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Hamish, your da man!

I saw it personally and I think he is worth supporting big time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rick, you are right:

where is your excuse now?

And if you don't do handle passes or unhooked stuff, get a rotation bar and it works as well!

FOR OUR FUTURE !

Toby

leash around the neck?
Never gonna happen...

Toby shredding along in sunny Islamorada a couple of days ago, WITH a spinable leashed kite control bar from kiteproshop.com.

There doesn't seem to be any valid excuses left to not use a well tested and maintained leash system. There are conventional leashed systems for the majority of riders. There are spinable leashed systems including the one Toby is using above. There is even a leash system that will allow you to do handle passes.

We have to take responsibility for our actions and our sport. NO ONE is good enough to NEVER drop and kite and to send it running off downwind out of control. Runaway kites have moved mini vans and have caused havoc with others downwind. Be responsible and ...

Leash That Thing Before It Bites Someone!!!

smidgeon wrote:leash around the neck?
Never gonna happen...

This may come as a surprise but ...

Kiteboarding is an extreme potentially hazardous sport, particularly for the rider.

If someone is trying handle passes they had better be very competent with a proven leash system or way out away from others, (miles away with a chase boat to pickup runaway kites). Hamish has developed a workable leash system for the few guys that do handle passes. Does it make kiteboarding safer for bystanders, absolutely. Is kiteboarding completely safe for riders particularly those doing more extreme kiteboarding? Could a leash cause a kiteboarder injury? What do you think but who chose to do this sport in the first place?

We must assume responsibility for our actions, (sounds like a lecture to a youngster right?), if not there will likely be hell to pay. It has happened already in at least three cases on different continents that come to mind. Time to get real and responsible or get ready for some strong, unwelcome heat on this marvelous sport. No more excuses, if we do this sport the RISK NEEDS TO STAY WITH US, if not there is always golf. It is past time to be using well tested and maintained kite leashes.

More shots of Hamish and his remarkable leash system and a LOT of other very good riders to follow in today's and future articles about the Islamorada Invitational Kiteboarding Competition at:

phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=8478

This was shot at an event ten years ago next month. I was looking for something else and this old post popped up. Hamish was the first guy I had seen doing handle passes with a leash. Most just let their kites go flying off downwind until around this time. The lack of kite leashes caused a lot of problems and access hassles plus it wasted time chasing the kites. This was also around the time "wakestyle" kiting really started to take off. Leashes were common in kiting until around the time four line kites came out then then became uncool and also interfered with spinning tricks. Silke Gorldt's death the year before at a competition added major impetus to the development of both leashes and quick releases. It took several more years before reliable designs for both of these devices started to appear.

I was so completely thrown off by this thread when I first started reading it before I realized it was from 10 years ago.

Yes if you dont check out the dates it could be confusing. One thing though, this has happened to me and kite buddies. Leashes break ALL the time. The standard Best one, as well as others, snap if you lose it while powered unhooked. Feel like this shouldnt be happening. Saw Youri's leash and that thing looked robust. Anyone else have problems with leashes malfunctioning or snapping?

I've had both slingshot and cabrinha leashes fail me (multiple times)...sometimes when they are stressed, they somehow release on their own which is crazy because that's the sole purpose it's made for. I know others have this happen too.

I hate to complain about that too much though because the first time I had that happen I was mid-kitemare, ejected, with the kite looping out of control and I was getting dragged underwater towards a rocky, pier lined shore and pop, the leash released itself!

I MISS MY PULLEYBAR!!!