Kiteforum.com

jeromeL wrote:I have naish apex and like them. my shoe size is 10.5 43/44 and I fit easily with 2mm or 5mm booties.
Some of my friend with thick fit had to extend the strap at the local tailor.

I had a problem with Apex strap size with boots and also thought about extending the straps that way but didn't want to risk messing them up for bare feet. So I made some removable strap extenders with 1"/25mm self adhesive Velcro strips which initially seemed OK but found that they slowly worked their way loose.

So I've now got Naish Apex for bare feet and North NTT for boots, but if the NTT's work nicely with bare feet I'll sell the Apex's.

John didn't you get SP QSR straps this year?

I was wondering how you were getting along with them.

POACHER wrote:John didn't you get SP QSR straps this year?

I was wondering how you were getting along with them.

Yes, I got SP QSR straps last year and they were faultless with bare feet. But when it got colder it was difficult to get booted feet into them (even bought two new pairs of boots to try!) so had to send them back and SP kindly gave a full refund. I would certainly use SP products again.

They're pretty much identical to the new Shinn straps which are made by SP boarding so the same problem. Which is basically that they are not width adjustable which, when combined with the fact that the covers (unlike the old Shinn Sneaker 5's) are very stretchy and as you open them up increasingly grabby, makes them difficult to use with winter boots. At smaller settings (eg with bare feet) it's not a problem because the cover is less laterally stretched across the strap. Shame really.

I have got the Sneaker SRS ratchet foot straps on my Sinn Ronson and together with the pads I think they are brilliant. My foot size is a 9UK (43 - 44) and I wear T3 Atan boots. For the first time ever I have the correct foot pressure due to the incredible micro click adjustments, which means a consistent position of my foot in the straps. Unlike John's experience I can feel the raised toe grip with the boots on. In fact because my feet are using the full strap not just wedged in with the weight on my heel I have moved the pads to the inner mounting positions which has made a big difference to the balance and performance of the board. Also there are no pressure points on my toes so my feet feel warmer and way more comfortable. My verdict carpet slippers adjusted to within a click they're great!!!

My foot size is UK 10-1/2 to 11.

I bought a new pair of Atan Mistral round toe 3mm boots, a pair of O'Neill 3mm boots, and a pair of Beheko 3mm dive boots. The new Atan boots were better than my old ones but too slow to get feet in up to the toe ridges. The O'Neill boots were a waste of time. The Beheko dive boots worked fine but they obviously weren't going to last very long. I do have very flat feet with virtually no arches so foot position is critical - too far in and I risk 'submarining', not far enough in and I have no control/leverage. I didn't try split toe boots because I don't like them. So much as I like the SP/Shinn straps I had to admit defeat.

The width adjustable North NTT straps on the Ronson are perfect.

Im a big fan of the NSI straps and Ive swapped all the factory straps i've received for them. They are easy to adjust and really comfortable. They are a bit tight with boots but i try to never ride boots if i dont absolutely need to. I also use the race strap on my free race boards.

http://www.northshoreinc.com/store/pc/v ... tegory=107

Naish Apex looking the best option.

shawn13 wrote:Im a big fan of the NSI straps and Ive swapped all the factory straps i've received for them. They are easy to adjust and really comfortable. They are a bit tight with boots but i try to never ride boots if i dont absolutely need to. I also use the race strap on my free race boards.

http://www.northshoreinc.com/store/pc/v ... tegory=107

How do you fix them on a twintip?

iriejohn wrote:

POACHER wrote:John didn't you get SP QSR straps this year?

I was wondering how you were getting along with them.

Yes, I got SP QSR straps last year and they were faultless with bare feet. But when it got colder it was difficult to get booted feet into them (even bought two new pairs of boots to try!) so had to send them back and SP kindly gave a full refund. I would certainly use SP products again.

They're pretty much identical to the new Shinn straps which are made by SP boarding so the same problem. Which is basically that they are not width adjustable which, when combined with the fact that the covers (unlike the old Shinn Sneaker 5's) are very stretchy and as you open them up increasingly grabby, makes them difficult to use with winter boots. At smaller settings (eg with bare feet) it's not a problem because the cover is less laterally stretched across the strap. Shame really.

That's a bummer.
I have had a similar issue. When it's really fricken cold I have Excel 7mm boots coupled to US 11 feet. I'm at the last ratchet notch to keep them closed. They work, but it's snug.
They are magic barefoot or with thin booties though. The adjustable ratchet is nice.

POACHER wrote:That's a bummer.
I have had a similar issue. When it's really fricken cold I have Excel 7mm boots coupled to US 11 feet. I'm at the last ratchet notch to keep them closed. They work, but it's snug.
They are magic barefoot or with thin booties though. The adjustable ratchet is nice.

I forgot to mention that when I opened them up very wide the elasticity of the stretched neoprene cover would sometimes close the strap a few notches*. This is because the ratchet locks only against further opening up, but the plus side is that they can be tightened just by pushing on the top of the strap (or by *).

With bare feet they are faultless, but the use of neoprene for the cover is (imo) a mistake. The ratchet system is ace.