Ocean & Earth Kanoa Igarashi Lite Trac Binding

Kanoa Igarashi's pad — a WSL championship tour surfer. The geometry is deliberately conventional: 305 mm long, 300 mm wide, three pieces, 7 mm arch. A competition pad shouldn't dictate your stance, it should hold your foot where you put it.

The material is lightweight, water-resistant, high-impact EVA. The tread is his own: a square diamond with slotted grooves. The slots work as drainage — water leaves from under the foot instead of forming the film you slide on.

Lite Trac construction compresses the material and moulds the tread into the mass rather than cutting it into the surface. The manufacturer claims lighter and grippier than standard EVA. The second is what counts — you barely feel pad weight, but you feel grip immediately.

Who it isn't for. Too narrow at 300 mm for a wide fish tail, which wants 315 mm. Anyone used to soft, plush EVA will find compressed material firm. And nobody puts this on a longboard.