Black Flat Top 33 Kick Tail With Integrated Traction

Our patented black flat top kick tail with a 33 degree ramp and integrated EVA foam traction is designed to support your entire foot so when executing a powerful snap or carve or aerial maneuver, it's much easier to do without falling. With your back foot planted on the ramp, you can tell you're not going to slip off the back of your board, so you surf more aggressively with more confidence and can pull of more difficult maneuvers with better control. Beginning and pro surfers can expect immediate improvement. 

This kick tail is interchangeable with any other RIKT kick tail. All of the plastic RIKT kick tails work great with wax for grip. The plastic kick tails feel like an extension of your surfboard and our riders tell us that wax on their kick tail grips as good as EVA foam traction so whether or not you choose wax or foam under your back foot is not so much a matter of grip but what you like to feel under your feet because both work equally well.

This kick tail requires a RIKT mounting plate and mounting screws.

Note: This kick tail is 50mm high, which is great for power and control, but you have to be aware of it so you don't hit your shins when when paddling, duck diving or hopping up to catch a wave.

IMPORTANT! It’s undeniable that RIKT kick tails take your surfing to the next level. But it’s very important to choose the right RIKT product for your surfboard and install the RIKT mounting plate properly if you choose to ride our interchangeable kicks like the one featured in this package.  Our interchangeable kick tails offer the highest level of performance of any RIKT product, but the mounting plates require a pretty smooth surface for the adhesive to bond to that is 100% free of wax or dirt so the bond between the board and the required mounting plate is at full strength. For this reason a new board is the easiest fit for an interchangeable RIKT. If you want to use a RIKT on an older board that has pressure dings from your heel where a mounting plate needs to be installed, a RIKT Grip 2 traction pad is your best bet and we would NOT recommend an interchangeable kick tail set up. The pressure dings will make the surface area under the mounting plate uneven, the adhesive may not bond at full strength and your kick tail could come off in the water. Our Grip 2 traction pad has an integrated kick identical to the Chris Ward flat top, offers great performance, and supports your entire foot like the interchangeable kicks.

But if your board, new or used, is a good candidate for a RIKT, to insure the mounting plate adhesive bonds at full strength you need to thoroughly clean the deck surface before securing the mounting plate the board. If you attach a mounting plate to a new or used board the adhesive requires 72 hours of curing time between 70˚F and 100˚F  before exposure to water to bond to your surfboard deck at full strength. This is coming straight from 3M tech support and is good practice for any traction pad installation, but critical for a RIKT mounting plate. If you live in a colder climate we recommend heating up your board with a hair dryer to get the board temp above 70˚F. We also recommend using clamps or anything you can find to weigh down the mounting plate during the curing time. Clamps from your local hardware store work best but if you don’t have clamps you can use a can of paint, books, just use something to press the plate onto the deck and keep it there for 72 hours. With a RIKT you can push with tremendous force against your tail so it’s much more critical to let the adhesive have the time it needs with pressure applied to achieve a full strength bond to the deck of your surfboard.

Using clamps, thoroughly cleaning the deck surface and waiting 72 hours before exposure to salt water we installed a RIKT mounting plate on a 35 year old board and it’s stayed on great so you can install a RIKT on older boards if you follow these recommendations.