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Ridges and grooves vs flat decks

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bragnouff
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Ridges and grooves vs flat decks

Postby bragnouff » Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:32 pm

What's the preference there?
I ride strapless on what is essentially a flat homogeneous deck pad and I feel like I'm missing a bit of something under my feet to instinctively know where my feet are, and where I should have them before powering up. I find that there is one perfect spot where everything is sweet, and a variation of 2cm from there on one foot or the other makes all the difference (sweet vs uncomfortable/wrong) and maybe the SpitFire is quite sensitive on that regard. But anyway, during waterstart or after tacks or foot switches, there's always a floating phase with readjustment of the feet to where they belong, sometimes looking down at my feet to double check. Having features on the pad, would make this faster and more instinctive.
So I'm keen to play with bits of pads to add to the right spots. Also a bit of heel arch support would probably increase the comfort. Anyone who has experimented with that?

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Re: Ridges and grooves vs flat decks

Postby plummet » Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:55 pm

I know the surf boys run 2 rear foot pads with the little kick. One at front and one at the back.

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Re: Ridges and grooves vs flat decks

Postby Peert » Wed Jan 03, 2018 12:58 am

The Fone Mitu has something they market as a camel deck if I'm right. I used to ride the mitu and must say this bump over the centre line tells you how far in your feet are resting.. on the other axis it doesn't give you clues though..

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Re: Ridges and grooves vs flat decks

Postby Dwight » Wed Jan 03, 2018 12:55 pm

I rode with an arch bar. It seemed nice at first, but eventually became a nuisance. I removed it. It was uncomfortable on long reaches. It got in the way at other times.

On my foil SUP, I tried bumps to mark front foot location. It became a nuisance too.

It’s just better to have total freedom for your feet. A rear tail kick is the only thing I like and continue to use on all my boards.

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Re: Ridges and grooves vs flat decks

Postby TomW » Wed Jan 03, 2018 8:50 pm

I'm at 60 hrs on foil. Like to have tactile feedback where my feet are. I have a strip, 10mm wide 120mm long, of 5mm pad material under my 5mm pad to make a soft bump. It's positioned right over the mast plate. I also have foothook, using the front hook more as a position device. Rear one is farfar back and only use it to water start.

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bragnouff
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Re: Ridges and grooves vs flat decks

Postby bragnouff » Thu Jan 04, 2018 5:22 am

I agree that unless perfectly positioned and perfectly shaped, bumps can be a nuisance, and a flat deck is always a better option than a badly designed deck.
On my main kite surfboard, I've got two tailpads, and it's brilliant to be able to lock your toes against it. Took me a few iterations to get the front pad in the perfect spot though. Maybe I'll rip the original pad out and put a new one.
Foot hooks would definitely be an option to lock the feet in the right place. Also keen to experiment with making some.
I need something for front foot mostly as I already have the traversing bolts from the foil plate to give a reference for the back foot.


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