Paracord is an accident waiting to happen. Too thin, and too easy to wrap around a finger or wrist. With tethers, short is better. See Ocean Paddler Issue 63: Kayak Tethers - A Paddler’s Lifeline or this account: National Center for Cold Water Safety.
See the picture here National Center for Cold Water Safety. The line moves back and forth across the deck. If you want to quickly get to the other side of the kayak, the time to do that is when the kayak is upside down. You duck under and pop up on the other side. Getting familiar with the tether is just like everything else in our sport: it takes practice.
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What is comical is a person who thinks what applies to most applies to ALL.
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Paracord is strong enough to hold a paddle and weak enough to break if you need it to. Most experienced paddlers carry a knife on their life jacket. Paracord is easy to cut.
Paracord doesn’t break easily. Easy to cut with a knife. I even have my knife tethered on thinnest bungee…
It does when skydiving.
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Mr. Avery -
Thoughts on pros and cons of using this in conjunction with your deck set up? Hitching the loop to the ring on the deck line, and attaching the shackle to your PFD?
That looks like a fall harness. Seems bulky and overkill for a kayak tether. If you got pulled away from the boat hard enough to have the shock protection part trigger, you probably are losing the battle anyway.
Mr. Young - Sorry I didn’t see your question earlier. I’m not sure how long that tether is, but I like the concept. However, I’d loop around the lowest strap on the PFD and clip into the ring on the deck line. If you want to release, the pull loop should be readily accessible.
Usually 6’ long way over kill. OSHA rated harness.
But never on a river.
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I agree, and especially with those long, thin lines. BTW - who makes the lovely rig that you showed in the picture?
Absolutely. Never on a river, or in ocean surf for that matter. But I’m speaking as a kayaker. Board surfers and SUP paddlers have a different take on the situation. Tethers are common in the surfing community, and safety-conscious SUPs have adapted to the threat of entrapment drowning by using waist tethers with auto release and manual release mechanisms.
