Foil Surfing Foot Hooks
Surf 6 years ago 1,179 views
To strap or no strap, that is the questions. Foot Hooks provide a nice amount of control without being as restrictive as foot straps. In this video, Robert Stehlik goes over different foot attachment options he tested, including footstraps, Slingshot foot hooks, EVA foam foot hooks and finally the tail handle foam blocks he currently uses. Robert shows how to find the correct placement, determining where to drill the screw holes to attach the block to the inserts, making sure the screws don't go too deep into the board and shaping the foam block to fit the shape of the foot and the board along with B-roll Foil surfing footage showing the different options in action. These EVA foot hooks allow you to move the feet around during takeoff, allow exact foot placement by feel, give you more control over the board while riding, allowing the foot to lift and twist the board without being restrictive and easy to eject from when wiping out, making them an easy to use, safe option for SUP or surf hydrofoilers.
For the straps, as you found out, having to move your feet on takeoff is very hard with straps. So, to use straps, it is critical that you do not have to move your feet: your paddling position should be the same as your flying position. This way, straps actually help for take off as you can control a rocking motion to help on takeoff.