Following up on the thread "Tethered to your boat?" I am starting this thread focused on what lease users are currently employing. This thread is not for whether you should or shouldn’t use one, rationale for or against. It is for seeing what folks are using and discussing the pros and cons of existing designs only.
You may be four-square against leases and that is fine. If so post your thoughts on the original thread. There are enough “users” and interested non-users that seeing what’s out there, and discussing the strengths and weaknesses of various designs might help establish a best practices library on leashes.
The velcro that attaches to you is long enough that it fits around my calf. Many surf leashes have shorter velcro and only fit around the ankle. I much prefer a calf leash (just below the knee) as it gets in the way less when swimming, is less likely to entangle in your legs, and the lever point is farther up your leg so if your boat pulls on the leash hard its easier to prevent overextending your leg.
2nd reason I like it is each end has a swivel. This makes the leash much less likely to twist over itself and tangle
3rd, its coiled. I hate straight leashes as they’re always in the way (for me at least)
Edit - 4th, I always go with a 10’ leash. Its slightly long but it allows me to reach my rudder without detaching the leash. I had 1 experience where I hit something (small-ish) on a 20kt 5’ seas downwind run a mile+ off shore and it bent my rudder enough that it would not go past neutral. I hopped off and bent it back a few degrees without needing to un-leash, which would have been very sketchy in those conditions
Im not loyal to this brand, I’ve had 3 leashes of this style from different mfg’s, but they all share those 3 attributes that I like.
I use the carabiner to attach to my PFD.
Keeping it closer to my body resolves any leg entanglement issues. It also allows for more hand control and gives me peace of mind where a leg leash can sometimes fail
This was lifted from a heavy duty SUP surf leash with a strong carabiner taking place of the velcro attachment.
If you look at the bottom right hand corner of the photo, you can see the dedicated anchor for the leash. That little loop of para cord ties onto this anchor.
It’s pretty bombproof.
Almost all leash failure result in either the velcro coming unattached (which has happened to me),the the quick release failing or the area rubber degrading at the attachment point and splitting under duress.
I used to sell leashes and although I’m happy to use the standard leash in mild conditions, if I were to go out in more risky situations, I would rather have the leash in the picture
