Q: I was gonna buy the Liquid Force Luxury Pads but now I have just seen the comp straps, and not sure which ones would be best for me. I am a relatively competent rider, but don’t do anything fancy. Also, will they fit my board – if it isn’t a Liquid Force board?

A: This is certainly a tough choice to make. The main difference between the two foot straps is that the comp straps are 3D moulded, where as a Luxury Velcro strap is made flat and then forced to bend round your foot. What this means is that the comp straps offer greater support from the sides of your feet, where as the Velcro straps just hug the top of your feet.

To sum up: if you want a full locked in feel go for the comps, or if you would rather a slightly looser feel with more available movement then go for the luxuries. Either way, you will be happy with whichever you decide on.

As for fitting the straps to your board, it depends on the width of your inserts. There are very few boards that the Liquid Force pads do not fit. Also, note that the straps come with two different types of bolts - imperial and metric. Make sure you use the right type of thread to match the inserts on your board.

Q: I have recently bought a Havoc, and absolutely love the kite, but please could you tell me where the best place to attach my leash is?

A: This may seem quite a confusing one, as you have three basic options:

Suicide Leash – not what I would recommend unless you know your stuff. For this you attach your leash just above the chicken loop and below the bar, around the main line. If you pull your safety the kite depowers to wherever the stopperball is set. Hence this option is for experienced riders only.

Extreme Depower – this is the recommended attachment point for most intermediate and experienced riders. You attach your leash to the depower line below the cleat, so if you pull your safety the kite will depower as much as possible on both front lines. This extreme depower will occur regardless of the stopper ball location, and is very easy to reset your safety and relaunch from. Because the kite is still attached by both front lines, it will continue to hold its shape and therefore can still have some degree of power in the sail.

Re-Ride Line – this is the safest option for you in an emergency - you attach your leash onto either the front line re-ride or the back line re-ride. By this, I mean the metal ring that allows the line to feed through the other metal ring. Always make sure that you have attached your leash to the correct metal ring, so it will pull the line through. By attaching here, when you pull your release, the kite will flag out onto the one line you are attached to. This will completely kill the kite, and you will need to retrieve your bar using this one line.

Please note you may need to attach the harness end of your leash to the front of the spreader bar, especially if using the front line re-ride. The back line re-ride will cause the leash to get wrapped around your chicken loop if you intend to do any rotational tricks. The reason Liquid Force have both options available is in case of the unlikely event that a line breaks, you will always have a back-up safety line.

My personal opinion would be to use the extreme depower option if the conditions seem suitable. If you are going out in gusty winds or are in an area you are unsure about then opt for the re-ride option.

I hope this has help you to understand all the options available. If anything is still confusing you then please let me know and I will send over some pictures.