Leash discussion

[wakaka69]

Hey felas,

I have read some pretty harsh posts about using a leash (roller type) when kitesurfing. Even though its a roller and im using a helmet and impact vest, apparently it still is dangerous to me and the board.

I am more than willing to give up my leash for my safety, but although i know how to body drag upwind and surf upwind as well, im pretty scared about losing my board eventually. Last time I looked for it in the water for like 10 minutes before finiding it...

So presuming there are way more expirienced riders here than myself, what are your tips for riding without a board leash and keeping your board from getting lost at sea.

Thanks and have a wonderful weekend mates !

[icebird]

boardleash is dangerous.
yes, it can be hard to find a board at times.

Not saying it is so, but perhaps your are not as good as you think you are at bodydragging, there are many small mistakes one can make and keep on doing. Check up on body position, look for videos, have someone check your style in the water.

[Imba]

Im sorry mate but here.. you will just have to believe it.


The issue here is simple everybody think the same way "Haha... the board is so light. And i have a helmet! What....what...what could possible happen?"


The point of danger here is SPEED.

Because the board "borders" is about 3-4mm the ih its hit you (because the impact area is so small) the hit will be not "crushing" (Club hit), but more like a bullet\sword style.

The second issue here is "weight". Its rather small.

But when you jump.. and you fall of the board... and if it will gain additional "rubber pull" because of rubber leash - it will fly to you GAINING speed.

Then it can hit you with a "boarder" - that usually NOT - but _can_ be very very painful.

IF the board will fly to you and "slice" you with a fin - you can easily get huge (deadly?) open wood and bath of blood.

Again, i personally see how two riders collide into each other. The girl his the guys board on a fin side. Both riders was "rather fine" (no bones broken). But the girls leg (on behind) was sliced to a point where is was "nothing but a blood bath". The slice was deep almost to the bone. See it with my own eyes. And the lucky point it happened literally 20 meter from the shore & from the crowd of people who rush to help.

This is what "fins on a speed" can do.



PS: Of course its very handy to have a leashed board. But the road to the point where nobody use it now is covered with major injuries of thousands of people.

PSS: Believe me..
a)The more you jump - the lesser time u will loose the board.
b)As soon as u get used to bodydraging - it will become easy
c)You can easyly get used to "look" where your board is if it fell off during jumps...


Your choice.

[pmaggie]

I also own a roll leash but I use it only in super light wind days with my Core XR2 15 LW and my Nobile Flying Carpet, because in very light wind is difficult to body drag upwind and recover the board.
In "normal" winds (more than 12 knots), you'd better forget the leash, it's definitively too dangerous, no matter if you're wearing an helmet. A friend of mine was seriously injuried to his left arm thanks to his roll leash.

[davesails7]

Good call on getting away from the leash!

What color is your board? Bright colors help you find the board.

If you're really having trouble, there's that Go Joe inflatable board float thing that you attach to your board to make it float down wind to you faster.

[Tiago1973]

Hey felas,

I have read some pretty harsh posts about using a leash (roller type) when kitesurfing. Even though its a roller and im using a helmet and impact vest, apparently it still is dangerous to me and the board.

I am more than willing to give up my leash for my safety, but although i know how to body drag upwind and surf upwind as well, im pretty scared about losing my board eventually. Last time I looked for it in the water for like 10 minutes before finiding it...

So presuming there are way more expirienced riders here than myself, what are your tips for riding without a board leash and keeping your board from getting lost at sea.

Thanks and have a wonderful weekend mates !

looking to your avatar you already have the answer

[jrfiol]

What you should do is put some color stickers on your board.

I suggest you meditate prior to your session, use the Force!!!!

The truth is I always know where my board is. That is because I know these spots I kite in from years of pushing through waves and paddling in to surf spots. For this reason I can always expect a certain behavior of the board.

Consider the wind is always blowing your board downwind, waves and current +- a little luck... Bam there is your board.

You should only use a leash if you are very confident in what you are doing. I suggest you don't.

Kindest regards,

[edt]

What color is your board? Bright colors help you find the board.

Yup.

It's so easy to lose a dark board. I lost an $900 nobile nhp 3d 2012, the brown one with laser print on it the first time I rode it (didnt put my name on it yet), because it is dark brown and the graphics are like camouflage. I've also lost a custom board I made where I had it stained dark brown natural wood, just impossible to spot.

On the other hand no matter how many times I crash I can always my old all white board I got for $100.

If you can see your board you can go get it.

The fact of life is . . . if you do not use a leash and have a dark board sometimes you will lose it, stuff like this happens. You have to you know weigh the consequences . . . would you rather lose a board sometimes, or lose your head. Up to you.

Also put your name and telephone number on your board. Regular people don't want a kiteboard, if they find it on the beach, even 100 miles away they will call you up and you can go get it.

The only way you lose a kiteboard for good is if you forget to put your name & number on it <--- this is advice I have to take!!

actually u should put your name & number on everything, kites, bars, boards, so much easier for that stuff to find its way back to you. If you read the lost & found here it's always the same, people find bars and boards all the time, but if there's no name on it, hard to find the owner.

I know exactly what you mean by body dragging for 10 minutes you are so low down in the water hard to see, when this happens, other kiters will see me dragging around like a doofus and point in the water, and I'm like "there it is!" and go grab it.

[balugh]

I think most people will lose a board at some point regardless of their ability. I know i spend ages looking for boards sometimes... What I've not yet found is a reasonably inexpensive device to help locate a board when it gets ripped away. The Go Jo or perhaps a water wing / inner tube of some kind is probably the closest thing but they do get in the way a bit (and they don't look at all lame)... I've thought about strobe lights on boards too but what is the best way to activate one...because you don't want it flashing all the time. Thinking as I sit (trying to avoid doing some work) maybe the activation solution is to use a pressure switch in the foot pads so that it starts the strobe when your feet come out of the board. A strobe would look cool for Toby doing his air style board offs as well....

[JGTR]

The joke is that most people who preach about board leashed still dont wear helmets, more danger from sustaining a head injury than being hit by your board.