They are the Oceanus Retractable Board Leash. Prevents the board firing back at your head, neck, ribs, back etc. once it releases having nosedived.
Airborne Kitesurfing in Osborne Park stock the Heavy Duty version.

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Originally posted by lowstevo

other day was talking to a guy who had a reel board leash that works simular to a fishing reel but retrachs back in.. where can you buys these from in WA? isnt there a place in scarbrough that sells them??

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Any of the kitesurfing stores in WA can order them for you from Kitepower. Hold the Line has ordered them, not sure about SOS, I think they have, same with Airbourne.

Alternatively, you can order them here,
http://www.kitepower.com.au/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16636&category_id=275

Always wear a helmet and impact vest if you use any type of board leash.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve McCormack

hold the line kites have some in wembley

no leashes! every week a new leash thread, leashes are bad, thier is never a right time to use one. I urge everyone to stop people kiting with them and for shops to stop selling them. Yer ok lets hear it...but i loose my board..but the tide is strong......but im a learner...etc, i hear you but leashes are not the answer. Learn to body drag, get a mate to grab your board if you can get to it.. anyway im sure im opening myself up to attack but whatever. leashes are a bad part of this sport and i think its crazy people still use them.

really, we have got rid of them up here for the most part, i will go insane if people kite with leashes around me, maybe ill attach a meat clever to the back of my board and see how much they enjoy kiting near me!

i am already missing the kiting here and i havnt left, get a keg ready for my welcome guys, i will be hanging to kite as soon as i get down im sure.

ok one quick story. newbie sets up, kite too big, is warned by locals, ignores advice and launches, proceeds to be dragged about the place, offered help, replies with piss off. Gets dragged some more this time towards rocks, locals try and grab him, one misses, board takes out one locals achellies tendon (not sure how to spell that but you know that tendon im talkin about), as board was being dragged by leash. Local off from kiting for nearly a year, gut with leash walks away ato creat havoc at another beach.

Sure do what you want, if it only effected the rider using the leash then really its not by business to stop them but i dont want to be cleaned up by a board being dragged by someone, sure you can argue that a loose board can hurt you just the same, but generally a board not being dragged by a leash will stop once it hits water or land but a leahed board just keeps going.

Well ran obviuosly the newby made several mistakes. NEVER STAY ATTACHED TO YOUR LEASH WHEN ON LAND. ALWAYS DETACH WHEN WALKING UP THE BEACH ETC.
I use an Oceanus leash and it has made life sooo much easier, and at times less dangerous, as - in hairy situations - I am not focused on holding the board in one hand and only one hand on the bar, so I am focused where I need to be, on the kite.
These leashes are not fool proof as your ding-a-ling proves. It's not the leash at fault though just the knob that used it.
BTW I did have one dodgy situation that almost put me off using it but learnt from the situation (long story) and have had no probs since. I forgot to add that I wear a Gath helmet as well, which I'd use even without a leash. Hey what can I say image doesn't blip on my radar... (no boardies over a wetsuit for me - that really is the funniest, girly, try-hard fashion ever). Living a long fun life, teaching my squids to surf/kite and not slamminmg my melon does blip though.

i can see where it could be very useful, say when rescuing a kite. I had an experience with trying to rescue two kites yesterday, only way to rescue them was to take the lines off of one of the kites (while the other was powering up, flying through the zone). Fortunately i had bindings on so my board wasnt going anywhere, but if I hadn't the situation would have been pretty bad and i probably would have lost my board trying to save the kites.

Used the Retractable Reel Leash I bought from Steve for a few years now. Always wear a helmet and an impact vest. I use a zip tie as a weak point that will give way in extreme circumstances.

Have never had an incident in 2 years and I kite whenever there is wind.



Fitzy - Gold Coast OZ

I have found that the leash alone is sometimes a bit short 2.5 mtrs when out fully so I attached a normal leg rope to my board with a keychain clip at the end, then I use a thin zip tie, white ones, which I bought from a car accessorie shop as a weak point and then attach the reel leash to this tie which gives the baord more distance and time to loose momentum especially in waves. Works a treat, and I always wear a vest and gath helmet.

Hi Snowman,
Oceanus actually provides clipless extensions as well. Basically, instead of clipping the metal clip directly to the bungee screwed onto the board, you clip it onto an extra piece of webbing/rubber/rope (difficult to describe exactly) that is about 1m long and has been looped onto the bungee. This results in the clip being closer to your hip rather than by your leg/ankle. Hard to explain, hope this makes sense. We have some at Airborne if you'd like to take a look.
All the best,
Jess