Quality Leashes

[white water]

Give me some brand names of quality leashes for an 11'6" SUP.

[supthecreek]

Da Kine
Creatures

I have both and have put them through the ringer. Both are ok by me, although the Creatures tends to coil up more than the Da Kine.... it's a pain in the butt if it gets tangled on itself.

[lunchbox]

There was a good topic on leashes on here recently. Check it out...some brands I had never even heard of.

I had a XM leash that broke on me. Not a knock on the brand, but just wanted to through it out there.

After that I bought a Creatures. Looks solid. Got the leash that is supposely built to handle 15ft waves so I figured it would be strong enough for my head high and smaller days.
The one thing I have noticed as Creek mentioned was that on occassion it does coil up on itself. But of course the leash is pretty thick. But having it coil up is a lot better than seeing my board go into the rock again!

[PonoBill]

I'm pretty impressed with the Starboard big wave leash. very stout and all the fittings look good. I like Creatures except they have the odd habit of not cross-screwing the swivel on the cuff side. No idea why they do it, and I have had one creep a little apart after some big hits. Goofy.

[Piros]

There is not one brand I haven't snapped but the Balin Storm did the best and they have now modified the swivel to make them virtually indestructible. They are almost 1/2" thick not a lot of stretch stopping the board from tomb stoning which makes for a fast retrieval . I keep them short around 7 to 8 feet and with one kick of the leg your board is back within an arms reach , so you don't have to hand line them back. This gets back on your board faster and helps to avoid the next one on the head. Maybe not the best one if you have a bad knee as they will almost rip your leg off before they break.  My next choice is the Dakine in the same length 7' to 8' I can't find the model of it but it's the extra thick clear one.

[newton333]

no such thing

[white water]

And with an 11'6" board, what length would be the norm?

[PonoBill]

Good question. No good answer. Here's why. The longer a leash is, the less likely it is to be overstretched and break in the PU rope. And if you're going to get up to the nose, you need a leash that lets you. So let's say 11'. But a leash that long makes your whack zone--the distance you can injure someone else--about 25 feet. It also means that when you get mowed your board will be a long way away, and a filck of your leg won't bring it back. If big brother is right behind the wave that got you, that might not be a good thing.

So you need to decide which of those things is most important to you, and buy accordingly. But ten feet is pretty standard though I tend to go for eight. Then again I always have a tail handle and try like crazy not to let my board hit the leash.

[white water]

Straight or coiled? And why

[breakbad]

Coiled gets tangled up with your little piggies, so straight leash. But I dont mind the half'n'half leashes in smaller surf.

Any votes for staycovered leashes?

[PonoBill]

The recoil from a breaking coiled leash can put the swivel through a surfboard--never mind your eyeball. It's not the springiness of the coil, it's the twisting of the polyurethane iunder that much tension that stores and releases so much energy. I've tested it numerous times--fine in flatwater, dangerous and very unhandiy in surf.

[magentawave]

10' x 1/4" Dakine "Longboard Series" with an 8' board. Its the calf leash. I only use it on my calf in small surf so I can walk around so its mostly on my ankle. Its nice to have the option of both. I know thats long but I don't want that beast of a board near me. I snapped two in two years. Dakine replaced both of them for free. The good thing about Dakine is that they give you a two year warranty.

[white water]

Thanks guys  8🏄

[J-Bird]

I snapped two in two years. Dakine replaced both of them for free. The good thing about Dakine is that they give you a two year warranty.

That warranty doesn't mean a thing when you're swimming for your life in big conditions trying to make it to shore.  I've broken a Dakine leash and because of that will never buy another one again, warranty or not.

[magentawave]

I don't think it would be wise to rely on a thin urethane cord to save my life in gnarly conditions but I have no brand loyalty to Dakine leashes so I'm totally open to something better. Does a leash exist that isn't so thick that it would be like dragging a freaking sea anchor? What do you recommend?

I snapped two in two years. Dakine replaced both of them for free. The good thing about Dakine is that they give you a two year warranty.

That warranty doesn't mean a thing when you're swimming for your life in big conditions trying to make it to shore.  I've broken a Dakine leash and because of that will never buy another one again, warranty or not.