Strapped v's Unstrapped - Style & Skill

greenroom · Wed Jun 24, 2009 8:07 pm

Being a dedicated strapless rider and coming to kiting from a surfing background, I'm curious to know what the general kiting populous's view was with respect to strapped v's unstrapped for style and skill. I'm not knocking riding with straps since it has its place (when big & v.windy) but having watched numerous videos of guys in waves that are strapped I can't help feel that it looks very forced and un-natural, particularly when you see someone do a hack off the top on a flat faced wave with no lip, relying on a vigourous kite re-direction for the the turn as opposed to using the correct section of wave. Maybe it's just me being a surfer and not being used to the strapped style - I dunno. Just wondered what others thought about it. Let the debate begin

http://hangtimefive7.blogspot.com/

jay.mac · Wed Jun 24, 2009 8:25 pm

i think you summed it up pritty well. Defo strapless wins hand down for style. Its more flowing and smooth. With the likes of Shinn and Wilson both ripping stapless coming from different backgrounds(not to mention most of the famous watermen in kiting), I would say it the road most want to progress down. Shame it so f@#king hard!

gillstah · Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:52 am

the basics aren't as hard as you think. if i can ride strapless, anyone can!

for me, it becomes tricky in big mushy powerful low-period waves, or if you are doing tricks (eg pop shuvits) on a skim or short directional.

Superman · Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:46 pm

One more for strapless!

but as said strapped has its place and by the talented few can be made to look stylish

another but - just cos your riding strappless doesn't mean your ridding with style (i've seen the pics of me

)

waverider · Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:53 pm

I can't yet and I've recently not made a lot of effort though I find it 'the' most interesting form of kitesurfing, I could watch for hours but I had wondered if surfers would bring a purer-form with them.

Stay strapless, it's pure.

greenroom · Thu Jun 25, 2009 8:25 pm

For me, being a surfer I found it easier to learn without straps as I seem to do a pretty fine job of tripping over them when I use my strapped board (which is an old 6'0" that my wife used to surf on with Surftech stick on pads)

The only days I struggle when unstrapped is when it is really big and really windy and the chop knocks you about a bit. Other than that I generally ride an old 5'7" Fluid Juice fish (again one of my wife's old boards) without straps which has worked from knee high to double overhead thusfar (although it is getting a bit beat up now). I'm fortunate in that 15 years of surfing has left me with a collection of old boards that are ideal for being pressed into service for kiting in the surf!

One thing I do notice watching some of the guys riding with kites in the waves is that it is very easy to spot those that are surfers! (no offence meant!)

http://hangtimefive7.blogspot.com/
http://brochsurfclub.blogspot.com/

Oldognewtrix · Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:19 pm

Dont know how I am going to get on, but started to do a lot in surf of recent. Really enjoy it , not riding waves of any sense as yet , but having good fun in surf. Decided long time ago that was what I wanted to do when I first ever watched some Kiters in the surf. Just brought a used Rocket fish. Cant wait to try it and suss out the Jybe turning etc. Best practice on the flat first , but I have no surfing back ground what so ever !
Please surfers dont take offence , but personally surfing is not for me. I have watched surfers bobing up and down in the waves or lack of them for hours and then to miss the only good wave. All that paddling out seems a waste. That's why kite surfing appealed to me. Each to there own any how.
Any tips would be much appreciated. I see some schools offer training in wave riding. That might well be the way forward. Bet some one will say " Go surfing first" May just have to do that if it's a means to an end.

greenroom · Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:48 pm

Even if you feel that it isn't your cup of tea I would recommend learning to surf if you are serious about strapless riding in waves. It will serve to assist with two equally important elements:

1) It will give you the technical board skills to improve your kiting in the surf (esp when you are on the face of a wave with the kite parked)
2) It will provide you with a greater knowledge and understanding of waves themselves, how they behave, where you'll find power, where and how they break etc etc.

Again, I'm not having a dig at non-surfing kiters, but almost without question those who surf and have an understanding of waves make it look easier than those who don't surf. To be honest surfing and kiting are the perfect combo, since most of the days i'm kiting in waves i probably wouldn't bother surfing, and usually when the wind drops (esp on the north sea coast) the swell cleans up and produces rideable surf. A bit of a win win.

http://hangtimefive7.blogspot.com/
http://brochsurfclub.blogspot.com/

Oldognewtrix · Thu Jul 02, 2009 5:02 pm

greenroom wrote: if you are serious about strapless riding in waves.

Cripes , who said anything about strapless......!

I understand your coments , thank you. Used to do some body boarding with the Kids , does that count?

waverider · Thu Jul 02, 2009 5:24 pm

I have to come-clean and share something with you guys, I decided to learn strapless because the few times I tried to go-about on a strapped board I stubbed my toes into the straps, they just got in the way and I ended-up looking-down like you did when you were learning to drive.

I then thought I needed more room on the the board to practice the gybe and because the whole epic of falling-off and getting back-on after a while got me so knackered I decided to use a body-board but the body-board I first tried on wasn't up to being stood-on so I bought a better quality one though I haven't tried since.

Strapless body-board surfing, innovation or a desperate OldGit ?

Oldognewtrix · Fri Jul 03, 2009 11:12 am

waverider wrote: Strapless body-board surfing, innovation or a desperate OldGit ?

God I feel so much better now !

What size body board should a 13stone man be looking for?

I am off to Saunton Sands now, where Kiting is now banned for two months, because of the Bucket & Spade season. So just to make me feel better I know there will be hundreds of people with body boards , so going to spoil some ones family holiday by nicking one , just make me feel better !

waverider · Fri Jul 03, 2009 2:56 pm

Oldognewtrix wrote: What size body board should a 13stone man be looking for?

I hadn't realised I had a choice of sizes, the problem I had was with a cheap body-board that wasn't up to my 73 kilos standing on it. At 13 stone you're 2 stone heavier than me. I phoned a surfboard shop in the south-west that seemed to cater for body-board anoracks, the bloke I spoke with explained that I needed a knee-board. A knee-board being the strongest they make, it-is a lot stiffer than a common-or-garden body-board. A lot stiffer in more than one way.

£150 stiffer.

I don't know if I dropped a clanger buying it but I'm very determined to ride strapless and to gybe so I decided to extend my tools a little but the summer wind always lets me down. I was riding the Hana-Crew Raven a few years ago, the Raven was one of the first skim/wave boards and hardly bigger than this knee-board. The knee-board has a lot of bouyancy and quite frankly you can't tell the difference between front and back when you get to stay-on the damn thing for more than 30 seconds.

It's a hoot but don't risk very shallow water like with a skim because you'll end-up injuries unless you're an 18 years old whippet.

Life is good,

___________________________________________
Richard Roggan. Distinguished kitesurfing Gentleman.
I don't do tricks.
Slingshot Links
Slingshot Fuse
Hana Crew

gillstah · Fri Jul 03, 2009 3:27 pm

are you being serious about kitesurfing on a knee board richard? wouldn't a wide fish be easier?

paul.

park1 · Fri Jul 03, 2009 5:17 pm

Check out the Naish kite dvd "13 daze" from a few years ago. Robby Naish with a body board duct tapped to his waist, going up and down the sand and waters edge, unhooked. Looked fun and you get a back wax at the same time!

Seriously though, are you really trying to kite on a body board? If you can, big up to you, some footage would be cool to see!

Getting back to the original thread, unstrapped all the way for me riding, but to watch i'm still split. Guilly Brandao is just amazing to watch, really taking wave riding to a new level. If you've not seen any footage check out youtube, it's jaw dropping.

waverider · Fri Jul 03, 2009 6:54 pm

gillstah wrote:are you being serious about kitesurfing on a knee board richard? wouldn't a wide fish be easier?

paul.

I have an NSP Fish that is plenty wide enough Paul, I'm not presenting things in the right-order. After I got hold of the NSP Fish I realised maybe I didn't need the Knee-board and just to remind you I mostly don't have anyone around to help or learn-from.

I had a couple of goes on the knee-board and quite-frankly it could be a lot of fun if you're more agile than me, it does get-up and going but doesn't know about directions.

Thanks for the nudge though.

Strapped v's Unstrapped - Style & Skill

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