Hi everybody

I am a relative newbie to kiting and lost my board recently (basically couldn't see a thing against the setting sun a few days ago at Pinaroo - see separate posting).

Question to the more experienced ones out there:

Whats the take on Leashes? I note that alot of people are loosing their boards. That could be avoided with a leash? On the other hand people are advising against leashes as they are dangerous. Are there any safeish options? Eg retractable leashes. Or very long leashes (at least during those learning days?)

Look forward to the words from the wise.

Merry Christmas

Jan
__________________
Jan

No Leash

they are uneccessary - If you are scared of loosing your board do shorter body drags (you will need to do more but you should remain closer to the board)

Yeah no leash definatly, with a leash you've also got the slight chance of having the board anchore in the water, this means the board will hold you against the pull of the kite. So your leg gets pulled one way while you go the other..... Definatly wear some body armor - leash = board swing back and hit you.

If you are a rebel and decide to get a leash, get an Oceanus Reel Leash!

$90.00 they are your best option.

Cheers

No leash(preferable)or leash and stakhat.My nastiest incident when learning(could have been worse)was somehow managing to get my kite into an uncontrolable spinn(*maybe controlable if i wasn`t learning)whilst this was happening my board was being dragged like a deep diving fishing lure behind me loading up the strech in the leash.after about 4 spins my kite finally hit the water and just when i`d come to a stopped position my board released from the water and being connected to me there is obviously only one place for it to go.YES MY HEAD!!!OUCH just to finish me off!Lucky for me i only saw stars for a short while and it didnt knock me out.if that had happened i could have been in all sorts of trouble.Dont like to scare ya but thats waht can happen.get one with minimal stretch,maybe none if your gonna get one,and wear a cap on ya noggin.

karl

Guys and girls

Thanks very much for the strong opinions. No surprises there. In particular Ian Young, thanks for your constructive suggestions (I know they come from years of teaching experience!)

I need to learn to go upwind - and will get rich once I figure out the safe no damage board retrieval system for kooks (and quite a few experts who are also loosing boards). In the meantime I'll take up beachcombing between Leighton and Lancelin and set up a second hand board shop.

Cheers Jan

Jan

The Oceanus Reel Leash stands alone when you talk about leashes...

Simply, you have the choice to clip on or off your board depending on your situation.

If you crash your kite and your board is close to you - clip the leash to your board then focus on the kite!

You don't have to ride with the leash attached to your board!

Obviously this reduces the chances of getting hit in the head by your board.

All the parts on these leashes are easily replacable. Ask your local shop about them, if they don't have any, request that they put in an order from Kitepower Wholesale...

Don't loose your board to thieves, current or high wind ever again!

DONT ATTACH A LEASH TO YOUR BOARD - Any one that says they have no problems with a leash has been very very lucky.... Why would you want to expose yourself to more danger - isn't the kite dangerous enough?
My mate just recently had a good experience - after telling him don't use a leash he went and got a real leash and attached it to his harness. After crashing the kite (on his first time out with the leash) he proceeded to do a water relaunch with his board trailing behing him. The leash was wrapped between his legs from the attachment point on his harness, so as he was sitting in the water with the nose of the board where the leash was attached was being pulled downwards (underwater)
When he got the kite to lauch he suddenly felt the kite pulling him one way and the board pulling the other. So at this stage the kite is trying to fly up and the board is being forced deeper under water by the pull of the kite. My mate of coarse was the twig in the middle waiting to snap... So to make things even worse he stars to be pulled underwater (the tide is also going against the wind) and at this stage he is beginning to panic...
He pulls the saftey release and has a fun swim back to shore. So he learnt a lesson pretty quickly and has taken the leash off...
If you think you need a death leash maybe you should spend less on a board? Is it worth exposing yourself to that risk over the thought of possibly losing the board? I'd hate to get myself badly injured, crippled, or even dead over the thought of losing a measly $1000 board.
With time you'll learn to keep the board on your feet, even when you crash. If you lose sight of your board a quick trip to shore to get a higher veiw always helps, plus your board isn't usually far away from you so body drag 20 seconds each side and you shouldn't have any probs finding it.
Leash = I dont care much about me, but i'll die if i lose my board...

I went out for 1st time on my own (after a couple of lessons) the other day and used what Ian showed me to recover my board(count 20 etc...).

It worked very well, you just have to stick with it, a couple of times it took what seemed like ages to get back to my board.

Cheers
Paul

If you are as armoured up as you should be while kitesurfing a leash should not be a problem. I've used a leash for years safely with in pretty much all conditions for years. Perhaps I am very lucky, no-one can say. From my experience I have found it easier and safer doing the following things:

- have two quick releases one at the board, one at the point of attachment on your harness (best off to one side towards the back of the harness), you want the board to be pulled from a higher rather than lower position to reduce submarining. Attaching the leash to the back of the harness rather than your leg also stops your leg getting torn off if the board does a huge submarine or if a shark tries to run away with it. As a general rule all the forces of the kite should be transfered through the harness not your body!

-do not have a huge leash, stick to a medium length leash to avoid excessive wrapping a tangles.

-the attachment of the leash to the board should be right at the furtherest rear point of the board again to reduce submarining.

-you should be wearing a gath helmet anyway but get one with an adjustable visor that can be pulled down just to the point where your vision of anything below the horizon isnt obstructed, this protects a large proportion of your face from all frontal blows whether they be the ground, rocks or your board, it also protects your eyes from UV damage.

-impact vest is a must to keep your sitting higher in the water so as to again stop submarining of the board since its being pulled from a higher point. Of course the vest gives extra protection from all blows. Check out the new harnesses with built in impact vests, I love em!

-When picking up your board and carrying it, always keep the board behind you. I tend to carry it with my hand over my shoulder the board resting over my back. This way you are not risking your legs getting tangled in the leash. (this shouldnt happen anyway if you follow the next two points.)

-Do not attach the board to you until you are out on the water, I have a clipping mechanism that I bought from a sail shop which is very easy to use out on the water and has a built in quick release.

-When approaching the shore to finish up for the day quick release the board so you are not on land with the board attached to you.

-after crashing if you suspect the board may have submarined DONT TURN AROUND TO CHECK!!!!!!! Fly the kite above you to remove downwind force and wait 10 seconds, the board should resurface after 3-4 seconds. You are much better off copping the board in the back of the gath helmet or the back of the impact vest rather than anywhere on the front of your body.

-Do not get back on your board if the leash has been tangled around any of your body or harness, take the few seconds to unwrap your self before you take off again. No real tangles can occur unless you relaunch a few times from the water without untangling yourself. Tangles should not occur unless you have successive weird crashes anyway.

I realise that people have had their negative experiences with leashes but this is what I've experienced.

White men can jump! (With the help of my 15.5m Titan.)

Good luck, please post feedback.

quote:

---

Originally posted by FlyingWhiteBoy

Good luck, please post feedback.

---

Well.....the board plays submarines happily behind me, even though the leash is clipped to the rear of harness at waist level. When I body dragged out to deep water initially and again when I dragged back to the shore later, the board dived under on both trips.

I think my leash is too long, looking at shortening the leash by about 1/4.

Found clipping on to board once away from beach tricky, needed two hands in the end because the clip in my hand did not easily attach to the small loop I put on the board. Looking at putting a light stainless wire loop on the end of the board for a bigger target in the water, and a less fiddly clip with a more appropriate action on that end of the leash.

1 great positive, when off the board and the kite is pulling hard, I hardly feel the resistance of the board behind me, the transfer of energy from kite to board through the harness just goes right past me.

Found it easier to bring board too me because leash at waist is easier to reach than leash at ankle.

More learning/testing in progress......

We're balanced together ocean upon the sky.......NOT!
(It's a goal of mine you know, the ocean, the sky, the balance!)
Airush Flow's 9 '03 & 12 '05 / Switch 150 '04.

as a newbie in this sport i take what people say on board .so to date have not been useing a leash . but the other day i went down to safety bay for a kite and it was me first time in deep water . anyway i lost the board twice and seeing that it was not mine ,started to stress as i saw it float away .after about 5 minutes of $hitting myself i proceeded to body drag back to it and finally got the board .it happened twice that day and booth times i was able to get the board back and am now a expert at body dragging . So i believe the key is not to panic .Or only kite at peli piont in ankle deep water .
also i have changed boards and now use sandle wakeboard bindings which i think are great they have a lot more grip but are easy to get off .

def dont have the leash connected to the board while on land. i did. got lofted and board came and got me while i was in the air now i have a nice scar on my ankle. i still use it on the water though as it takes one stress out of trying to learn (where is my board!). having being a waterskier, wakerboarder,snowboarder etc.. im used to boards comeing back at me so when i have a nasty crash and not 100% where the board is i never look back. i do wear a helmet and impact vest too.

horses for courses
leashes work and can be as safe as needed just don't use a strectchy one, wear a helmet, keep it short( less tendency to sub and less momentum on possible return pull).
When I am instructing at places like sand point they are a must as current is a big factor.
when learning you shouldn't be trying radical power anyway and a leash can get you more kiting time and also protect someone more valuable than you "joe whinging public".
That being said once proficient and into jumps etc. lose the leach.
Wipika have an excellent leash.

simple rule LEASH = HELMET