Cold water is coming so I will need to start wearing booties. I wonder if there are straps without neoprene so it is easier in-out with boots. I believe some Drake footstraps are made out of EVA but not sure if they are more slippery than neoprene ones. I wish there were some with some sort of teflon coating for the part touching the feet; since I will be wearing boots, it won't damage my skin.
Suggestions?
@azymuth is using these... www.slingshotaustralia.com.au/products/slingshot-foot-hook/ . Maybe DM him for details on how well they work.
I always wear booties, summer or winter, because where I launch has too much sharp pea gravel for my tender baby feet.
I just use regular neoprene Dakine footstraps and run them big. Since my feet are size 12 (USA), I mount the footstraps one hole wider than normal. I have never had a problem with my bootied feet sticking in the footstraps since I don't jam them in there tight. I keep them out a bit for easy exit in crashes.
Size 11, almost always wear booties wind, wing, or windsurf.
Straps slalom tight, heel free to pivot out.
I like all 4 of those deck handles
If I were skilled enough to ride freestyle or short board winging, and not physically feeble, I would set my straps freestyle....tall and narrow, to stand centerline, and able to allow twist.
Like snowboarding, release is not necessary.
These:
www.loopeewindsurfing.com/product-p/acc-footstrap-simmer.htm
Or these:
www.nbwindsurfing.com/shop/c/p/Starboard-Ultralight-Race-Footstrap-x48771979.htm
Have been head and shoulders above anything else for bootie use which is year round here. Sz 12 feet, up to 6mm booties.
Select to expand quoteLeeD said..
Any bootie to strap combination works.
I think most booties to straps combinations work okay.
I like how easy it is to get in and out of the straps without booties so I am trying to replicate that when wearing booties. I think the combination of neoprene on booties and straps is not ideal.
Yes, but did you specify exactly the feel and friction you prefer?
Usually, an adjustment or 2 is needed to get comfy.
I always say two strap adjustment work for most sailors. Tall and narrow for young, strong, freestyle types....low, tight for easy out on crashes, but retention in jumps.
And remember, deck grip is a factor.
And of course, companies CHANGE materials and placement of, sometimes yearly, in footstraps.
Select to expand quoteWillyWind said..LeeD said..
Any bootie to strap combination works.
I think most booties to straps combinations work okay.
I like how easy it is to get in and out of the straps without booties so I am trying to replicate that when wearing booties. I think the combination of neoprene on booties and straps is not ideal.
Some straps just wear out very quickly with booties regardless of how you set them up. MFC come to mind and I'm unsure why just looking at them.
The Simmers are going strong after several seasons with no sign of appreciable wear and they are cheap. Booties slip right out of them which I like.
The Drake Yulex seem to be equally tough and almost built for booties, I think they'd be a little rough on bare feet. They are very easy to adjust but you'll need a screwdriver. They might offer a bit more retention but haven't really grabbed me yet and I use the narrow/tall set-up.
Problem with "big" is that the straps are loose, floppy, and imprecise.
Better to make them very narrow, but tall to allow inboard foot and some rollover in crashes.
Select to expand quoteLeeD said..
...low, tight for easy out on crashes, but retention in jumps.
It keeps surprising me how the old dictum of strap adjustment has disappeared. Back in the 90s if your straps loosened to the point that you could see most of your big toe you were straight back to the beach to re-tighten them up. I'd be terrified to sail with some of the loose strap settings you see today.
Maybe if your foot gets stuck on a small wave board with a mini fin you'll be OK. The board will just follow you like a snowboard. But a foil has huge traction in the water, it's not going to follow a stuck rider in a crash.
Decathlon in europe sells different booties. I prefer the simplest ones because they are completely flatter and smooth, very thin, no reinforcement, the easiest ones to get out.
The only problem is that they break easily at finger tips.
O'Neill ninja booties get my vote they only have smooth fabric on the top no rubber to stick to the strap,downside is they only come in 3mm and they can wear out faster than others. Straps run as loose as you can tolerate the freestyle guys make sure they can have their foot turn 180 deg. In the strap,if anyone knows about foot injury they do.
Home waters are only "warm" for the first 50-100m from the onshore wind blowing in the warmer surface water. 2mm booties even in the heat of summer. Obviously less "feel" than barefoot. But up here once the feet get too cold, the feel outside of thawing pain goes. I've always just mounted whatever brand of footstraps came with boards owned. Never really an issue. Light wind board straps were set "slalom". Wave board set "wave". Tall enough to allow foot to rotate 90 degrees, but narrow width for leverage. I like my knee and ankle joints.
For foiling the front footstraps are set up "wave" mode. I put a set of the half-hook kiter type of straps on back. More or less just to give me feel feedback for foot position. Took the foil board (Horue Tiny 110L) out for a light wind day windsurfing session. Half hooks (slingshot brand) are not very functional or comfortable for windsurfing. IMHO, not for windsurfing. But for foiling it feels strapless in terms of easy in and out.
The only must have design in a bootie is as thin as possible sole.
Select to expand quoteKDog said..
O'Neill ninja booties get my vote they only have smooth fabric on the top no rubber to stick to the strap,downside is they only come in 3mm and they can wear out faster than others. Straps run as loose as you can tolerate the freestyle guys make sure they can have their foot turn 180 deg. In the strap,if anyone knows about foot injury they do.
Yes, ninja boots are great. O'Neil also has ninja socks, which are not the same thing (no rubber sole, not shoe-sized).
I use socks (mine are from WETSOX Frictionless Wetsuit Boot Socks) and my booties slips very easily. I tried several brands of booties and if it is not tightly fitting, it fills up too much much water. I decided on the NP booties. But having tight booties had been difficult to put it on until I started to use these socks. I am sure there are other divers socks that will work fine.
