wingfoiling with straps

Hi everyone,

whilst waiting for my new board to arrive I was wondering if anyone has any tips on wingfoiling with straps. Especially on how to avoid injuries.
I'm going from a 85L no strap board to a 54L board with straps and I'm wondering if anyone has hurt himself because of the straps.
Maybe I'm worrying too much but happy to hear your experiences about first steps with straps and how to avoid problems. Twisting ankle or knee after a crash for example.
cheers,
Karl

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King Crash said..
Don't have your straps too tight and you'll just pop out of them if you crash. Also too tight and you won't be able to switch.

Yes agreed. Also I sometimes take my back foot out of the strap when gybing with right foot forward since I'm not super comfortable gybing in that stance yet.

One time I crashed when gybing in that stance and twisted my foot weirdly, wasn't a serious injury though. But now I keep my back foot out and only slightly have my front foot in the front strap. Once I get better at gybing switch, I'll put both feet back in.

I've had some big catapults in the straps but my feet have always come out so no problems.

i'm using them tall and narrow like one would on a windsurf freestyle board, so feet shoved right in almost to the shins with the sides of my feet doing the gripping rather than the top of my foot, but a little more loose than normal to help them come out in a stack. I have ended up crashing in some awkward contorted positions because the board doesn't easily tilt over to help pull the feet out, plus occasionally ending up with the mast pointing upward - but this scares me less than having one foot come out while in the air because it wasn't in far enough . at the time of writing this i've never tried in the surf so not sure if this is such a good thing for surf

once in, I don't feel the need to take them out of the straps to do anything except switching the feet. Not sure if it's a fluke with this combo, but the with mast track all the way to the back of the board, the gear seems perfectly balanced for everything, except for trying to go as fast as possible in stronger winds, in which case i need to crouch a little forward onto my front leg

to pump up onto the foil in the lightest winds that i can, i need to start pumping with feet just in front of the front and back straps. as soon as it starts to foil up i put front foot in and pump some more, then slip back foot in once theres a little speed. If there's a little more wind I just pump up with feet in the straps

There is definitely a risk with straps. Riding with one foot in and one out of the straps will catch you out one day.
I damaged my foot windsurfing and had 6 months on crutches and a metal plate fitted .
I now only wingfoil strapless ??
Google LisFranc injury and make up your own mind.
when I did mine the surgeon said he only sees this with windsurfers and water skiers. I am sure in a few years we can add wingfoilers to the list ??

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DukeSilver said..
If you're planning on jumping, you'll need them. If not, I'd advise trying strapless while learning. Lots of fun and way easier to learn foot swaps etc. You can always add them once you get proficient at winging if you feel the need.

Switching feet without straps is a small jump. With - miss the strap and you run the risk of bruising or breaking toes. Can confirm, sore toes from one session can last a summer (I think that's called a break).
That being said, straps should be tight enough so you can jump, but also so you can be ejected in the likely event of a crash.
Either these guys are running too tight or falling awkwardly, and I'd sooner put money on the latter. I've had myself one awkward crash, and this was my fault from not having a controlled crash.

learn strapless, give a it a try strapped, then decide.

Set up the straps like on a wave windsurf board - so that your feet could rotate inside the strap if needed. The smaller and narrower the board and the smaller the foil the less it's an issue, but 54L is likely still big enough there is plenty of reason to be careful. If you fall while in the foot straps, don't let go of the wing.

I have a love / hate relationship with straps , I learnt strapless and rode for a while like this.Really enjoyed being able to make slight adjustments with my feet and reckon I could get on foil earlier without straps in light winds.Then I went to having just the fronts on, that really helped saving the crashes from breaching and I could carve a little harder / tighter.
Had a flat water session the other day and put my back strap on for my first jumps , it was great fun getting my first airs ( more of hops than full on height) , I foiled with my foot in front of the back strap then only used it for jumps.
Yesterday was more of a swell riding session and the back strap got in the way loads my foot needed to be half on it most the time and sometimes I lean it across to the other rail etc.
Ive ordered a single Armstrong strap for the back and hopefully I'll just be able to stand on it if needed and then hook in for jumps.
My board is is plus 8l to my 67kgs , so with a smaller board I'm guessing I wouldn't move around so much as it would be more reactive to heal / toe pressure?

I highly recommend softer straps vs more structured straps. They need to be structured enough to stand up but no more than that.
with softer straps you can leave them looser for safety, foot switches, or going from strapped to unstrapped on the back foot. but you can wedge/twist your foot to lock them in when you jump. The one by one straps are the best for this reason alone.
Riding strapped you have to get used to more weight shifting. When you are unstrapped you move your feet around to shift weight. Just different.

One day some one is going to invent adjustable ,releasable foot straps.
Similar to snow ski bindings.I've had my fair share of La Franc injury which happens when the strap
give you a crushing twist from your foot not being released.

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winddoc said..
One day some one is going to invent adjustable ,releasable foot straps.
Similar to snow ski bindings.I've had my fair share of La Franc injury which happens when the strap
give you a crushing twist from your foot not being released.

There is at least 2 companies that makes straps like that and they look pretty good. Seems like a good idea I would assume some people could give some feedback on them for winging application.

This one looks a little bulky.
u-ride.net/actualite/matos-strap-a-ouverture-auto-ventores.html?fbclid=IwAR3iO91gYErbJHy4nU4rQ3BoyS3Tz44FYO8mpq16dCZu1MyepkMWBzM3oU0

I can't find the other right now, but it looked like a add on to the attachment point of an existing strap, and fairly minimal in size.

I use fronts all the time and back only for jumping. If I was designing a board I think I'd have two back straps since I seem to like an offset stance but I think there wouldn't be room for it on most boards.

So the consensus is for safety very loose straps even if only front straps?