Grip 1 EVA Foam Traction Pad

Description

If you’re taking full advantage of the power of your RIKT, as soon as you pop up and start a carve or turn, or snap, your back foot is going to be on the ramp area of the kick tail, not on the deck of your surfboard. So for riding a RIKT, a front pad on the deck becomes less important because your back foot is so supported by the kick tail. But some of you are so used to the feel of foam under your feet on the deck you’re going to want that option.

A good reason to buy a RIKT front pad is to help keep the mounting plate from being ripped off during a wipeout. If the ocean can snap your board in two, it can certainly rip off a mounting plate and kick tail. Since the deck pad goes on top of the mounting plate it offers another layer of 3M adhesive helping to keep your mounting plate in place. When installed correctly, your mounting plate may stay on just fine, but it isn’t a bad idea to use a deck pad to help keep that mounting plate firmly attached to your board.

When installing this traction pad, for best adhesion, make sure the board temp is between 70˚F and 100˚F during installation and then keep it at that temp for 72 hours before exposure to water. During this curing period the 3M adhesive bonds to the surfboard deck with much more strength than if you stick on the pad at night and head out to surf the next morning. If you live in a colder climate (like the U.K. or New Jersey in the USA during the winter, or really anywhere the outside temp is below 70˚F), heat your board with a hair dryer during the install then bring it indoors for the curing period.

Since a RIKT with wax for grip works just as well as a RIKT with a front pad for keeping you connected to your board, it’s really just a matter of preference as to which feel you like under your feet when surfing down the line. Our recommendation is to try a RIKT using wax for grip first, and then if you still feel you would like a pad, spring for our front pad (shown with optional black and translucent gray Vertical Rise 33 kick tails).

If you want to take your surfing to the next level and get the highest level of performance from your current surfboards, it’s a no brainer…. you want to start riding a RIKT.