How to choose surfing ropes? - EP1
The second choice on the road to surfing?
There are so many leg ropes, how to buy them? Is more expensive better? What is the difference between a few hundred yuan and a few thousand yuan?
As a surfer who has just joined surfing, after finally owning his first board, he will immediately face a choice, and it is also a crucial choice, which is to buy a foot rope that is exclusive to him.
Why is it important? Because not only does he have to accompany you to conquer different seasides and protect your safety; you can also finally say goodbye to the leg rope that comes with the rental board, which has been damaged by countless people and is usually only available in black. In addition to the actual purpose of safety, the leg rope can also become one of the appearance accessories for your surfing trip, making you look more handsome, beautiful and personalized.
More importantly, you can clearly know the condition of this leg rope to prepare for replacement in advance.
Let’s start with the basics!
💡Composition of foot rope
First of all, a leg rope is made up of many different parts. They are Cuff, Strap, Pull Tap, Velcro, Base, and Swivel. , Cord, Leash String, and Rail Saver. You can find out the corresponding positions of each component on the leg rope in the picture below, so that next time Haizi will discuss it with friends. , you can use the correct name accurately, and you don’t have to be fussy about Cai Cai~
Foot rope components diagram
💡 Ft, mm, Ankle? Knee? Calf?
When purchasing leg ropes, you can often see the nouns listed above on the outer packaging. They respectively represent the length of the leg rope (Ft), the diameter of the rope (MM), and the location of the anklet (Ankle/Knee). , Calf).
Ft 👉🏾Length of rope body
Ft is the abbreviation of Foot , which refers to the " length " of the foot rope. In Chinese, it is called feet or feet. One foot is equal to 30.47 centimeters. Therefore, if the package says 6ft., it means that the length of the foot rope is 6 feet; 9ft. means that the length of the foot rope is 6 feet. 9 feet, and so on. Usually when we choose the length of the leg rope, we will decide based on the length of the surfboard you are using. For a 6-foot board, choose a 6-foot leg rope, and for a 9-foot board, choose a 9-foot leg rope. feet of leg rope, and so on.
MM👉🏾Rope body diameter
MM is the abbreviation of millimeter . It is called "millimetre", "millimetre" or "millimeter" in Chinese. It refers to the " diameter " of the rope, that is, the thickness. If the package indicates 6mm, it means that the length of the rope is The diameter of the rope is 6 mm and so on. Under normal circumstances, the thicker the leg rope, the less likely it is to break. However, everything always has two sides. The thicker the rope, the greater the resistance and the heavier the sense of restraint. As a result, when you are swimming on the waves, you will feel that something is " dragging " behind you.
The most commonly used thicknesses internationally are 5mm for shortboard leg ropes and 7mm for longboards. Our COTT Classic leg ropes and Pro Series professional leg ropes both use 7mm. A thick-diameter foot rope is enough to handle waves of 2-8ft high (approximately 0.6-2.5 meters high), and it will not cause the dragging feeling of foreign objects during surfing because the rope body is too thick. It is in terms of performance and comfort. To achieve the best balance, it is also the specification most adopted by various brands.
Ankle👉🏾Ankle, Calf/Knee👉🏾Knee
Ankle represents the ankle, and Calf/Knee represents the knee, which means the part where the footband is tied. Most longboarders, in order to express the walking action of the board, will choose the leg rope at the knee . The reason is that compared with , "Ankle" leg ropes are more likely to have your feet hooked on the rope body when walking on the board than "knee" leg ropes, which will affect your surfing performance.
Ronin with a short board often needs to lower his posture. If he chooses knee muffs at this time, it will cause discomfort due to the bending of the legs and pressure on the muffs. Therefore, the leg ropes suitable for short board are all The ankle area! When purchasing, remember to look carefully so as not to fall into the dilemma of buying the wrong product.
In addition, if you see the word COMP (the abbreviation of Competition) on a product, it usually means that it is a performance-oriented leg rope, so it will only appear on short board leg ropes, and use threads with a diameter of less than 6mm. To reduce more water resistance in exchange for the best performance experience.
After understanding the basic knowledge of leg ropes and related terms, let's learn how to store and maintain your leg ropes so that they can fully play their role in protecting our safety.
💡How to store and maintain the leg rope?
Remember the "Three Essentials" and take care of it like your surfboard**
The three differences are:
❌Don’t tie it to the tail of the board
Over time, the leg rope will become fixed, and it is easy to stumble after entering the water. Have you ever seen people pull the leg rope to their shoulders and then pull it forward at sea? This action is actually to straighten the rope body. Most of the time when you pull it in the water, you feel uncomfortable when the rope gets stuck on your feet. However, in fact, with a really good rope body, you don’t need to straighten it in the water. This involves some trade secrets, but what we can proudly say is that COTT’s leg ropes do not curl or wrap around your feet. This has been certified by hundreds of our "Haizi".
You can take a look at the photo below. The leg rope is very straight without any weight attached. Hang up your leg rope. Can it be as straight as the rope body in the photo?
The leg straps in the picture are COTT Pro Series professional models - midnight blue. All rights reserved by COTT. Any reproduction will be investigated only.
❌Don’t drag your feet while walking on the shore
I often see friends renting boards at the beach. Because they don’t understand the importance of leg ropes, they hold the board handsomely in their hands and let the leg ropes drag on the ground. They drag them all the way from the beach shop to the beach. Generally, the leg ropes Most foot covers are made of non-woven fabrics and sponges. Do you think they can withstand the ravages of asphalt roads or beaches? Stones or garbage along the way may cause damage to your leg rope, shorten its service life, and make it unable to protect your safety at critical moments.
❌Do not expose to the sun
The rope body is sensitive to ultraviolet rays, and exposure to the sun will accelerate its aging. Just like you would not let your surfboard be exposed to the sun for a long time, please take good care of your leg ropes.
The second ones are:
✅Rinse with fresh water
Seawater can easily corrode the metal parts inside the foot rope. After landing, rinse it with fresh water together with your board to prevent the metal parts from rusting.
✅Store according to the direction
Gently follow the inertia of the rope body and fold it into an appropriate **"circle"**. Please do not deliberately bend it. Please also stick the Velcro felt on the foot cover tightly. (Every time I see people tightening their leg ropes randomly, I can’t help but want to correct them!)
The above is the most preliminary understanding of the foot rope. In the next article, we will introduce each component and the internal structure that are usually invisible in more depth. If you like it, please help us share it with your good friends.
In addition, if you are planning to buy a new surfing leg rope for yourself, you are welcome to refer to the high-quality surfing leg rope launched by COTT. It not only has high performance, safety and solidity, but also has a unique appearance design, which will make your surfing leg more comfortable. The surfing life just got a little more personal, and we're confident this will be one of the best options on the market.
In order to reward your friends who have been reading here carefully, enter the following discount code at checkout to enjoy a 10% OFF discount.
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⭐️COTT Classic classic surfing rope⭐️
Click here to enter the official website product introduction
⭐️COTT Pro Series professional surfing ropes⭐️
Click here to enter the official website product introduction
I wish you all good surfing every day! Happy surfing and stay safe🤙🏾
See you in the next article!
