I wear one/carry one from time to time, mainly;
kiting alone
strong current
Sharks known to be around
- All dependent on conditions though.
Learning I wore one and a few times it wrapped around my body, not a nice situation. I think the later ones you can detach from the harness with a quick release type buckle
I connect to fin screws and learning it caused me to get dragged under the water, if the kite was dragging me, as the board went under and created resistance, not nice!
Never had it spring back at me, but I'm old and sedate rider
Has been useful a couple of times carrying it, not clipped on. when kite had problem or helping others, I could clip in and forget about board.
Have seen others lose too many boards, so has been handy to clip into in rough seas where you can't see your (matt black!) board.