A forum dedicated to Hydrofoil riders
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snowycarter
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Postby snowycarter » Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:16 am
Hi all, i am just about to learn foiling. Until now my focus in kiting has been strappless on like a 5' 2" surfboard.
I would like to continue to just be strappless on the foilboard but wanted to hear from you all on if it is bettter/easier to learn with straps?
Thanks in advance......
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jespin4845
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Postby jespin4845 » Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:45 am
learning strapless is doable, may take you a session more in addition compared to learning strapped,....I learned with straps to water start, twisted my ankle really bad a month in, took the straps off and took about two sessions to learn the water start without the straps
once riding its the same as a surfboard
the water start, grab the tail of the board with the back hand, push the mast while its in the water with your back foot to lay the board on its side in the water...simultaneously put your front foot on the board and dive/downloop the kite with the front hand...as the kite is pulling you up on the board put your back foot on the board and back hand on the bar...
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sedluk
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Postby sedluk » Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:20 am
I learned strapless and I think it is much safer on the ankles and knees. After you get the hang of it, it is no big deal. You will not be able to jump strapless unless you get super good but the water start is not that bad.
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haare
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Postby haare » Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:24 am
It is definitely lot harder to learn with strapless. Of course you want to keep straps as loose as possible. Straps tell you where you need to keep your feet. Straps also help with balance because you can direct the board by lifting your feet up also.
However is it easier to learn first with straps and then rid of straps or learn strappless straight I don't know.
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bragnouff
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Postby bragnouff » Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:45 am
haare wrote: ↑Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:24 am
(...) Straps tell you where you need to keep your feet. Straps also help with balance because you can direct the board by lifting your feet up also. (...)
This assumes that the straps are in the correct position FOR YOU, which is a pretty strong assumption when you're learning and discovering the balance of that contraption. I've seen people riding in very weird positions because the straps dictated that. Or insane porpoising because of that. Strapless will be much better in terms of finding your marks. But the waterstart is initially frustratingly harder.
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Eduardo
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Postby Eduardo » Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:48 am
My first session was with straps and my ankles were hurting bad after. After that I went with hooks and have been very happy. I usually ride surf boards strapless but was happy to have a little extra control of the hooks as a new foiler.
https://northshoreinc.com/store/pc/view ... roduct=425
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oregonkiter
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Postby oregonkiter » Mon Jul 16, 2018 6:01 am
I learned with front hook only. Takes a lot less energy to waterstart vs strpless which you will do a lot of while learning. Went strapless for awhile after that, but I prefer the ease of the front hook, in the end. I am 6'4", and getting into a ball for the strapless waterstart gets tiring.
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tomtom
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Postby tomtom » Mon Jul 16, 2018 8:29 am
My recommendation is start with middle front strap only - almost strapless and much more easier for learning.
I rode only strapless last 5 years on SB. And now i rode HF either strapless or 1 front middle strap in very light wind. Definitely dont use back strap. About ankle injury i found that it is not strap tightness that lock your feet but instead distance between strap screws. See picture. Wide distance between screws also allow to ride quasi strappless without feet strap contact and use it only for start. Dont use 2 front straps as it place you feet in position where you push on rail - cranked upwind position. You need to be centered above board with no rail pressure to start. With no back strap you will have option to trim your self by placing back feet on different position.
Last edited by
tomtom on Mon Jul 16, 2018 9:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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nothing2seehere
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Postby nothing2seehere » Mon Jul 16, 2018 9:03 am
haare wrote: ↑Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:24 am
It is definitely lot harder to learn with strapless. Of course you want to keep straps as loose as possible. Straps tell you where you need to keep your feet. Straps also help with balance because you can direct the board by lifting your feet up also.
I agree. Watching people learn strapless they seem to take longer to generate the muscle memory because their feet change position every new launch. Straps/hooks set up a fixed stance to help learn balance.
I'm sure its possible to learn both ways but I'd always advise folk to start with some type of guide so that you always start with your feet in the same position.
The second advantage is board positioning. With a alu foil, it tends to sink to the neutral position (foil down) fairly quickly. With a floaty/buoyant board this is doubly apparent. Straps/hooks help to keep the board in position whilst leaving you in a good position to start. Once you have starting off cracked, its easy to just hold onto the board with one hand but if you haven't ever successfully waterstarted a foil and aren't used to the daggerboard effect of the mast, its going to make things unnecessarily difficult.
Ultimately, most people forget the problems they had when learning pretty quickly so their advice can be contradictory. I can only remember bits and pieces because I kept a log of what I found difficult. I'd ring a couple of schools and find out how they teach as they are going to know better than most what helps - their business model is about getting people going as quickly as possible.
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SimonP
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Postby SimonP » Mon Jul 16, 2018 9:20 am
I recommend foothook(s) in the front. It's sole purpose is to help you waterstart. You want to get well away from the foil when thing go pear shaped. Chances are footstraps will be initially in the wrong place for you anyway.
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