Heel Straps or Not Heel Straps

[Gator Gris]

I had an issue on a boosted front roll when my boat flew off of my feet and into me. It didn't feel great. So I ordered some heel straps that I should have soon.

But in the three sessions I have had since the order, I had some wrecks where I was glad I could get my feet out.

What is the best course of action? Heel straps or not?

Thanks dudes!

Gris

[FloridaBoarder]

I have tried heel straps and for me it helps being able to jump out of the board if i am coming down out of control. If you are having trouble keeping your board on your feet maybe you need better foot straps or smaller ones. Its helped me before to try different ones to see what works. good luck
Mike

[conchxpress]

I saw a guy in Islamorada who used old bicycle inner tubes for his straps. He liked them because they were really stretchy and soft, and he could get in and out of them in a hurry.

[Todd RT]

I agree with Mike. Different straps fit different feet. I find some straps keep my feet in better than others. Also look for pads with the raised lip that your toes can "grab" onto. That helped me a lot!

I personally like the Nobile pads and straps. Also Jimmy Lewis'. Jimmy's got some new ones that look sweet!

[Danimal8199]

I had an issue on a boosted front roll when my boat flew off of my feet

Dang dude! I've never seen anyone do a front roll with a boat attached to their feet, maybe thats why it came off, how big was your boat?

Ok really though, Todd is on it about the foot pads. CrazyFly makes a good footpad with the raised lip for your toes to grip and a raised heal area to keep your foot from sliding back. I think they are about 60 bucks!

Good Luck!

Danny

[Whitey]

tried them did not like not being able to loose the board when I had too. As posted the foot beds you are using make a big difference. Very soft footbeds will squeeze your feet up into the straps. Footbeds with a ridge for the toes will let you grab the board to some degree. If your going to try it just buy a $1.99 bike inner tube at wallmart and cut it to length punch hole it in and put it between your straps and the board.

One other thing, make sure you stop out away from the beach and undo your heel straps before you come in to land your kite. You really look foolish when you style up to the shore at eastbeach and go to kick off your board and fall on your face.

[JoshTaylor]

try curling your toes up

[RM3001]

Since I always wear booties I find that I need to wear heel straps. I have tried the rubber Liquid Force ones(similar to bike tubes) and the Dakine Raptors. They have really helped me when trying rolls and big jumps b/c I know that my board is not coming off so I can focus on the trick. While there are some times you wish that you didn't have them on I think the good drastically outweighs the bad. They will still come off on some bad wipeouts and it seems to help if you bring your knees in close to you before impact so your legs aren't left dangling to twist when the board hits the water. A nice feature is that you can flip them over top of the foot straps and just ride normal when you don't want/need them.

[Gator Gris]

I use booties. It sounds like the kiters who do not use booties get more feel and can grab the foot pad easier than bootie wearing dudes.

The heel straps I bought are adjustable. I will try them loose and see how easily I can get out if need be.

I remember last year an Eckerd student fractured his ankle riding a wakeboard with the big boot thing around each of his feet.

[JoshTaylor]

i don't grab the foot pad with my foot, i curl my toes up. thats what i was taught. with booties idk how effective it is.

and that was Alex who goes to ucf, not eckerd

[Gator Gris]

Thanks Josh.

[Jake]

Several years ago I had some Gooch bindings/pads that were awesome. They had a nice heel strap with an adjustment strap so you could control how high it rode up on the back of your feet. I usually kept it pretty low as I was just learning and crashed a lot. The heel strap was round neoprene, 1" dia. on a rubber tube so you could come out of it easily in a crash. I don't know if they are still made. They cost me around $65 on e-bay.