Jumping technique and footstrap setup

Some instructionals advice to land tail first, some nose first. Which one would be the preferred method and why? For sure with some tricks the trick itself determines landing position but what would be ideal?

Other question is what is the footstrap setup that pro riders are using? Windsurf freestylers set up footstraps so thet are narrow but tall so you can rotate foot inside the strap without breaking an ankle. But some instructions say that straps should be tight so you cannot stuck your feet too deep in. So i'm confused what is ideal setup.

Listening. Don't know about the pros. On a smaller board (40L) that I use for jumping I have the foot straps a bit wider than on my wave windsurf boards, and slightly less tall. It definitely reduces control over the board / foil when making the front strap too big. My back strap is set slightly wider than the front strap. Easy to throw the board away while in the air, if needed, but when falling to the side it's quite possible to harm the ankles. On my big board (80L) the straps are slightly bigger, still trying to maintain a bit of good contact with the top of the foot.

Interesting topic indeed. I recently (10 hours ago) startet to use straps. I have them loose enough to get them "halfway" on my foot, almost to where the leg starts. That means a little slack, but not when I'm forcing my foot in all the way. I find it easier to get out them quickly if needed to this way, but still providing enough grip for jumping. Also, it's easier to get closer to centerline. I use 7mm neoprene boots, single strop aft and two in the front (Y shape). I use inflatable Gong Hipe, so really not to much to do with placements, I find the strops have a wider stance than what I usually rode.

Jumping, I think I'm landing more or less neutral, maybe a little front og back tilt, depending on how it goes;-) Usually land most of my jumps, only thing I care about is not to wreck my foil (it's an Armstrong), other than that, I just "land".

Just got the Hipe Pro board, they have a single V-strap in front, meaning your foot will be even more centerline, just testet it once, but it looks promising.

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surfcowboy said..
Good topic, thx.

Other question is about pumping. I ride offset like a lot of wing setups with the 3 strap layout use but I feel off center when pumping the board. Is this just technique or do I need to center my front foot more?

At the start i felt exactly the same way; with straps pumping felt offset. Usually i did pumping only front foot on strap and back foot out of it so i could balance things out with back foot. But after moving to boards with single double V -footsrap so front foot is closer to centerline things got better. Also when using loose straps you can stuff your feet deeper and thus to middleline of the board. Now pumping feels balanced with both feet inside straps.

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Velocicraptor said.. I think there is a podcast with Titouan where he talks about transitioning his landing technique from front first to rear first - it's hazy in my memory but worth looking up.

Thats from Blueplane podcast, on 48:50 mark:
Listened that many times. But for example Malo who is also around world top-20 freestylers discusses here opposite and advices to land nose first:
Also i read some discussions where they said that landing nose first would be more difficult at the beginning, but after mastering it, it allows you to continue foiling without touching down.

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Taavi said..
Listening. Don't know about the pros. On a smaller board (40L) that I use for jumping I have the foot straps a bit wider than on my wave windsurf boards, and slightly less tall. It definitely reduces control over the board / foil when making the front strap too big. My back strap is set slightly wider than the front strap.

Recently i have used this narrow but tall setup on my both boards. I have set-up the straps so loose that i can twist my ankle inside the strap so my feet can touch the board like this:

I like this setup because i can get my feet so deep inside the straps that my feet are centerline of the board so i feel well balanced.

But after reading this article it got me thinking that i should try also this completely opposite setup. Writer is really experienced kitefoiler. kj4l.com/?p=396

I tested the setup on dry land and i can easily twist my foot out of the strap if i fall front or sideways. But remains to be seen how the setup works for jumping and is there problem with not getting feet close enough to centerline.