Posted by T-Rax Tom on 23rd Oct 2023
Surfing Tip Pop up Hack for Booties
Winter is here and it's time to get your booties on.
A couple of hacks I use for winter time booties to help keep you from tripping
on your front foot. Number one I find the bootie with the least amount
of traction. Booties are so grippy that they get stuck on the wax. Number two I don't
rough up my wax where my front slides along my board getting up.
Number three I sand the grip off my front foot booties along the outside edge
so it doesn't stick to the board as I'm getting up. And number four find a opposite
stance friend with the same foot size and buy one set of booties a size smaller and
and trade front foot booties. So your back is size correct say 11 but on your front foot
you're wearing a size smaller so it fits tighter and doesn't sag or get weird and floppy.
And of course the ultimate tip...become a decent swimmer, you never know when your leash will break.
Oh yeah I am not a fan of practicing pop ups on dry land.
Every wave is different, every take off is different, late, early, hollow, mushy etc. I do not
want to get in the habit of placing my feet in the same spot on the my board every time, plus
I ride a lot of different boards. When I was out of the water for an injury I saw all the surf tips pop up and info
about pop ups online. So I thought I'd give it a try to stay sharp.
OMG after doing a half dozen I was convinced I couldn't surf.
I was dragging my front foot, my foot placement was inconsistent. So I stopped doing dry land pop ups. They
were ruining my confidence. I started doing my regular routine of stretching and mountain climbers and regular training nothing fancy. I was nervous when I was cleared to surf again. And guess what my pop up automatic just like always. Anyway, that's my two cents.