Back foot strap - smooth entry and exit

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MilesH said..
I always feel cumbersome getting in and out of the back footstrap in the limited time I have used it.

Is there a technique for making it a smooth movement?

Getting in, I feel for it with my foot when I'm in my stinkbug start and my foot just slides in as I'm standing up. This is very natural and never an issue.

When I'm on foil, I do a little rise on the foil (similar to what I would do during a foot switch), then pull my foot out or put it back in. This helps since you are unweighting the back foot very slightly when you take it in or out of the strap. This is slightly trickier, but also becomes natural with repetition.

When I'm on my natural side, I almost always ride with both feet in the straps, but I don't ride with straps on my unnatural side (I should probably start though). I ride with a directional surf strap setup (not a Y).

I have been struggling with entering from my rear strap, which is a semi-soft type strap that you can flatten down with a foot or other body part as is sometimes required. For what it's worth, here's what I learned.

The first issue was size. What felt like an adequate size on the beach was clearly too small once I was bouncing around over chop. Fixed that.

The second issue was dealing with the floppiness of the strap. Often times the foam of the strap would catch the rubber of my toe and fold the strap inward blocking my foot's entry. The problem seems to stem from: 1) poor aim, and 2) the previous shape of the strap.

The solution that seems to work for me is to first step directly on top of the strap so you feel it under the arch of your foot. This has the effect of flattening-out any strange twist that may hold its shape otherwise. Additionally, it gives feedback on exactly where your foot is positioned relative to its center. At this point, I am able to quickly slide my foot backwards, weightlessly dragging my toes over the top of the strap to keep it flat, and then back forward and under the strap, once the strap is free and pops up.

It seems counter-intuitive to step on the strap when you really want it standing open, but it pops up nicely each time, and my toes are exactly in the correct place to slide under. Mileage may vary, and there are certainly different straps on the market ... but give it a try and let me know!

Firstly, what strap configuration are you riding?

Do you want to ride permanently in the straps or just use the back one for getting airs/jumping?

If you want to ride permanently in the straps then your riding stance should be perfectly positioned so it feels comfortable riding in them. I ride with the Y stance setup and only put my foot in the rear strap when I want to jump on my natural side otherwise I don't use it and ride with my foot slightly in front of it which is spot on. When I need to put my foot in the rear strap I transfer my weight to my arms and move my balance slightly to get the foot in then ride with my weight slightly shifted so it's comfortable to ride fully strapped up. There is a slight technique to it but once you've tried it a few times it gets easier.
Personally I'm not a fan of riding toeside constantly and like to move my feet around on the board and ride in a windsurf stance more often than not, but each to their own and whatever feels best for you!