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

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.

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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.

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DJMax said..

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.

Watch all the pros, they'll back strap to jump and pump on foil and that's it.
Moment you're on foil, back foot should come out of the strap. You're really using the front to turn harder, have a consistent spot for your front feet and have leverage to point harder upwind.

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

Thanks for the advice everyone!

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 ??

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.

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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.

I ride strapped pretty much 100% of the time. With the mast fully forward and straps full back I'd still like a little more front foot pressure for upwind so pretty much never take it out. (F-one board & foil, so no mismatched kit, just personal preference coming from and up/down windfoil racing background). Only reason I'd take it out is to get going in light winds, makes it easier to keep the nose down during pumping for more efficient pumps at low (slogging or just rising) speed.

Straps allow you to turn harder, especially in the tacks.

I only injured my foot once during a toeside downwind (Vulcan) 360 attempt. Landed way too much on the nose and twisted my foot because my backfoot came out of the strap. Dont see much injuries happening with regular sailing though if the kit is setup right, just have your straps set large enough, they dont have to be thight to stay on your foot during jumps with good technique and no really awkward landings.

Riding with only 1 foot strapped seems more risky to me because with 2 feet strapped its way harder to twist in an odd angle.

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.

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Taavi said..
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.

Yes, not letting go of the wing I recall is a good idea esp. if you are in a jump etc, as the wing will keep u lifted while the board just drops/flings wildly away. I been using straps for like 1yr+ and the only time I badly twisted my back ankle was stuffing my foot in in marginal winds in the swells and trying to pump away like a madman, only for a set to come in and knock my board sideways .. was a year back .. never happened again and can't live without straps now, will take the rear foot off when flagging downwind though. Have fun!

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?

Hey!
I right with fronts traps since I started. Now I want to start with jumping and put the back strap on. But everytime I want to slip in I got more weight on the heel rail side and start to tilt? Seems like I got a **** stance this time? How do u do this? I know some ppl foil with 2 straps and don't switch stance but that's not my style. I don't think I gone start jumping switch stance but I foil with harness and I always want to slip in with backfoot to be more stable. But this time I can't manage it. Any tips so far?
Greetings

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.

OK weight shifting. What u think about setup of straps and Mast position? I got the jp x-winger 6.0 and always Mast relatively far forward. Also straps in In front Position. U think that's an bad idea? Idk really played alot with that because I mostly got weak and gusty winds here.
Cheers

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.

Ion safety straps? What's the message so far? Noone should ride with straps? Don't understand.

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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 started with the front straps only for a while and put the back strap on only for jumping. It feels a little weird to me having my back foot in the back strap as my feet want to be cross positioned on the board for foiling so I only use the back strap for jumping (in the early stages). I find the front straps to be helpful as I know where to put my feet all the time and really help control the board when riding switch stance.

DC

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.

Hey DC!
Exactly what I experienced with backstrap. Also I got to much weight on heelside so I have to lean over to toeside. Feels **** yet. Maybe I have to get used to it or my skills are **** or setting is not good.
Greetings

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

I'd start with looser straps as it will be easier to get in the straps but more importantly out of the straps when things go sideways quickly. I had an uncomfortable crash recently as I hadn't loosened my straps to accommodate booties and it was difficult to extract my foot.