How to choose surfing ropes? - EP2
This article is a continuation of "How to choose surfing leg ropes? EP1". There will be three articles in this series. If you haven't read EP1 yet, it is recommended to read it first. After you have a preliminary understanding of each part of the leg rope, It will be easier to understand the following content.
🏄🏾 EP1 Reading link: How to choose surfing ropes? EP1
Without further ado, let’s get started!
In order to give everyone a better understanding, please first look at the diagram of the leg rope components below, because we will explain each component next, so that you can have a reference when purchasing in the future.
💡Cuff/Strap
As the only part of the entire leg rope that comes into contact with the body, the footmuffs are extremely important because they will directly affect your wearing experience and comfort. Most of the footmuffs currently on the market are composed of "outer parts". The "layer" and the "inner layer" are combined. Between the outer layer and the inner layer is the "devil felt" (which is why the footmuffs can be fixed on your feet), and the logo on the outer webbing is made of PVC material. Make.
👉🏾Outer layer
The common outer layer material is high-strength woven fabric, which is characterized by high durability, various colors and low acquisition cost.
👉🏾Inner layer
The common material is SBR (Styrene-Butadiene Rubber) sponge. To put it bluntly, it is your common makeup sponge, which is why it can provide comfort. However, with the rapid development of technology and in order to improve the anti-slip degree of the inner layer, various brands You will start to add your own ingenuity to the inner layer, such as printing a silicone logo or special textures to improve the anti-slip properties of the sponge.
👉🏾Devil Felt
This part is the common devil felt, but devil felt also has grades. Devil felt in the industry and on the market is roughly divided into three types of materials: nylon (nylon), nylon mixed polyester fiber (nylon+polyester), and polyester fiber (polyester). Due to its high durability and wear resistance, as well as its high cost, nylon is regarded as grade A devil felt (100% nylon), followed by grade B mixed (nylon+polyester), and grade C (polyester). (Of course we at COTT use Class A!)
In addition, the "number of hooks" of the Devil's Felt and whether there is a soft rubber sole behind it will affect its comfort and adhesion. The details here may be a bit in-depth, but I think you must have experienced that kind of feeling when you pull it in your daily life. The devil's felt that needs to be pulled hard to open is the so-called grade.
Common foot cover widths are 40mm and 45mm. The wider the foot cover, the larger the contact area with the foot. Theoretically, the less likely it is to fall off your feet, but as mentioned in "How to choose a surfing leg rope? EP1" The rope body is the same. Everything is always one and the same. The thicker the foot cover, the heavier the foreign body sensation. If it is a foot cover at the knee position, if it is too thick, it will cause constant friction on the inside of your knee, causing skin breakage.
We believe that the most perfect anklet should be wearable, so that you cannot feel its existence, but it can protect your safety at critical moments.
Therefore, if you just needlessly increase the width of the footmuff to increase the contact area with the foot, it is not one of the best practices. Instead, a balance should be achieved between the "width of the footmuff and the anti-slip degree of the inner sponge". At the same time, it is both beautiful and beautiful. The more anti-slip the inner layer is, the wider the footmuff can be reduced within the permitted limit, giving it a better wearing feel.
From the picture above, you can find that COTT Pro Series is the result of our evolution after considering the three components of "outer layer", "inner layer" and "devil felt".
The outer layer is made of our CT-1 fabric instead of common woven fabrics. The reason is that after traditional woven fabrics are soaked in water, their material will absorb water and increase the weight of the entire leg rope. Secondly, the woven fabrics will suffer from accumulated friction over time. , it will indeed cause the possibility of breakage, but CT-1 special fabric has the characteristics of high temperature resistance, anti-aging, good elasticity, easy to fold, waterproof, sunproof, anti-freeze, acid-proof and anti-corrosion, etc. Its non-absorbent characteristics make the whole Lighter weight and less restrictive.
The inner layer of high-non-slip memory foam and high-strength Taiwan-made devil felt, we can loudly say that the materials used are among the best you can find in the Taiwan market! Everyone who has used Haizi is surprised by the anti-slip properties of the inner sponge and the tightness of the devil's felt! (Welcome to the "Professional Feedback" limited edition on the official IG @cottides to see other Haizi's experience.)
💡Pull tab
The function of the pull ring is to help us detach the footmuffs from the body. In some cases, you can also understand it as a part that allows "the person to quickly separate from the surfboard". Most of the time we want the footmuffs to be tied as tightly as possible. Okay, but when we really need to dismantle it, we want it to be able to break away from us as quickly as possible. The purpose of the pull tab is to allow you to better pull away the sticky feeling of the devil's felt so that you can quickly wear it. For foot covers, the common pull tab styles are divided into "three-dimensional pull tabs" and "non-three-dimensional pull tabs".
Some surfers who have just joined surfing may wonder, why should it be able to be quickly dismantled? This is because in extreme cases, your board and people are swept down by the waves. The board is likely to pull you towards the bottom of the sea, making it impossible for you to float up quickly. At this time, you need to quickly untie your feet. The rope allows you to float up and breathe, so there is another "quick-detachable foot rope" with a different structure on the market, which is usually only used for surfing big waves. (Note, the big wave here refers to a size that most people will never be able to hit in their lifetime, so don’t be stupid and buy this kind of foot rope. If you hit a wave of this size, I believe your skills will not be the same. You need to read this article XD)
👉🏾Non-dimensional pull tab
Non-three-dimensional pull tabs are usually made of the same fabric material as the foot covers. Because of its fabric characteristics, it is easy to get dirty, easy to break, and difficult to pull open (you need time to open it with your fingers). But the advantage is that the colors are diverse and it is better to match the leg rope design.
👉🏾Three-dimensional pull tab
The three-dimensional pull tab makes it easier to put on and take off, and because it is made of rubber, it is more durable and easier for fingers to pass through quickly. It also has a variety of colors to choose from, but the disadvantage is that the material cost is higher.
Non-stereo vs three-dimensional pull tab
💡Cord
If we talk about the strongest part of the leg rope, it should be the leg rope. The leg rope not only has to withstand huge tensile forces, but also has to be lightweight. You wouldn't want to tie me up with a chain, would you? Although it’s super strong and won’t break, you can’t move it at all XD
The most common rope body on the market is mainly composed of polyurethane (PU). According to its material structure and processing method, it can be classified into:
- Thermosetting polyurethane THERMOSETTING PU (PU / CPU)
- THERMOPLASTIC PU (TPU)
Please see the picture below for its characteristics:
When purchasing a rope body, in addition to confirming the specifications by looking at the length (ft.) and rope body diameter (mm) mentioned in EP1, there is one thing that is more difficult for everyone to identify when purchasing, that is, whether the rope body will curl and Too "hard", this hardness is difficult to describe in words, but it is a key factor that greatly affects the usability of this leg rope. Simply put, the rope body has no elasticity at all, and it will not be straight no matter how hard it is pulled. , the dent is always at the turning point of the package when he first opened it.
We have bought this kind of foot rope before, and the conclusion is that when surfing a wave, you need to adjust the foot rope once, because it always sticks to your feet, and you wonder in your heart, "It's strange, I obviously already have one." Is it straightened?! Why does it still curl after being used so many times?”
According to our experience, the answer to this question involves many factors. Where is the material source of the rope body? What is the environment like during the rope drawing process? What is the assembly process? ....etc., may affect the final result of the rope body. We cannot go into too much detail on this part because it involves formulas and some trade secrets.
But what can be guaranteed is that COTT uses high-quality raw materials from Germany , and will develop a new production process in mid-2022 to allow the rope body to maintain its straight characteristics and greatly reduce the chance of foot binding. There are many first-time purchasers of Haizi who put them into the water without straightening them after unpacking them. They were also surprised that they were already straight without having to straighten them at all.
Our suggestion is that if you buy a leg rope that cannot be straightened, it will be useless no matter how you pull it. It is more practical to cut the knot quickly and find a new love! Otherwise, you have to adjust it every time you flush, which will affect your surfing performance all day long, which will make you very annoyed!
The above is all about how to buy surfing ropes EP2. In the next episode, we will introduce the parts that we have not mentioned this time. It will also be the last article in this series of articles. If you like it, please help us. share.
As usual, 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. While it is functional, safe and sturdy, it also has a different appearance design from other brands. Let your surfing life become more personal, we are convinced that this will be one of the best choices 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
⭐️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!
