Half-Straps

I haven't seen much commentary on half-strap use for wind foiling so I thought I'd mention my experiences so far. I ride a 91cm Tillo Convertible on both foil and fin, with very outboard strap positions. Normal Dakine Primos feel fine on a big fin but I've always felt a little wobbly getting into the back strap on foil, and too locked-in once I'm there, so I've often removed the back straps for foiling altogether - a pain since I reinstall them if I switch to a fin.

I recently installed the Slingshot half-straps in back, and have used them once for finning and often for foiling. They install easily with two bolts each going into the inserts fore and aft, and feel very secure once installed.

The only shortcomings so far: They're quite rigid, so if you swing the raked-back sail over them in a tack, they'll snag it more than conventional straps would. They don't respond quite as well to pointing the toes to rail the board to leeward when on a fin - ok but not brilliant. If you're overpowered off the wind it can be tough to find a comfortable place on the centerline of the board for your back foot.

Everything else is really positive. There's no feeling around for the back strap and you never have to lift your foot off the board at all - you just wriggle or slide it back and you're in. They offer a lot of power and stability - yesterday I was foiling for four hours both marginally and fully powered, and they responded well all day. Underpowered they gave a little extra oomph to that last little back-foot pump which sets the board at full height and speed, and when the wind kicked in I was able to stay on an 8.5 Flyer FR until well after many of the other guys had switched to 6.0 Foilglides and even a 5.2 Freek. They allow a lot of drive going upwind but feel just fine broad-reaching as well, at least until things get really hairy.

I took one hooked-in, strapped-in catapult over the bow when the board breached and slammed, and came out of the straps with no worry or tangle. That's a long day on the water for someone of my age and girth, on. a board which exerts a lot of back-foot pressure, and I would usually have experienced some cramping afterwards, but my legs were totally fine last night and today. Obviously I'm very pleased with the things.

I've been sailing strapless since I snapped my fibula in May of '21. I've become pretty used to it and the biggest drawback now is carrying the gear. thedoor lent me a pair of Slingshot half straps, but I can't get myself to screw them on. The biggest reason is the if I have them in the configuration Azymuth does above, I still think my fibula still would have broken: the foot needed to twist to the outside to relieve the stress but couldn't. Have you tried the straps reversed? That is, pointing out instead of in?

I installed rear half straps on my Alien 125 a year ago and would never go back to a full strap. I've set them up in the outside inserts for upwind foiling. I really like the flexibility they give me to move my back foot across to the middle of the board when carving downwind and on waves.

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John340 said..
I installed rear half straps on my Alien 125 a year ago and would never go back to a full strap. I've set them up in the outside inserts for upwind foiling. I really like the flexibility they give me to move my back foot across to the middle of the board when carving downwind and on waves.

Okay, now I'm curious. What's the difference between back strap, half strap and no strap? (Ignoring the front for now.) What does a half strap do that strapless back doesn't?

Tried a couple of days on a rental board that had no straps at all. Not my cup of tea. I kept looking for the front straps and didn't feel like I could drive the board anywhere as firmly.

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Paducah said..

John340 said..
I installed rear half straps on my Alien 125 a year ago and would never go back to a full strap. I've set them up in the outside inserts for upwind foiling. I really like the flexibility they give me to move my back foot across to the middle of the board when carving downwind and on waves.

Okay, now I'm curious. What's the difference between back strap, half strap and no strap? (Ignoring the front for now.) What does a half strap do that strapless back doesn't?

Tried a couple of days on a rental board that had no straps at all. Not my cup of tea. I kept looking for the front straps and didn't feel like I could drive the board anywhere as firmly.

For me the back half-strap allows me to drive through the foil much more positively - especially to pump the foil - than just wedging my foot against the rail. I think with the bracing of the half strap I can also drive much harder off the front foot, so in a gust I felt I could keep the power on through the harness, keep my legs long and just slide my hips forward to keep the foil in the water. Without any strap in the back I'd be inclined to step the back foot forward instead which would move my weight forward also but wouldn't offer as much power. I've had enough injuries that these days I actively try NOT to get air, but I'd feel much safer jumping with a strap and a half setup than with just a front strap or no straps. They don't really do anything regular straps couldn't do, they're just a lot easier to get into and out of.

They're probably much less durable than normal straps, although Dakine seems to offer a cover for their "half-hook" which might preserve their usefulness (don't know if the Dakine cover fits the Slingshot). The risk of sail damage is definitely an issue, especially with full-footed sails like the Flyer FR. I haven't heard of anyone tearing out an insert using these but the mechanics of the design seem to make that a possibility too. Short of that, if I have to replace the straps every couple of years they're still a bargain imo.

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SA_AL said..
There are some other alternatives for easy release and this was discussed before.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Foiling/Foiling-and-footstraps?page=1
Below are videos that I have not tried but it looks pretty good for preventing potential injury.

vimeo.com/user92773683

I have Franck's safety footstrap bindings - they work super well, the quality is impressive.
Tested a few times they let go as designed in a forward catapult. You can adjust the force required to release.
Simple ordering them from him in France.

I ultimately went with half-straps because of my particular issues but if you want a more regular footstrap feel but with a safety margin, it's worth contacting him.
franck.gressier@yahoo.fr

Awalkspoiled and I swapped boards today so I got to try these out. The Tillo/Taaroa combination felt really smooth and easy to ride, and the rear half straps were very easy to wiggle into.

The downside not noted here is they hit me in the ankle right where I have a metal plate so it was uncomfortable on one tack. Other than that I'd consider them strongly.

BRT mentioned a fib break, mine was tib/fib with the plate on the outside hitting on the strap corner. Have to be ginger with finessing where it touches.