I recently had a real bad injury to my knee ....complete rupture of the the petella. A freak accident my board caught me under the knee when i was coming in from a session. Now 3 weeks post surgery just starting physio about 6 months to go until i am allowed back on the water. A mate suggested that i should try a strapless surf board when for my come back. Not being strapped in is a good idea.
I have never tried strapless surfboard .... I would appreciate any tips on strapless riding or other comments like is there much impact coming back through the board when riding in chop. I don't own a suitable surfboard for this so if anyone has an old dunga they want to part with with to a good home i would be interested.
Its certainly less strain on the knees, but there is still strain so take it easy. i.e. light winds.
Get some good wax or resort to the two deckpad solution on an old tufflite surfboard.
Hey Mate bummed to hear about the knee, although it sounds like you gonna make a good recovery.
I have two surfboards only a year old, little bit dinged, but happy for you to have one. Both 6"1' and I change them every year for riding in the surf.
Means alot less stress on your knees and should be fine for anything to head high waves.
PM if you interested.
You can try a Mal (8 foot long) for really light wind stuff. Not as challenging as a short board.
I find a surfboard slaps alot more in chopy conditions, so actually is worse on the knees than a twin tip. The upside is there is no chance of having one foot stay in the straps shich could twist your knee.
hi sorry to hear about your knee.
there are some awesome knee braces out there this is one you might like to do some research on.
Good luck with the recovery. When you got movement back, find a really good pilates studio (preferably one that caters for dancers), it will really improve your long term recovery and strength.
When getting back on the water from a fractured fibula last year I had the same idea ie. using a strapless surfboard.
I found it interesting that I seemed to jar my leg more when riding strapless than than when strapped. My injured leg was my front one when heading out over waves and chop and when strapless I tended to push down on the front leg when going over waves to avoid getting air and coming off, whereas when you are strapped you can actually lift the nose a bit and land on the tail more.
However with your knee injury I think you would be better off strapless because as Corey mentioned the last thing you want is to have one foot stay in the strap and twist the knee.
Riding a surfboard strapless is way easier than most people think, but be careful, I reckon I would be looking for some kind of knee brace just to be sure I didn't cause any more damage.
I tend to agree, strapless waveriding kills my knees worse than just riding in and out with the ug boots on.
Your injury is pretty impressive. I can't really compete with that, but I mine happened when I came off the back of a wave on my strapless surfboard and the fin aimed for my head and I protected my head with my hand.
WTF^^^^^... thats either one sharp fin or one weak hand. What are those fins made out of anyway?? a bunch of daggers glued together?
roder lol, leash! .....you got to be joking, those things can cause real harm. Thanks for the good wishes everyone, very much appreciated. WHat happened was, I was coming in from a session pulled in on the bar lifting me a little and kicked off the board done it 100 times ,never a problem. Somehow the the board stood up in front of me catching me under the knee cap and flipping me onto the beach with the board still hooked into my knee. I was lucky i was with a very experienced crew as i was still hooked into my 13m ozone edge laying on the beach all f^%ked up. One of the boys got the kite off me and landed it then they organized the ambo and gave me the appropriate amount of crap. I only thing different I did was wear booties as the water was a little chilly and i was feeling a bit pussy. That might have caused the problem. As the board didn't come off cleanly.
BJW I will have to run a file over the fins. Thats an awesome cut.
Rusty,
Seen as your going to be learning to ride a strapless surfboard I'll grab mine out of the spare room and join you, I've been meaning to for a while now.
Nice to see the Allblacks get up on Saturday night, even if it was only just.
Take care mate see you soon.
Grant
Hi Rusty,
A strapless surfboard is great if the water isn't too choppy, otherwise you'll be riding with a lot of bend in the knees and your front knee going up and down like a piston over the chop. Remember a surfboard rides on the water not through them like a twin tip so you will feel every bump if it is choppy. I like straps when it's real choppy because I can hop over some of the steeper chop and land on the "down ramps" to smooth out the ride.
If you ride somewhere like currumbin at the point, it should be apples coz the water is well protected and fairly smooth.
Be careful and ride a kite size smaller than normal at least, you don't want to be edging against a surfboard too hard.
Good luck with the recovery
KH
yeah strapless isnt good way to come in to the sport again sorry mate. on a surfy you will feel every bump and chop and it will stress your knees, as well as the fact your foot is mobile on the board if you slip due to hitting chop re injury can happen easily. I thaught the same when i was coming back after injury and was advised not to by both my physio and my orthopedic surgeon. straps on a twintip just mowing lawns is the best way to go mate
What about a wakeskate on flat water as a restart?
For strapless surfboard, agree with the "feel every chop" comments and if the wax is not good, it is easy to do the splits on a strapless surfboard, which may cause you some pain!
