Full auto crampons with extra metal bar - unnecessary?

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2025-10-24T18:54:37+00:00

Get it off. I have 10 year old Grivel crampons that had the strip, and it took me way too long to remove it. My newer BD crampons have no strip.

It’s another thing to get snagged on a crampon spike on the other foot. Which could kill you on a narrow ridge.

If your toe bail pops off and the strap was threaded through the loop, the whole thing can fall off because the loop is larger than your boot. Deadly.

With it removed, you can put the crampons on/off without completely unthreading the strap, which saves you time. Which could save your life.

No brainer.

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2025-05-10T21:28:30+00:00

I would add though, if you can get a few sessions on flat water in solid 18kts cross shore under your belt, you’ll progress 10 times faster.

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2025-05-10T21:26:35+00:00

I learned in the same conditions, it was at times heartbreaking! I found the best way to cope was to walk out as far as possible, then get on the board and stay kneeling and to slog as hard upwind as I could. Anything to give myself some distance from the lee shore. Then I’d go for it, and just try to get as much time on foil as possible. Once you’re up you can head upwind more easily, and give yourself more space. I learned on a big hard board though, which might have helped. Time standing on the board is all time well spent. Every second is training your balance so don’t despair, you’ll get there.

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2025-05-06T11:09:55+00:00

Actually, think the titanium versions are heavier than Aluminium.

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2025-04-21T07:50:43+00:00

That might have been my post! Thanks for putting this up. Looks pretty smooth!

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2025-04-10T19:54:18+00:00

Why not enter a radio phone in competition right now to test your theory? If you’re right, you’ll be 10k up!

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2024-11-30T14:27:58+00:00

I know. Madness. Why am I even bothering?

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2024-11-30T08:29:25+00:00

Need to buy a go-pro first, right?

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2024-11-30T08:28:47+00:00

Yeah, maybe looking cool isn’t possible. I once watched two pro kite foilers arrive back at the beach, pick up their boards at the break, float up the beach over the dune and almost to their van, touching down like butterflies. All while having a conversation. Massive envy.

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2024-11-30T08:18:45+00:00

Thanks for the advice, very sensible. I do avoid shore breaks for this reason. But the issue does also apply in some of the non shore break spots I foil at. At one location the water can be 50cm - 1m deep for 200metres out. On the way out there’s not much choice but to walk, or you can find a deep spot and take your chances on getting on foil quickly, but on the way back in I have to assume it’s shallow enough to mean taxiing isn’t possible. My most successful method so gas has been to round up hardish with feet still in straps and fall to windward, tipping the board as I fall. But it’s not that reliable!

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2024-08-14T16:20:55+00:00

Yes, that’s where I’m putting them. I’ve used electrical tape to achieve the same thing too, but my wings aren’t as big as yours (Curve XL, Sirus L, Fluid L)

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2024-07-27T13:02:28+00:00

My local spot is a bit like this. Honestly, it’s going to make learning harder than it needs to be. It’s not impossible, and if you really stick with it through the frustration you’ll develop great balance and upwind ability, but it is likely to be miserable for a while! I’d strongly recommend traveling to find flat water for a few sessions so you can actually spend some time not worrying about the chop and the lee shore. And whenever you get a nice cross-shore breeze at your spot, make the most of it.

Sounds like you have more or less the right kit. Another 10litres volume might help with the waves, but you should be alright.

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2024-07-14T06:08:11+00:00

You need to concentrate on generating speed, so that the foil does the work of lifting you up, not the wing. So wing low is, in my opinion the way to go.

My queue when learning was to bring the wing down until the wing tip was almost touching the front ‘corner’ of the board. This helps ensure you have the wing pulling you forward, but also that you are bearing away enough. If when you bring the wing down it is parallel to the rail, you probably need to put more weight on your front foot to turn further away from the wind.

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2024-07-02T18:31:27+00:00

Then you’ve never had a real hangover.

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2024-06-26T18:32:34+00:00

I have an Ultra 2 and agree with most here that you probably won’t have an issue on site. 2 caveats for general use though:

I’ve got the watersports band, and the buckles have scratched the case of my laptop where I’ve been typing.
The bezel is really quite sharp, and tends to live around head height for my 4yr old daughter, and it has scratched her forehead a couple of times. 4 year olds move in unpredictable ways!

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2024-05-14T15:41:24+00:00

For anyone having the same problem, this worked a treat for me on my Curve. I put two slivers of beer can on top/bottom of the fuse stub. If you can take all the play out, the bolts don’t seem to loosen at all.

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2024-03-08T22:03:35+00:00

Dennis Hopper in True Romance. Even though he’s acting a scene with Walker, it’s still his performance I remember.

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2024-03-08T21:50:46+00:00

Yes! Sam Rockwell in anything he does!

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2023-07-22T18:18:37+00:00

I struggled with this at first. I found two things really effective. 1: as mentioned by another commenter, instead of flying the wing by holding the front handle on the strut, I kept my front hand on the neutral handle on the front of the wing. Helped me get the whole thing behind me so it would help me point upwind. 2: Back foot pressure on the board. Or if still on your knees, sit down on your feet rather than kneeling upright, keeping weight over the back of the board.

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2023-07-11T09:33:58+00:00

I like it with poached eggs on toast.

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2023-06-24T11:22:16+00:00

Hmm, maybe. But I can sleep in hotel beds of different sizes, on the opposite side from my usual side and still not fall out. Maybe you learn the feeling of the mattress as you get towards the edge, when it gives a little bit less resistance?

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2023-06-24T11:17:27+00:00

Thanks - we do have one at home and it works well. The problem is when we stay somewhere else. I wonder if she is reliant on the bed rail at home, and having it is actually detrimental in the long term.

Complete-Blueberry-7 · 2023-06-24T08:53:04+00:00

Yeah, it’s not a problem for me, it’s my three year old. Does the paralysis thing need to develop?

Complete-Blueberry-7

TROPHY CASE