Does ANYBODY still use a board leash?!

[gbgreen59]

I have been a covert board leash user even after reading the warnings on Kiteforum...won't happen to me...famous last words. Just got off crutches after a week and a half. Got a cut on my ankle that looked like lips. Got infected too...my foot looked like a football with toes. Got a brused bone, but not broken.

Here is what I remember reading on Kiteforum:

1. If you use a leash and have not been injured, you will.

2. If you use a leash, don't jump

Well, I did use a leash, and got hurt while jumping...but, but, but, I don't want to lose a board...but, but, but, I don't like having a foot that looks like a football with toes, and I hate walking on crutches.

[ed257]

What kind of leash were you using? I'll bet it was not an Oceanus attached to your harness and grab handle. Please share with us what you were using and how your accident occurred.

Thanks,

Ed

I have been a covert board leash user even after reading the warnings on Kiteforum...won't happen to me...famous last words. Just got off crutches after a week and a half. Got a cut on my ankle that looked like lips. Got infected too...my foot looked like a football with toes. Got a brused bone, but not broken.

Here is what I remember reading on Kiteforum:

1. If you use a leash and have not been injured, you will.

2. If you use a leash, don't jump

Well, I did use a leash, and got hurt while jumping...but, but, but, I don't want to lose a board...but, but, but, I don't like having a foot that looks like a football with toes, and I hate walking on crutches.

[gbgreen59]

I use the Oceanus reel leash. Plus, I have the recommended 1 meter of rope between the leash and the board. I went out for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks yesterday and had my leash on. I'll never learn...no jumps however.

Here's how the injury happened:
I initiated a jump. I must have pushed my board underwater just a bit. When I went up, the board seemed to be glued to the water. So, my feet came out of the straps. I was dangling under the kite, and my board was dangling under me. This has happened before without any problem. However, when I came down, the end of the board slammed into the outside of my ankle (just below the bump on the side of the ankle). I thought my ankle was broken...had no idea there was a cut on it. I don't know for sure, but I think the board went underwater vertically when we all came down. By the time my feet were about to hit the water, the board was coming back up vertically. I put a dent in the end of the board and slightly broke the glass on the rail. I'm pretty sure this is what cut me (right through my bootie).

Another lesson learned...we were 3 hours from home and I didn't want to go to a "far away" hospital. Waiting for 3 hours before getting the wound flushed didn't help. I'm getting a first aid kit with peroxide for flushing wounds.

BYW: I wear a helmet too. This is why I didn't get hit in the head, I'm sure.

[ed257]

GB,

Was your leash attached to the grab handle or fin insert? Was the other end on your leg or harness?

It must have been like a scene from the Road Runner vs Coyote.

I am glad you are OK now.

Ed

[gbgreen59]

The line from the leash was attached to the fin insert. I've tried the grap handle, and the board tends to dive underwater sometimes. However, for the accident that I experienced, the attaching to the handle would probably have prevented it.

The reel for the leash is attached to my harness.

Definitely a scene from Roadrunner...I'm the coyote. However, I didn't hear the whistling sound...definitely heard the "SPLAT".

[Tom183]

New board: $600

(Used board: $400)

Missing 3 weeks or more of kitesurfing because of a board-leash related injury: priceless.


You really don't NEED a board leash unless you're in heavy current and light wind - and I'm not sure why anyone would bother with those conditions on a regular basis (I would be looking for a better spot instead)... Body-dragging upwind is no prob, even in some current.

Reel leashes are not a good idea - they're a slight improvement on a bad idea...

Basically none of the regular riders here uses a board leash, every once in a while a noob will show up with one and wonder why other guys are wearing helmets but no board leash...

Take the $50 you would spend for a leash and get your board insured instead...

[gbgreen59]

You speak the truth Tom183. I also look at it like this

Lost SS Glide $750 + New SS Glide $750 = $1500

Now think about a new Hein or Rogue Wave which are about $1,000 each. I get frazzled thinking about how high the probability is for losing a board when kiteboarding. I lost 2 in a 2 week span when I was not using a leash. Fortunately, I got one of them back the next day.

I lost my boards on high wind days where there was lots of chop. I got worked pretty good and ended up downwind of the board quite a ways. The chop makes the board visible for only short periods of time. Plus, you can't watch your board while you body drag up wind. After each pass, you have to try to spot the board again. I lost site of both.

My conclusion to this problem is to start making my own boards. It won't bother me as much if I lose a board that cost me between $50 and $150. I'm sure the performance will not be as good.

What about insurance? How many boards will they replace and what is the price? I had a streak of bad luck on losing the boards. I'm sure there are many guys who have never lost a board. However, guys post regularly on this forum about losing boards.

[Tom183]

I guess it's easier to lose boards when you're not used to body-dragging - is that a good reason never to learn?

I've lost track of my board a few times, but always got it in the end - I just kept dragging upwind, then when I knew I had to be too far upwind, I swung the kite over the top to pull me out of the water and took a look around.

I also think you have to get used to taking equal tacks in both directions, so you come back to the general vicinity of where the board came off at the end of every-other tack - that's the only time I look for the board, and if I don't see it, I just go out and back again.

[Nico]

Yep, leashes sure can be dangerous, but not quite as dangerous as having to recover your lost board in the surf at low tide over coral reef.
This is the only time I hook up.
Nico

[girlsgethigher]

I am sure to get hammered on this one but.......I have a reel leash and use it most of the time when I ride in my home spot. I also have it attached to the board by a bungee. Last year rode a friends board in the surf who insisted that I use the leash-standard leash that attaches to the foot. Big mistake! and a huge bruise about the size of a diner plate on the inside of my thigh and I will never do that again! however I have not had a problem with my reel leash(for the pessimist "YET"), the board is slow to recoil and doesn't submarine. I only use it at home because if you lose your board in the marsh, you will never find it. I don't want no alligators surf'n on my kite board!