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Introducing the new 3D footstraps from Neil Pryde - fully adjustable to almost any foot shape or performance configuration. The 3D footstraps feature a super-wide, generously padded neoprene strap, ideal for spreading any loading across a wide area, so there are no pressure points, no fatigue and your feet stay comfortable for longer.The most important innovation in the 3D straps is in the range of adjustment that's possible. The rear footstrap can be fine-tuned to suit different sailing conditions. For wave riding or jumps you can have different depth settings for your port or starboard straps. The straps can be "moulded" to give you the perfect fit or the optimal entry and exit profile. Meanwhile, the front footstraps are designed to give you the firm, positive "locked-in" feel you want for bottom turns and gybes. When you ease off the pressure, your feet can slip in and out again easily. The fit adjustment is all concealed inside the strap. Open the Velcro pocket and make your settings, then you're ready to go. It's the perfect combination of cushioned comfort and precision board control.

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Originally posted by justal
Never used those, but I've just bought a load of Gun footstraps at £7 each. They look OK to me, and I'll report back when I've tried them out.

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I am so pleased with the new Neil Pryde 3D foot straps that I had to write and let you know my thoughts. I fitted these new straps and sailed with them for 4 hours yesterday. (and now several more hours totalling around 15 hours now) There are several factors to consider when buying and fitting foot straps and this is what I think are important. (In no particular order!)
1. Stiffness and Connection to board ?± No different to any other strap in terms of the amount of time it takes to fit the strap, although they are pretty stiff and need a little extra effort to bend into place for the first time. The JP plastic plates with the anti twist ?¨spikes?Æ are already excellent and these straps have fitted straight into where the previous ones were with no fuss. They are stiff and do not twist at all. - Actually these straps do take more setting up than normal, but this does result in a much better strap.
2. Range of fitting ?± This is where these straps really show a large advantage, you can put them one hole apart easily and still get good side support and the strap can be set into some very peculiar shapes if that is what you want. The range of adjustment I would say is 2-3 times better than any other strap that I have used. The Velcro is incredibly good (perhaps too good when brand new!) And as such there is little or no change between how you set up the strap and what you get after a few hours sailing. However, it does have to be said that the huge range of adjustment does mean that you tend to spend a lot longer than usual getting the ?¨perfect?Æ fit as there are a couple of ways of achieving a similar shape.
3. Comfort ?± Once set up for your sailing style these are by far the most comfortable straps that I have ever used. The load can be spread across a much larger area of the foot, which, prevents chaffing and rubbing and ensures great comfort.
4. Grip in the strap - Due to the larger contact area you can sail with looser straps and still have greater grip on the board ?± particularly useful for aggressive jumping on flat water, stopping the back foot coming out when going for loops and Vulcans and other quite aggressive moves. You also seem to be able to drive harder through the front foot when gybing at high speed on bumpy water. Overall, you feel better connected to the board, more secure and have better control over the board when steering or in the air.
5. Ability to enter the strap ?± Being able to twist the strap open at the entry side and tighter on the toes side allows easier entry into the strap and helps prevent ?¨stubbing your toes?Æ when struggling to get in the straps in a hurry!
6. Ability to exit the strap ?± This is actually easier because you have been able to set your straps looser for the same level of grip with the board. It is fair to say that when needing to abandon board mid air these straps seem to offer faster and quicker exits! However, due to the extra width that they have, in some moves such as exiting Vulcans or when changing the feet very late in gybes you cannot twist your foot out of the strap as effectively. In the past you will have twisted your foot out of the straps without really having to move the foot backwards out of the strap. After a little practise and familiarisation however, you learn to loosen the foot slightly more in the strap before twisting the foot out. After concentrating on the technique a little there seems to be no problem with this for me now. But this is something to be aware of before going for moves like that.
7. Those with odd feet! ?± Like many people I have one foot that is bigger than the other ?± in my case in width and foot height. This has always caused me problems with boards that I sail with a single back strap, as on one tack the strap is tight and puts too much pressure on my foot and on the other tack I have a fear of things like jumping that might mean I yank my foot out of the strap mid manoeuvre. Fine if you are trying to do a one-foot jump but not if you don??t want to yet! This is where these straps really give me a huge benefit, I am able to set one side of the strap tighter than the other and therefore suffer these problems to a much-reduced extent. I am now much more confident in very high speeds over short sharp chop and while airborne on both tacks. For people who have this slight disadvantage I highly recommend trying out these foot straps.
There is one minor disadvantage - these straps are much larger than normal ones and are probably much heavier when wet. A disadvantage perhaps for the most weight concious racer, but control often wins races over a 2/300 gram weight saving anytime.

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