I was thinking i would wait till i actually tested this out and thought, what the heck, i'll show it off now anyway since i am home, feeling ill.
i expect i might get a few negative comments, but i don't care, bring it on, but wish me luck all the same ;)
I thought i'd try to modify my boots (Slingshot D2) boots so that they would use a quicker adjustable strap method instead of the laces. BUT make all modifications TEMPORARY, nothing changing the boot itself. more like a free floating harnessing system
I was originally thinking velcro/ hook-and-loop-tape. but decided that it would be more expensive and more work, requiring more sewing than the buckles idea.
I still have just a few touch-ups till it is complete (mainly sewing a small loop on the strap ends to keep the buckles from sliding off and stuff)
I believe it would be easy to do this sort of thing on nearly any binding, especially the ones that have a removable base plate to loop the straps through as i have done. any kind of fastening straps could be used: Hook and Loop, Buckles, Ratchets, etc.
The Nearly Nearly Complete Mod
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My Materials:
12 feet of 1 1/2 inch webbing strap
6 feet of 1 inch webbing strap
6 1 1/2 inch plastic buckles for strap
2 D rings (sized close to the 1 1/2 inch)
Cost: $25.00 (small town hardware store price)
And some Procedural Photos:
Other notes:
*The strap over the toes is the least worrisome
*The strap over the ankle required a bit of creativity making the harness that looped around the bottom and back allowing for an angled path and pull (i used about an 18 inch loop to make the harness and sewed it together with the D ring and buckle attached (shown in picture above on the linoleum tile floor)
*The only 'difficulty' of the top strap was connecting it to the harness so it wont get lost. This allows me to put the strap higher or lower too. OR to add a second later if i desire for a total of 4 straps
*If the buckles break i will be able to easily replace them and fit them on without undoing everything WITH EXCEPTION to the one that is attached to the ankle harness. it had to be at the side to maintain flexibility and due to its size, had to be a D-ring AND the Buckle simultaneously... if that makes sense
*most straps have the end folded three or more times and sewn. i can't sew through that much so i am gona sew a loop around a piece of rope instead. later i will be able to take the rope out easier than removing stitches to replace the buckles if necessary.
I imagine that the best way to do a hook-and-loop version would be to have D rings (2 per strap) attached at either sides of the binding and then a velcro strap, like this
http://www.traditioncreek.com/storefront/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_56_345_35 8&products_id=1051 that loops through the rings and tightens the whole system... just imagine that i HAD put a D ring on both sides for the ankle strap for example. then all that would have to happen is to buy a new strap. no tampering with the binding again.