I'm a newbie kiting in Perth and yesterday lost my board, fortunately some kind bloke picked it up for me and bought it to the beach. My question is what are the disadvantages of having a board leash as a newbie? I've not seen anyone use one so haven't had the chance to ask the question. Cheers
There's a few reasons but mainly because the following can happen
You lose your board
The board "tombstones" into the water, but you carry on downwind
The leash stretches
The board shoots back at you like a missilehttp://myblogspot.co.uk/Goring/?p=20
enough said, i will forget about it and keep practicing my upwind body dragging.
Nice clear concise argument Trant, and effective too based on reply above
Covered here previously......
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Review/Board-leash/
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Kiteboard-leashes-not-suicide-leashes/
As a Newb I was talked into needing one (reel leash) by the retailer where I bought my gear.
However I have never used it, its brand new, if anyone wants one
Being a Cab switchblade rider, you tend to cop enough ridicule here, and I personally wasnt going to increase said ridicule, by being one of those reel leash wearing cab riders!
The arguments against them are compelling......why would you need a leash!
Upwind body dragging is a piece of piss and make sure your name and number is written on your board somewhere, just in case.
p.s Fortunately to date, I have yet to locate the tree magnet on my switchy, but I am on the lookout for a nice bucket hat 
Leash is gud when learning to stand. But VERY bad for jumping etc .I wear an impact vest n hard hat safety first.
good thinking wilson, you'll find it wont take long to get the hang of body dragging and also staying on the board in the first place. it is painful when your learning but we've all been there and u'll find the more time u spend on the water the less it will be a concern/annoying.
good winds bra.
this is a reoccuring topic for many new kiters.
Perhaps Laurie & his team could please put Trant's post and quick reference to the other discussions on leashes, as a locked topic at the top of the Newbies Forum?
This may allow a more informed decision before purchase!
Plus one added benefit is the increased sense of "manliness" generated sans leash.
Attempting to hold perfect body dragging form in light wind as you drag face first through piles of stingers helps with this.
Combined with jaws soundtrack that starts to auto play when you are body dragging out the back of Seal island and the thought of how appealing you must look from 20 meters down!!
Points also awarded if you can mention to potential "rescuers" that "I,m good!!" as you alternate between above below /water , count seconds in your head (helps to plot where you are in regards to board), Attempt to ignore stinger attack to eyeball and trapped stinger between harness and belly.
Like mentioned above write your name and phone # as insurance. But when dragging give it all you have got. Really big efforts in things as mundane as body dragging will one day put you in good stead for when something worse happens.
Its all good.
Watched a bloke drift about 1 km through the bay the other day in light winds, he was trying to relaunch after an off but he had his board drifting behind him on his leash while relaunching, if it was on his feet out in front of him he would have more resistance in the water and more tension in the lines, aiding relaunch.
But Trant's explanation also works too.
When I was learning I got launched and somehow the board attached to the leash managed to get tangled around the bar cutting off my depower totally. It was the most frightening experience I have ever had kite surfing.
Hmm, in recent weeks I've grumbled a bit about the latest wave of kooks to hit my local spots, and I've also implicated the local schools/shops in this, but perhaps I've been too harsh.
Perhaps, said schools/shops sell these clowns boardleashes as part of an intentional strategy to weed out (however brutally) the more stupid and kookish customers, whilst still making that initial couple of grand from the lessons-kite-board-harness-leash package?
If so, I thank you for your initiative, but the problem is that it doesn't work. Anyone stupid enough to use a leash generally also rides so timidly that they never work up enough speed, height or force to really load that sucker up and let it work its Darwinian magic.
You need to sell them bigger kites too. A 12m one kite quiver is no longer big enough for Melbourne. I think 15m for the average size kook, and explain that as it has MASSIVE depower, they can use it in 25-30, so long as their leash is there to back them up.
Nothing wrong with a retractable board leash if it's used correctly it is a safe way to retrieve your board .
The secret is to use a hair tie to connect the leash to the board. This can be easily looped onto the attachment loop and connected to the leash. This will be a sacrificial breaking point in the advent of the board loading up a being pulled downwind .
When kitting in area with off shore winds i always use the reel leash, helmet and vest. it always leads to more ride time for me and makes me more comfortable, yeah I probably look gay but thats generally an improvement
never had a problem getting plenty of air, but im not into throwing the board aruond mid air yet
that tomb stoneing thing with a leash definately sucks when it happens
if you use a reel leash get a long one mine is 15 meters and has a week link ( lost the original one but have some old deteriorated string i use it seem to break consistantly at around 15kg's) if you put to much pressure on it it just snaps about 15kilos
IMHO using a retractable leash is a personal choice.
You have to way up the benifits v the potential down side.
I have used a leash (no longer do so) but I found it very helpful.
You just have to use it with care.
If you want to use one - use one.
Select to expand quote
Tomb-stoning is reduced if you connect to one corner of the board. Worst place to connect is to the handle.
will give that a crack next time home cheers
You have a 15m ie. about 50' reel leash? What make is it?
It doesnt have a brand on it. picked it up in bali in sanuar, the plastic clip broke so its tied to my harnes at the moe the caseing is clear plastic with black cord and little c clip to attach to board.
I have been focusing on body draggin latley as I skipped that step in my progression
so hopfully wont need it for ever will become a hand me down.
Hey its not so bad
leash finally flogged out, wind was so steady i couldnt resist but stay out and to my surprise it was so easy
Dont know why I didnt learn at the bigging of season, anyway look like less of a newb now if there were anyone esle around, still sporting the red tape and helmet though think i'll keep the helmet it keeps my ears warmer
Didn't they teach you how to body drag? Practice it when you loose your board next time, it's realy not that hard and don't wait for someone to pick it up for you.
