Traction Pad on a Bear Wombat?
Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:17 amHi, I just bought a poly Bear Wombat 6'4 and I can't decide whether to put a traction pad on it or not, and if so where I should put it.
I bought it to bring it on a 6 month surfing trip to Sri Lanka which has good longboard waves / good waves for me to learn on and progress.
I'm an active surfer and I like to put as much physically into it as I can even though I'm still somewhat limited in my ability atm (I can surf down the line both ways, make turns, but I need some more experience to learn how to stay with the waves better).
About the traction pad setup...
My question... Is this a board then lends itself well to a traction pad?.. And if so, where would be the best place to put it? I figure 1 inch from the leash plug but I've read in another post that the front of the traction pad should cover the sidebites... So maybe I should get a longer traction pad?
Please advise...
I bought it to bring it on a 6 month surfing trip to Sri Lanka which has good longboard waves / good waves for me to learn on and progress.
I'm an active surfer and I like to put as much physically into it as I can even though I'm still somewhat limited in my ability atm (I can surf down the line both ways, make turns, but I need some more experience to learn how to stay with the waves better).
About the traction pad setup...
The middle fin is currently in the middle of the fin box. I can move the fin backward or forward 2 inches from this position...
When I put the kick of the tailpad just behind the centered middle fin - the front of the tailpad just about covers the sidebites.
But then the tailpad is 3 inches from the leash plug...
When I put the middle fin all the way back, and put the kicktail behind it the front of then the tailpad covers half of the sidebites and the tailpad is
1 inch from the leash plug.
Also since the board is pretty wide it doesn't cover the sidebites directly, I can see the sidebite slots on the deck and they are next to the tailpad.
Not sure if that matters...
My question... Is this a board then lends itself well to a traction pad?.. And if so, where would be the best place to put it? I figure 1 inch from the leash plug but I've read in another post that the front of the traction pad should cover the sidebites... So maybe I should get a longer traction pad?
Please advise...