surfboard with a point and a wax job. My board is super light and it just feels right to max that feature out. There are plenty of great surfboard constructions now that hold up to kiting well. Mine is hydroflex's heaviest layup of 3x 6 oz . It's super light compared to anything a kite company makes and plenty strong. Being light footed is absolutely part of the equation.... as it should be.

[Bushflyr]

Ditto. I can't go back to riding a RandomKiteCo tank. VG ftw. I try to be light, but pulling hard in 1 foot chop for an hour or two is brutal on any board.

[Peter_Frank]

Maybe if you're real nice this year your mom will buy you some footstaps for Xmas. Then you can REALLY jump !

Ha haa

You could also use foot hooks pretty wide set, thus having the freedom of strapless, and able to jump almost as good as strapped

But hey, that does not give you the looks of a bad ass strapless rider that can do-it-all in the air ?
So does not work ?

Peter