Finally left those damn straps at home......

[NickC]

I've been reading posts and watching some great surfing footage on this forum since the start of the year, but didn't want to join in until I was riding strapless. Well I've been riding strapless since the end of August and nothing feels quite like it, so much so my twin tip hasn't seen the light of day since the begining of July when I dusted my Cabrinha S Quad down. It's the 5' 3" version and I bought it in October last year, road it once and my calf and the bridge of my back foot hurt som much I thought the board was trying to kill me. The wind has been fairly light this summer over here so I treated myself to a 6' Circle One round tail and left the straps well and truly off, took the large kite and have been bitten by the strapless bug.

Firstly I'd like to say hello and secondly some advice on heal dents. I've only ridden 4 times strapless and already there is a small heal dent starting to form, I ride right foot forward ( which is natural stance I believe?) and my next mission is to learn to ride left foot forward. I don't really want to stick a pad under my front foot as I really like the deck graffics, is this normal for an epoxy kitesurf directional or have I picked a lemon?

Regards

Nick

[Lonny]

Hey Nick,

Welcome to LTS! Thanks for posting your question. Congrats on losing your straps!

As far as heel dents go, I have yet to own a surfboard that does not dent, and if it didn't it would feel far too stiff. You do not have a lemon, and better the board dents than your ankles and knees. A kite specific surfboard will give you more durability generally than a straight up surfboard because it is designed with the rigors of kiting in mind. Also check out Ian's comments on heel dents here. Ian has designed more boards than most of us have ridden and he knows his stuff:
Ian's Heel Dent Comments

I look forward to seeing some videos of you posted soon, and added to our collection here! Please feel free to post any other questions you might have.

[NickC]

Hopefully the link below will work. I don't get any real swell at my local spot so have to travel a couple of hours to get anything that resembles a wave. But saying that my local spot gives me the chance to hone my strapless riding until I can pluck up the courage to ride in bigger waves.