“using a double sheet bend to hand tie the cut end”
I was making my own hand tied leashes for years, even before foiling when I was standup surfing in big critical waves. I always used double sheet bends and finished with 3:1 marine grade adhesive lined heat shrink. Lately I’ve changed to making a loop out of the smaller line with an overhand knot, then making a double larks head. With the high performance lines these days are very slippery and a double sheet bend CAN come loose in the right cyclic loading conditions.
Epic! I love seeing this stuff get shared around. I’ll take some pics of it and show how I’ve done it. I love it for downwinding but never for in the surf or anything
after about a 5 sessions, the 2.2mm dyneema end loops are wearing thin. I’m cutting off the heat-shrink and redoing the ends with 4mm Kevlar and will see how that holds up. Its taking some iteration on the details, but I think this style of leash is pretty sweet.
What kN rating should we be looking at?
Let’s say board+foil =15kg, you crash at full speed 30 knots, the stretch of the coiled tether is 30cm.
What rating should be looking at the tether and a carabiner attached at one end?
PS: tether attached to waist harness.
I tried 3 AI models with that questions and got 3 wildly different answers
I think peak load has more to do with rider weight and foil area. You come off at high speed, pushing the board into a sharp turn and hit the end of the leash while still in the air. The foil isn’t aligned with the direction you’re moving and acts like a sea anchor.
It’s how I managed to bend a mast my first session on foil winging
I made one just like that a while ago, it works really well. It’s the first leash that I don’t mind wearing since it’s so light but still long. Mine is a 4’ boogie leash plus 4’ of bungee dyneema
Here’s what I’ve been using for the past couple of months, bungeed dyneema coupled to a boogie leash and a calf cuff or clipped to my harness. It’s been great so far, way less annoying than any other leash I’ve used since it’s super light and doesn’t flop around. At the same time it’s 8’ long stretched out so I can still paddle my DW board upsidedown & backwards going in/out without the leash interfering. I’ll probably make one with a thicker boogie leash section for bigger waves, but so far so good with this one:
I’ve got one of these, very good for downwind! Excellent product @RoyKaohi760
Strong. I think it will likely not snap, as the dyneema-style bungee section is likely the only part that would come into contact with the mast when wrapped, and I think this is what causes urethane leashes to snap.
Stretch. This style leash that I was using can pull out the leash plug. Need the urethan section to give it some flex.
Short. Just right for DW, connecting to the waist. I think it is probably too short for winging if you’re falling a lot, as it seems to get between your legs more often on the wing.
No slap. The very lightweight strong connection to the board is good, no slap.
Next thing I’ve been looking at is the belt itself.
You cannot have your waist belt accidentally coming undone, this is as dangerous as the leash snapping. I like the Kāohi style big velcro loop
Randomly, I’ve started using a kayak tow line bag (without the rope) as a waist belt for a drink, tool, phone and snack, and then attached the leash directly to the rope attachment on the webbing. I quite like this because there is very little chance of accidental opening of the buckle as it is designed as a safety device, but also if for whatever reason you need to undo it, it will release easily.
I’ve been using a waist coil leash from gong. Got stuck under my feet when I had the leash pointing behind me like I used for winging, but switched to having it on my right side while paddling (regular footed) and no tangles or stepping on it since. Just keep it under my right leg when sitting on the board. It’s very long when extended but with all the coil still stays fully out of the water when foiling. Doesn’t spring back quickly either and been using it for a few years without breaking.
I use a piece of small dyneema rope cover with dyneema bungee inside to keep it recoiled. Splice the ends into loops and attach however you want. I run the loop directly around my waist belt or luggage tag it to my harness. I trust the dyneema line to be stronger than just about anything it’s attached to. My buddy uses straight dyneema bungee cord tied with a knot for his board leash, never had any issues.
NSI makes the same thing with hollow nylon tubing. The dyneema tubing is smaller and better, just have to build it yourself. That said, when you build it yourself you can make it any length you want…
For a calf leash I use a short coil leash with dyneema line spliced on the end to make it the right length. I prefer the waist leash but sometimes I don’t want the board leash on my waist and then I use this. 2.5mm dyneema splices easily to the swivel on the coil leash.
For those making DIY leashes, XM Surf makes really high quality stuff and you can buy finished leash at any length in a variety of thicknesses (including coiled). They also sell swivels and all components individually. Could be handy in building some of this.
I just tried it too. One wipeout and it’s elasticity is gone. Also the velcro cuff is pretty scratchy (I can still feel the irritation from it 6 hours later)
I would also ‘recommend a different leash’ although I still haven’t found anything that’s amazing.
