Slingshot surfboard?

caps · Since 23 Dec 2010 347 Posts Obsessed

Whatever you do, don't be that middle aged guy on a surfboard with footstraps ...[/quote]

As previously stated, "middle aged" describes most strapless riders anyways. Cuz when you can't boost, do freestyle, or need a gentler ride, you go strapless. I guess that's why I've now ditched the straps

Sella · Wed Jun 29, 16 8:53 am

Karp · Since 11 Mar 2015 46 Posts Mt Hood

Got that right Sella! Some day we can be as cool as 1surfer and judge everyone around us, but till then we can just keep having fun and Respect everyone.

eric · Since 13 Jan 2006 1861 Posts XTreme Poster

and then one of your best middle age buddies talks you into getting a nice mtb and the wind is annoying as it slows your ride over to post canyon down...

I kid--sort of

Surfnturf

Matt V · Wed Jun 29, 16 10:08 am

Here is a good end to this "Strap Fight!"

For those just starting their directional experience - YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION.

To do this, you MUST learn to jibe with a 90% or better success rate with the straps first. Do not take the straps off your board until you achieve this. Once you are totally comfortable jibing strapped, then you can give strapless a go. This will allow you to evaluate which you like without having strapped be more difficult on the jibe. Think of it this way - If you can jibe (CAN turn around at the end of a tack), the ride is fun and you feel like you look cool. If you can not jibe (CAN"T turn around at the end of a tack) you will feel like a tool.

So knowing how to ride strapless but not strapped will naturally force you to go back to strapless to have a good time and not fall in. But if you can turn around the harder way (strapped), you will be able to turn around easily the easy way (strapless) automatically. Thus no bad experience from one to the other.

For those who never got a perfect strapped jibe down before taking the straps off - forever a strapless rider you will be. No way are you going to be able to have enough learning sessions with the straps on good days falling in when you could just be riding strapless and not falling in. You shot yourself in the foot with this one but that is only because you cannot evaluate both objectively. Heck, maybe you would have become a strapless rider anyway. But you will never know.

If you are just starting out, don't read below as I hope not to steer you in one direction or the other. I want you to decide. So stop reading HERE!

My experience with strapless vs. strapped is as follows.

I was glued to "Loose the Straps.com" while my first directional was just being shipped to me. Prior to me owning my own directional, I was trying to use some oldschool Naish boards of the first generation produced for kiteboarding. To say the least, the straps on these boards sucked and were too small and made me hate them. So I wanted nothing do do with straps on my own board.

While still waiting for my board, I was watching all kinds of YouTube strapless stuff and reading anything on Swaylocks regarding strapless I could find. I was dedicated. I was sure I was going to be the coolest rider back home with dreams of all the other kiters being jealous of me and my ability to ride, jump, and freestyle strapless. I knew I was not the most talented kiter, but I had the most time of any of us to put into it. So I was going to achieve strapless greatness by spending tons of time learning it. Then my board arrived.

I looked at the board once I pulled it out of the packaging and looked at the straps. I had read that learning to jibe strapped was harder. So I decided that since I wanted to be the best, I should learn the hard way first. And everything I read said that learning the straps first was a great way to ensure that you could jibe strappless without even having to learn it. So I fatefully grabbed for the screwdriver and put the straps on the board. While I was struggling to get the screws to take into the inserts I was dreaming of the day I would throw these infernal straps in the garbage.

March, April, and almost all of May saw me successfully jibe 9 times. Granted my home lake in Iowa has some of the most terrible winds, but that was only 9 times that I did not fall in. And that is 3 months of kiting in prime season with 3-4days a week on the water. Frustrating to say the least, but I stuck with it.

Then at the end of May, I was at a windsurfing meet where the wind was good and I was too hung-over to race windsurfing. So I kited. And in 2 days at the end of may at a good wind lake, I pushed my 9 successful jibes to over 100. Maybe the anit-freeze in Fireball is jibe lube, or maybe it was just steady wind. But I stopped counting after 100.

Then I took the straps off. And I smiled as I jibed with ease. I started to learn to jump first 1ft, then 2 ft, then honest 3 footers with a low success rate. And I smiled. Strapless was fun. I even did a few kick flips. Maybe luck, but that luck never carried over to a backroll. So close was I to strapless backroll on many occasions, but I cannot say I ever pulled one off.

But the reality of it was that whenever anyone would show up to the lake to kite with me, I would immedieatly or eventually put the straps on the board so I could boost, race them on their twin-tips, or just blast through boat chop with out a face plant or slowing down to a crawl. Strapless was going great for me, but it was not adding to my experience.

One day, I realized that I had not taken the straps off of my board for a long time. I could not even remember when the last time I rode strapless was. I thought to myself, "Oooooo, I should try strapless today". Then Pedro showed up and I wound up on the water with the straps on having a blast watching him boost while I tried to get as high as he was jumping. For a second I thought I should take the straps off when he leaves, but I never did.

A month or so later I remembered back to the day I kited with Pedro, and remembered my initial aspirations of being the coolest strapless rider on the water. The reality staring me in the face was that I was happier riding strapped. I got a better roller-coaster ride strapped. More "G's", more height, more speed, rougher conditions, more freedom of tricks. To quote a guy up at the Bighorn Snowkite Summit when he was asked about why he did not kite strapless, "Strapless is cool, but when you are strapped, you send it!" And he is right. Strapless is cool, but not for him. For me, strapless was not what I wanted it to be. It was not for me.

After having decided on my strapped riding, I got to know an Iowa kiter who does kite strapless. To give you an idea of his skill, this was what another kiter said to me on the beach while we watched this kiter show off his strapless skill.

"Man you are good, but that guy is f----n great!"

We just sat there while this guy was jumping over 20ft with board grabs. I never blew through 20ft that day and I was strapped. I am friends with this strapless rider now and he is amazing to watch. He is obviously way more talented than me as a person, given that he gets to kite 1/100th of the time that I do. And that is where I think strapless fits people. If you are talented and can go strapless with just as big of airs as someone strapped, then that may be your calling. But never forget that it is about your riding and how much fun it holds for you. Don't let people steer you the way they think you should go. Take their advice, but make your own decisions. Always question the hype in your head and try to make the smart decision to ignore that self made biased enthusiasm in favor of a measured approach.

1surfer · Wed Jun 29, 16 11:06 am

bobgatpdx · Since 04 Oct 2008 218 Posts Stoked

Nice treatise MattV on strapped v un-strapped!
Funny how a board advice thread morphed into a strap discussion.

I'm just starting out on a directional board (Ocean Rodeo Duke). Been on it about 10 times in flat water and chop. I have it setup with VERY LOOSE straps (NSI surf lite). I'm starting to make some jibes - though not always pretty. Even though many folks told me to skip the straps, using them seems like a way more natural progression for me. My goal is to get out into the surf and ride some waves. Having straps means I can jump and more easily get through the shore break. Once I get better I will definitely try going strapless, but I'm not in a big rush to get there. And yes, I am middle aged, but I have no intentions of just "mowing the lawn" - strapped or not!
- Bob

knotwindy · Since 25 Sep 2011 615 Posts Addicted

Interesting but if you think jiibing strapless is noticeably easier either
Your straps are in the wrong place
or you need a lot more practice jibing
sorry, imo

Matt V · Thu Jun 30, 16 8:25 pm

user124 · Since 02 Aug 2012 391 Posts Portland Obsessed

Yeah I would agree with Matt V - jibing strapless is much easier as you don't have to worry about putting your feet into and out of straps.

knotwindy · Since 25 Sep 2011 615 Posts Addicted

To short a post that lead to some confusion, sorry. I did not mean strapless is harder. I was saying strapped is not harder. They are the same level of difficulty. You just swivel your hips and your feet move and you are done. To me the straps are irrelavint. If you are stepping on them they are probably in the wrong place. Again, only imo.

Matt V · Fri Jul 01, 16 8:52 am

markamcclure · Since 20 May 2011 172 Posts Portland, OR Stoked

Whatever you do, don't be that middle aged guy on a surfboard with footstraps ...[/quote]

I am that guy. I love kiting on my surfboard with straps!

knotwindy · Since 25 Sep 2011 615 Posts Addicted

I think there is some truth to the chop foot placement thought but the other side would be if you get your foot near the strap with just your big toe under it the chop is less of a problems as well. Harder to get bounced off with even just a toe in the strap.
Also, there could ce an argument made that for beginners coming from tt riding the front strap gives them a target for there old back/new front foot placement learning to jibe. Instead of being to far back, they might at least have a landmark for the landing.
Not saying they are not a bit different, just the difference in difficulty level is really so minimal as to be meaningless.

Slappysan · Since 13 Jun 2012 309 Posts Obsessed

I agree that having the ability to flat out boost big is hella fun, but why do you need to do it with a strapped SB? I just take both my TT and SB with me and switch it up after a few hours or go TT when the wind is stronger and back to SB when it dies down.

That's the best of both worlds, huge strapped TT boosts and fineness strapless SB boosts.

Matt V · Tue Jul 05, 16 8:54 am

west · Since 09 Oct 2008 136 Posts Lake Michigan Stoked

Why n the world would you buy a production board when you have several competent shapers in the gorge....straps, strapless, whatever...buy a board custom shaped to your heart's desire, with a shaper's idea for what you really need.