Sorry i just have something else smart to say to answer about the purpose of a kite leash

...........................Take a look at "runaway smilie"

.......so main purpose is to ......prevent a runaway kite when the sh** hits the fan when you QR

Jokes aside just attach to safety system ring of loop near Quick Release and/or chicken loop
The other end goes on either right or left hip side ring of harness (your choice)
That end that goes at harness could have it's own QR to totally detach yourself from kite
This is your very last option to ditch kite and save yourself from severe injury or death
Hopefully a ditched will not be in the path of bystanders or automobiles on the road etc..
.
On back of harness if a line connects to those 2 rings you can attach on it .It will slide side to side.
Ideally this last set-up is for unhooked moves (handle passes etc..in suicide mode w/o runaway)

So have fun kiting.....and remember .......if in "doubt" about conditions/location...."abort" session
When you live or don't get hurt you get to go kiting an other day and so on and so on

............................................................ ..............................................

be careful about hooking the leash to the line across the back of the harness as a beginner,
if you get pulled hard you may not be able to reach the final release being pulled backwards
seen it and it did not look like fun at all

I live an hour away from you and am already teaching on the water. Kite setup is is pretty basic, but I know first hand that getting a kite up in the air and in the water is difficult on your own. Toronto has advanced beaches that will cause you nothing but frustration. An instructional DVD is a great idea and I recommend it to all students as a reference after the lesson. Please free to contact me if I can be of help. Toronto has banning issues, so please play by the rules or you risk access for many.
Take care
Brian
Brian.ready@rogers.com

Keegster - just out of interest - what kite, bar and lines have you got, and where did you get them? If you don't know what to do with the leash (which is pretty basic stuff), how do you know that you've got the right size kite and a compatible set of control gear?

thanks all for the more positive feedback. I have a Slingshot 14M kite turbo 3, with slingshot bar and lines, as well as Bestkiteboarding Harness, no board yet still working on that. I am in Toronto plan to kiteboard around Marie Curtis Park as I am minutes away, and other spots including other areas of Toronto as well as Wasaga Beach.

I do have a video actually two of them and have watched some of them and intend to watch both of them about 5 hours of video.

guys I have added pics, maybe someone can specifically recommend where to connect on Harness and Chicken loop based on my equipment. thanks.

other pic.

Here is another pic

Dude u should really learn how to operate the quick release before you go any further

the videos should explain how to put the harness on, where the leash goes, how to rig and fly the kite and so on. I'd do some background fact finding (magazines, videos...) before more questions here. We really don't know where to start, and it sounds like ground zero. Read the owners manual (or get one) for the gear. They explain set up. Have a buddy on hand if you're insistent on trying this on your own. An extra pair of hands will help. It wouldn't hurt for them to watch the movies as well so they can provide pointers. Kiting is not like riding a bike, where you start pdealing and figure it out from there. Bad things can happen quickly. If you're not clear on set up, get someone to physically walk through it with you. A forum cannot be as good as someone on hand to show you and then have you give it a shot and correct any errors. If you set up incorrectly, you are inviting a dangerous situation. If your location has deep water, you may feel paniced when the kite goes down and you can't relaunch. At that point, you'll need to understand the safety system and the self rescue process in order to get yourself and gear back to the beach for another try. I tried to learn on my own and it took me months to get to where a five hour lesson got me (which I did take). A lesson might not be free, but it might be worth the cost if you want to get to the point where you can actually enjoy yourself this summer. Wasaga also has access issues. If you can't stay upwind, don't ride there. Parks service will kick you out of they catch you in a swim zone. Heavy fines have also been handed out (more than the cost of a lesson).

To me... I'd rather spend 5 hours getting instruction than 5 months still struggling and wonder why I ever chose this sport. Learning can be fun, struggling is not.

cool, kite culture. I understand the equipment and it's purpose I was just wondering where one would prefer to connect with my gear for a beginner. I am just not sure on the harness to connect in the front, seems smarter to me, but it appears it connects to the back, either to one of the side rings.