Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Gear Talk => Topic started by: TallDude on July 09, 2016, 09:52:26 PM
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I drove to the mountains to do a race. I don't slow down too much just because I have a board on my rack. The board always stays put. As I was strapping down my board to leave after the race, the strap just popped. I've always kept them nicely folded in their original pouch in my car. I figure they are about 7 years old. I bought them with my first Infinity race board.
Right after the strap broke / tore I thought, that could have happened while I was going 70 mph on the freeway. That would have been ugly. Anyway, toss those old straps even if they look in good shape.
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That my major pet peeve. People using worn out straps. People here, mostly graybeard sea kayakers, are so proud of their cheapness and want to show everyone they have been paddling for 50 years. So they use sun bleached worn out straps as a symbol of their old schoolness. And they leave them up top all the time, in the sun. Too cheap to lay down $25 a year for safe straps. Check out the new Dakine wide straps. Sweet.
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I always put a 3rd strap on for these occasions. I double up the front.
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Nylon degrades with age. UV from the sun kills it but nylon degrades with age even if it is never used or exposed to the sun (entropy? Cosmic rays? Evil fornits?) I wouldn't go more than 3 or 4 years on a set of straps that I was regularly using. I used to be a rock/ice climber in my younger years, I just last year decided to get back into it. I dug out my old gear and looked up the manufacture's recommendation for replacing nylon. No one recommended using nylon older than 7-8 years even with no use. I sent all my cams back and had new webbing sown on. Tossed out all my ropes and slings and replaced those as well. Same deal with rack straps.
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Agreed.... every time you strap, rope, clamp your board on the racks... it needs to be done with care.
Of course to protect your board.... but also to protect the people that might get hit by your loose board.
These things are big and can do a lot of damage if we get careless when we strap them down.
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Straps that are 3 yrs old or older should be replaced and relegated to dog leads or something non critical application
Dakine has a HEFTY wide strap and buckle (Good strap[ping with cheap buckle isn't worth it.
Chinook has a very nice strap that holds excess strapping cleanly so no hummmming
NSI has a slick strap set it up 1X and just wrap and hook
These are just the ones we deal with and OF COURSE the ZONER DEAL is in effect on straps too!
JimK
Extreme Windsurfing
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Interesting thread. I had no idea straps would deteriorate like that. I always thought if they looked good visually they would be O.K.
JimK, on the different straps you have listed, is there one that you either recommend or prefer over the others?
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What I liked about my old FCS straps is they were about 13' long and 1-1/2" wide. I could stack 4 SUP's on top of each other and the strap was long enough. The wider strap also was nice to spread the load. I'm looking for a similar strap to replace them with.
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I use cheap newer strap from Home Depot rather than older expensive straps like from Dakine/O'neill, and never had a problem.
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Maybe not the time for me to espouse the virtues of the single strap method...nope, didn't think so.
I'm surprised PB hasn't dropped in on this thread with his (and DK's) ropes approach. Every time I tie down in the wind, I think to myself I need to give that a try.
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If I used a rope I'd think I was tying down lumber on my truck. I'd probably crank it down so hard, I'd pull the rope right through the board rails.
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Straps have a 2–3 year lifespan. I have broken several while tightening them.
I also overdo it with the straps. On a long trip with three boards on the car, I will strap each board separately. Then I put on the locking straps. Trust me, there ain't nothin' movin' on my roof!
On shorter trips I'm a lot more relaxed. So don't judge me. ;)
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Yep, I need to try the rope thing sometime myself as well.
I just am not comfortable with anything other than these it seems. I still haven't ran across anything as wide or thick tho there might be.
Anything that gets me on an interstate or more than 50 miles or so down the road I have been running a third through the car, just because.
http://www.nrs.com/product/1446/nrs-15-padded-straps
http://www.nrs.com/product/1445/nrs-15-hd-tie-down-straps
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If I used a rope I'd think I was tying down lumber on my truck. I'd probably crank it down so hard, I'd pull the rope right through the board rails.
Try it, you'd be surprised. Very hard to overtighten a rope unless you use a trucker's knot.
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I always use a truckers knot when using a rope. I've got tons of rope and HD ratcheting straps in my truck, but when it comes to tying down boards on my truck or car, I've always used my FCS straps. I'm not sure I like the narrow bearing point of a rope. I feel more comfortable with the 1-1/2" wide straps on a delicate race board.
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Yep, I need to try the rope thing sometime myself as well.
I just am not comfortable with anything other than these it seems. I still haven't ran across anything as wide or thick tho there might be.
Anything that gets me on an interstate or more than 50 miles or so down the road I have been running a third through the car, just because.
http://www.nrs.com/product/1446/nrs-15-padded-straps
http://www.nrs.com/product/1445/nrs-15-hd-tie-down-straps
Thanks lucabrasi,
Just ordered some!
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I always use a truckers knot when using a rope. I've got tons of rope and HD ratcheting straps in my truck, but when it comes to tying down boards on my truck or car, I've always used my FCS straps. I'm not sure I like the narrow bearing point of a rope. I feel more comfortable with the 1-1/2" wide straps on a delicate race board.
That's easy--don't. I would have said the same thing about straps vs rope until I tried it. I find LESS chance of damaging rails with rope than straps, and I herk on them pretty hard (no trucker's knot though). I think the low stretch of straps is the reason, and the woven cover of cheap, thick rope (1/2" or more) doesn't do any pulling, it's the unwoven fiber core inside that carries the tension. The woven nylon is mostly aesthetics, protection for the core, and cushion. At least that's my theory. Whatever, it works.
The rope thing isn't for occassional use though. It makes the most sense on a rack you use nearly every day, because it's semi-permanent--tied to the rack in the middle. And it's only a big deal for tall vehicles. Being able to do everything with both feet on the ground is a nice for a stiff old geez like me, though Kalama used it on a little economy car he sometimes drives. I use straps on rentals. It's not a religious thing.
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Check out mile 22 straps. Widest I have found. Mile22.com
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Yep, I need to try the rope thing sometime myself as well.
I just am not comfortable with anything other than these it seems. I still haven't ran across anything as wide or thick tho there might be.
Anything that gets me on an interstate or more than 50 miles or so down the road I have been running a third through the car, just because.
http://www.nrs.com/product/1446/nrs-15-padded-straps
http://www.nrs.com/product/1445/nrs-15-hd-tie-down-straps
Thanks lucabrasi,
Just ordered some!
Me too.
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One other thing on straps, the entire thing working right hinges on one cheap Chinese made cam spring. Be sure to tie a security knot in the strap webbing in case the cam fails. Or tie the strap off to a rack rail or bar.
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One other thing on straps, the entire thing working right hinges on one cheap Chinese made cam spring. Be sure to tie a security knot in the strap webbing in case the cam fails. Or tie the strap off to a rack rail or bar.
Yup - half hitch right after the buckle - every time.
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TallDude - have those same straps - but a bit newer. And love the simple D-lock system. Super easy and super secure with no spring to ever worry about. Never thought about the strap breaking though. They are a few years old now but still look near brand new and not at all faded from UV. We only use them for DW shuttles and short distances. But definitely will have to check ours from now on. Adding an extra safety strap on the highway might be good worthwhile idea as well. Thanks a mil.
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Double ropes, 30 footers tied to the middle of my racks gives me 6 board capacity on my truck. I usually double them since I most often only have two boards on the rack and if I'm traveling long distance or need to lock them up I add kanu-locks.....rock solid with two boards at 75-80. on my car I have Rhino racks...I use the kanu-locks since it's almost always just one board (before or after work)...if I think about it I'll add a third cam-lock through the car but I rarely bother. The racks haven't moved a micron since I installed them and I love the double steel cable kanu-locks. I drive at 65 with a board on my car with no worries.
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TallDude - have those same straps - but a bit newer. And love the simple D-lock system. Super easy and super secure with no spring to ever worry about. Never thought about the strap breaking though. They are a few years old now but still look near brand new and not at all faded from UV. We only use them for DW shuttles and short distances. But definitely will have to check ours from now on. Adding an extra safety strap on the highway might be good worthwhile idea as well. Thanks a mil.
Mine were not really faded and not frayed a bit. In hindsight, the only thing I noticed was they seemed to be getting a little stiff.
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May have to get another couple sets then - and use our current ones as back-ups. Only cost about $30 per set new - so have been excellent value for sure. Thanks for that extra bit of info. Better safe than sorry. Cheers TD! :)
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QuickBeam
Personally I use the Chinook Straps Great components, NO HUMMING or Slapping, replace every 3 yrs (to other uses not trash)
My brother really likes the DaKine Wide straps and uses them on his trailer (Carries 9 boards) but he also trims the straps because each strap only hold 1 board!
If I can be any help with ZONER DEALS on these or anything else feel free to PM or email me got lots opf straps in stock
(I'll save you the boredom of a picture of all our straps)
JimK
extreme Windsurfing