Kite Scoop Forum

I've been kiteing on snow and water since 2010, and I've tried boots two times. I really like it, it gives a great feeling of board control and is so much more fun then with straps. I got a couple of questions though...

When does one start wearing boots? Should you be an expert throwing unhooked tricks before starting with boots?
Is it better to learn unhooked tricks with straps?
Are you more prone to injuries with boots if you're an unhooked newb?

I've nailed a couple of railyes with and without boots, just wondering if I should just go for it, or go back to straps?
I also faceplanted really hard with boots, so I'm aware of the extra pain you gain with boots

I'm not very good, but feel much safer learning stuff in boots than straps. With straps I always feel like my board is going to fly off and murder my shins, and if you're going too fast on landings it sucks

I started riding boots once I could go upwind and learned everything i know in them lol... It's scarier for me to ride without them and all that ankle support, I only ride straps when the wind is marginal or nuking, or if the chop gets too big and I don't feel like drowning...

Well, when you decide to start wearing boots is up to you. As long as you can get upwind easily you should be fine. I'm pretty sure there is a dude on here that even teaches people in boots, so you shouldn't have a problem.

Straps is defenetely easier to learn some tricks in, you can learn tricks with half the power you need with boots. Doesn't mean it's better though. The feeling i get when landing a new, powered trick in boots for the first time can't be compared to landing stuff with straps.

Prone to injuries? Dude, were talking about kiting here. Injuries are rare, with both boots and straps. I personally feel much more safer in boots. Straps come off when you don't want them to, and that feels like an injury waiting to happen to me.

So yeah, you should go for it. You wont regret it. And don't worry about the pain. Go hit the cable and you'll realize that the shit we are doing behind the kite is really nothing.

just go for it mate, i found progression in straps so slow, as i never went into a trick powered enough or never committed because worried about a foot coming out... even simple trick like learning powered raleys and bankrolls ect,

then had one really bad slam when a foot came out and i thought fuck it and put some boots on, now i use them 90% of the time, and find i commit a lot more into a trick and can hold down a lot more power,

what annoys the shit out of me, are the wankers on the beach who go on and on about "your not good enough to ride boots" ect then you watch them ride and pull the gayest raleys over and over again....

put some on and stick with them, anyone who rides them will say they fear more chance of injury in straps... and the people who don't ride them are probably old and have every safety accessory hanging off there go joe webbing belt... "just incase" tossers!

Can't say i've had the pleasure of meating anyone saying this.

Anyways, don't worry about it. If you want to ride boots, you are good enough to ride boots, simple as that.

Alright! Good to hear!

I've actually received comments one of the two times I was out with boots stating I wouldn't need boots as I don't boost jumps that are high enough to need boots to land them or whatever..

Fuck that shit, I liked riding them, and I'm going to keep pushing on then

after the first backroll and some unhooked situations i put boots on my board....i couldnt even get upwind with the straps... after putting boots on the board i was able to go upwind like toby and started landing everything that i didnt... after that i didnt want to do any other trick that wasnt unhook. so yeah put boots as soon as you start backrolling
i dont know how to make a megaloop... but i can do the uploop with a handlepass in the end...but i want to get it to blind like... go big and then blind and then 5 seconds riding... the uperloop is kind of hardcore...correct me if not scoop!!!!!

Wakestylers don't boost or go particularly high when compared to people who are actually into dangling big air, so those comments are BS. Wakestyle is about technical tricks and style not height.

When people ask me if I think they could wear boots, I ask them one simple question: Are you going to be doing unhooked tricks? if the answer is yes (it rarely is), then I tell them there's is no reason not to ride boots, except maybe for people that do a lot of kite loops.

Rule of thumb: Boots if unhooked

Get started dude,
Keep the kite low, get unhooked and adapt the attitude.

Welcome!

come to the dark side, son.....take my hand.....

a friend of mine after 1 year traveling in the same car to the same spots finally puts boots...i go to his house shows me a vid and tells me "this is what i want to do" and put a video of a guy boosting big...i felt retarded for explainin boots and unhooking to this fella he wasnt ready for it...oh and he put the go pro pics of the board in boots boosting high!

what about the upper loop?
i feel like doing a underloop or a uperloopo unhooked when leaving the wave is like edging in the boat...with the high and all

if you have an ego problem and still want to be boosting big for everybody looking at ya at the beach! dont do it!
i felt really good everytime i land blind...i dont do it often but when i do ...is the most amazing feeling

so put boots if you can handle the weekendwarrior "wow did you look at the jump that guy did?"

also puting the boots is awsome.... i feel like a ninja preparing for war

haha awesome!!

That's fine man, I meant more like hooked in loops or megaloops.