Footstrap adjustment

[<Kaki>]

Hi,

what is the best adjustment for footstrap. I am not comfortable and some people tell me it should be very tight and some say loose. Also, sometimes my front foot keeps coming out of the strap, any cure welcome!

[sukhdev]

I'll answer your second question first: front foot coming out of the straps. This is usually caused by either the mast track being too far back and/or the boom being too high; its usually almost always a mix of the two.

Re footstrap tightness: really depends on boards/conditions. I'll share my preferences:
- Formula: front strap set to allow all the toes to be hooked up if needed. Rear strap quite a bit more loose than the front, to allow the foot to be pushed in for downwind control. For upwind the rear foot is angled backwards anyway so this looseness still works good.
- slalom boards (classic): both rear and front straps set to allow toes to show.
- wave board: both front and rear set loose to allow foot to be well into the strap, toes curl down to grip board in jumps/chop hops etc.

One easy way is to do it one strap at a time. Don't adjust all the footstraps, pick one and adjust it till its almost too tight. Back off the adjustment gradually from that point.

[ulfp]

quote:what is the best adjustment for footstrap. I am not comfortable and some people tell me it should be very tight and some say loose

If you with “not comfortable” refer to “pain in your feet”, you should check if your board could allow you to change the width of the straps (i.e. check if you have multiple holes for the strap screws).

When a strap is wide, you will get more pressure on the top of the foot, while a narrower setting will distribute the pressure around your feet and make it more comfortable (but perhaps somewhat more difficult to get in/out of the strap).

Some time ago, I had problem with blisters on the side of my feet, and when I changed the strap mounting to the “wider” holes, the feet healed quickly (but after the adjustment, the feet feels “loose” and after sailing for long hours, the “top” of the feet feels squashed).

Anyone got any idea on metal plates or something else that can be used to make a “wide” setting somewhat narrower.

[sukhdev]

Ulf, something I've done before that works is to put a second neoprene footstrap cover only over the wide strap. The footstrap will end up looking like its pregnant but it works (sort of).

[ulfp]

In the old days (when straps generally were hard and uncomfortable) I used to "double up" the neoprene by cutting some ordinary "bathroom foam mat" (or something similar) and stick it inside.

Never considered the obvious fact that it will also make the strap narrower...