Straps or No Straps... old, old question

[cglazier]

I ride both ways but I generally prefer having straps because then I can:

-jump
-do backrolls
-do 360s (much easier with straps)
-go fast (need straps to go really fast)
-tack (easier with straps)
-waterstart is quicker
-cope with big waves and big chop better

Generally if you are well powered and doing powered moves you need straps or you will get pulled off your board. If you ride strapless you do more nimble moves with less power and speed but with more finesse. Strapless riders often use a smaller kite. Choose whichever style you like.

Just my opinion.

CG

[Foil]

follow what you enjoy the most, I think following a must do list just because someone else can do it is wrong, I remember the handle debate on Ttips first developing and learned a lot from that fashion statement,
I have gone from two foot straps and believing jumping was not for me, to 3 straps and boosting all the time if I can,
boosting is such a challenge to get right, and because I was a devoted booster on Ttips the feel of excitement on take off on the foil had me hooked on my first terrible attempt.
its much harder = good
way harder to land correctly = annoying but good
a little more risky = not a problem,it makes you more careful.

Using 3 straps is way harder than 2 straps, like learning all over again for me, frustrating but yet again feels so good when you get it right, still a long way for me to go on this, both 3 strap use and boosting, using small kites in strong winds is very tricky to get right, landings are much harder and more risky.
Cracked the jumping on big kites, god! that feels so good, and to think I was about to remove my unused back strap.

[cor]

Free your feet, free your mind.

Thought so too. Until I made a huge mistake. I steered the kite back, edged hard and pulled on the bar

... and all thoughts on strapless were gone in that very moment.

[Kamikuza]

I move my feet around too much to cope with straps any more.

[alowishus]

Oldish thread, so apologies, but not too old I hope. Couldn't find my answer in the searches.

Learnt to foil with hooks to get the hang of where the feet go and then strapless ever since. Couple of seasons. 360s and heel to toeside tacks starting to come, slowly, but I couldn't help thinking that straps may help me to ride with more kite power and also eventually get to tacks with footswaps as well as other things.

So I tried two front straps out last sesh, my old naish surfboard straps, on my dwarfcraft, moses 683s. Like some dudes you see on youtube.

Well I hated the straps immediately and was suddenly incapable of switching feet, crashed, small foot twists. A few more goes and got a little better, did a couple of very wobbly switches, etc., plowed the front of the board into the water, but in general - not comfortable at all. That locked in feel. Footswitch technique clearly different with the straps as I guess you must need more kite lift to give you time ...? Anyways, I ditched the straps and enjoyed myself for the rest of the sesh.

Not wanting to give up, I'm thinking now maybe the straps I was using maybe weren't the best. They weren't tight at all, but had to kind of carefully move my feet in and out, but then I see foilers on youtube just effortlessly slipping feet in and out. Or is just better technique?

Any recommendations as the best straps? I've seen one race guy use the Dakine contour straps, that seem to be angled. Advice appreciated.

[Foil]

the best straps by far are the Groove ones, they require your board to have the front strap holes on the centre line of the board as the front straps are made in one piece, shaped in a one piece V , just perfect for foil use, straps are very strong and very light, non absorbent as well, they offer the perfect combination of foot slide in and out, no soggy padding that forces the strap to bend and curl as you try to wiggle your foot in and out.
downside is the price,not cheap.
but look around, so many custom builders and a few big brands now either offer the center strap screw holes or even better they supply their boards with the groove straps,
check them out --- https://www.groovekiteboards.it/boards/v-footstrap-2/

edit-
Just remembered the front and back strap do not twist around on their mountings like most other straps do, but!
you do need to "double tighten" each screw
what I mean by this is when fixing the groove strap down from new, first, dip the strap ends in water to soak the dry material covering, then tighten down super tight, use the board for a few hours and then tighten down again.
On groove boards the mounting rails under the skin is made of hard black nylon, and long rail strip running under all the screw holes, this strip nylon is just unbreakable, the screw will snap first, the threads will not strip, some boards use a softer nylon or softer plastic plug, some of these will result in a stripped thread if you try to tighten down with decent force, on groove boards I have broken the end of my meaty posi drive bit twice now, and now use a more expensive drive bit on the end to tighten down properly.

[marekmk]

foot hook for me on the front, just love them, feel secure and free at the same time

[alowishus]

the best straps by far are the Groove ones, they require your board to have the front strap holes on the centre line of the board as the front straps are made in one piece, shaped in a one piece V , just perfect for foil use, straps are very strong and very light, non absorbent as well, they offer the perfect combination of foot slide in and out, no soggy padding that forces the strap to bend and curl as you try to wiggle your foot in and out.
downside is the price,not cheap.
but look around, so many custom builders and a few big brands now either offer the center strap screw holes or even better they supply their boards with the groove straps,
check them out --- https://www.groovekiteboards.it/boards/v-footstrap-2/

edit-
Just remembered the front and back strap do not twist around on their mountings like most other straps do, but!
you do need to "double tighten" each screw
what I mean by this is when fixing the groove strap down from new, first, dip the strap ends in water to soak the dry material covering, then tighten down super tight, use the board for a few hours and then tighten down again.
On groove boards the mounting rails under the skin is made of hard black nylon, and long rail strip running under all the screw holes, this strip nylon is just unbreakable, the screw will snap first, the threads will not strip, some boards use a softer nylon or softer plastic plug, some of these will result in a stripped thread if you try to tighten down with decent force, on groove boards I have broken the end of my meaty posi drive bit twice now, and now use a more expensive drive bit on the end to tighten down properly.

Thanks Foil for the advice.

Yeah not cheap. I’ll see if I can track the Groove ones down.

Single piece V strap looks like the way to go.