Why does Robby Naish ride footstraps?

Robby Naish Rides Foostraps

THIS ARTICLE FEAURED IN KITEWORLD ISSUE #111 – READ THE FULL MAGAZINE NOW FOR FREE – CLICK HERE


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With a longstanding history in the sport, we catch up with seasoned-veteran Robby Naish to find out why he rides foostraps

People often ask me why I use footstraps when kiting. I also see comments on social posts about how “old school” using straps is. I’m not sure how adding power, control and speed to your riding could ever be a bad thing, but it’s a strange world and, as the saying goes, “to each their own”.

When we started experimenting with kites while riding surfboards back in the late 90s, kitesurfing was not yet a sport. My first ever experience was taking a nine-foot longboard out in Kailua Bay, paired with a four-line Sky Tiger kite, controlled with two handles. It worked. I went upwind, downwind and cruised around a bit. Fortunately I never dropped the kite in the water but it wasn’t something that would hold my attention. It was more of a novelty (but it was strapless).

Robby Naish rides footstraps

The next step was doing the occasional downwinder from Hookipa to Kanaha on Maui using an old Wipika two-line kite paired with one of my Jaws tow-in surfboards. This was a lot faster and we were using straps. There was simply no way that you were going to blast downwind on a two-line kite with no depower without footstraps. I managed a few jumps here and there, but it still felt like more of a novelty than a real ‘sport’.

Robby Naish boosting

Continue to read the article as seen in Kiteworld Issue 111 by clicking here

Be sure to follow Robby on Instagram to stay up to date with his latest board riding antics


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