2023 North Flex LX Footstraps Overview

Hello, everybody. Welcome back to MACkiteboarding. This is Jake, and today I have the new 2023 North Flex LX footpads.

Another footpad review, you might be asking? Yes, but these are super, super cool. It goes without saying that I really like the two strap zonal adjustment footstraps. I'm kind of a simp for the Duotone Entity straps. The issue with those is that the hole spacing leaves them incompatible with most boards on the market. They're sized to have a seven-inch spacing, while most boards have a six-inch spacing. Then Cabrina came out with a new pad set, the Source, and I really like those. I think they're $169, and there's a lot of bang for your buck. And then North arrived on the market with the Flex LX. So let's open them up and see what makes them so awesome.

These come in four different sizes: small, medium, large, and extra large. They come disassembled like most straps do. We've got the two strap sets themselves, the footpads, and, not only do we get hardware that's packaged up so it doesn't go missing in transit, but we even get an air freshener; North thinks of everything.

Two nice things about the Flex pads are actually underneath it. It has your adjustment options labeled, so you can set the proper adjustment and then make note of that so in the future you can lock in what you like. You can also store your hardware in the built-in slots, so when you're traveling and you remove your footstraps, your screws are nice and safe.

These are relatively easy to assemble. It has the classic plastic grommet system, so you line the strap up with the slot in the footbed, push it down, and slide it over. That's going to allow you to position the strap exactly where you want it on the footbed itself to make it a bit more comfortable where it comes across your foot. There is some shaping to the footpad, and you have a little toe bar as well. You've got a fairly decent heel cup, so that should keep you feeling locked-in. There are a couple different adjustment holes on the sides of the footpad to position it how you want on your board.

Here in Michigan, probably a third of the year, I'm wearing booties, much to my chagrin. You just have to have them or you're going to have nubs for feet. I think straps with a single pad system and straps with two pads work really well for that. Personally, I've found that I've always had a hard time getting straps with four different adjustments to fit properly to my bootie. I also have a size 12 foot, so I'm on the larger end of straps once that bootie's on, and these do a great job of actually anchoring that bootie and keeping it down.

It can be really tough; when you're fitting the strap directly to your foot, you have a bit more feel and sensation so you know how it should be properly situated, whereas with a bootie, you have more dead zone and they tend to be slippery with that neoprene on the strap material. It's easy for you to be doing a flip, and there goes your foot. You're doing a one-footie, you don't have that trick yet, and you come down and it's not pleasant. Maybe it's a way for you to develop that trick, but I'm not interested in ever doing that; it looks pretty kooky. So I want something that really locks in my foot, and that's these. I haven't had a chance to use it on the water yet, but from what I'm seeing, they look pretty awesome. Maybe they're a little bit narrow, but let's wait for the full review. Looking at it, that's one of the only drawbacks I really see, though on some of these straps you do get the option to have a soft, medium, or hard pad under your heel, and that is not available on these. It feels like it's probably a little bit on the harder side, though there is some cushion.

It's a really cool binding. If you open up the strap, you do have the two straps that allow for that zonal adjustment. It allows you to tighten them slightly differently, which gets a better fit versus a unibody strap that you just won't be able to fine-tune quite as much. Overall, I think these are awesome. The price on these is $229. I think that there is a space in the market for these, and this fills it wonderfully. This is not only going to bring comfort to each session, but rider confidence. Something like this really anchors your foot, and you know when you're doing those tricks and those jumps that your board's probably going to stick with you. Thanks for checking us out; this has been Jake with MACkite.

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