Hi All,
I couldn't find any reviews or more information about these Oceanus REEL board leash things on seabreeze. Being a newby, i've had a few close calls losing my board, and wonder whether these are any good ?

www.oceanustech.com/index.htm

any reviews/opinions ? and does anyone stock them in Perth ? (on the net margaret river kitesurfing & windsurfing do have them).
cheers,
Mike.

IMO spend the time to learn how to body drag upwind. All leashes are dangerous. Kiteboarding is dangerous enough without using board leashes.Once you can body drag up wind you wont look back, it doesnt take long to learn and it will actually improve your kite control, its a basic but vital skill if you want to enjoy this sport. Do a search and you will find many posts on this topic.

That being said, if you must use a leash the reel leashes are probably safer than standard leg ropes. Just make sure it is connected to your board by a tether that will break under load.

If you are kiting in normal cross/cross on conditions your board should end up on the beach if you cant get to it. My advice is to leave the leash alone, put your name on your board in the chance that you do lose it. Your health/life is worth more than the price of a board

Stay away from leashes mate.

www.seabreeze.com.au/Articles/Kitesurfing/Should-I-use-a-board-leash_903067.aspx

Hi mickeeH
I think they are great. Obviously you still need to know how to body drag but as long as you always wear a helmet and impact vest you will definately spend more time kite surfing if your not spending all your time body dragging back to your board. Kite Addiction sells them in Perth along with a few other local kite surfing shops. When you consider how many surfers use bungee cord leg ropes with no helmets I can not understand why more kite surfers don't use the Reel leashes which are not made of any stretchy material. Once again I never use mine without my helmet.

Hi Thorn,

It's obvious that anyone in favour of Leashes of any kind hasn't been in the sport long enough to know of the long, long list of personal injuries sustained by kiters using leashes over the years.

A customer of mine whom bought a leash to use on his surfboard against my advice almost lost an ear for his trouble. An ear hanging by a bit of skin and grissle isn't a good look.

Surfers aren't connected to a power source that doesn't stop instantly in the event of a crash.

What's more a board that flips up and through your lines is a total disaster as it pulls hard on one side of the bar due to the drag of the board which loops the kite and it wont stop until the kite crashes ...... if it crashes.

So you pull your safety to release the kite, but this doesn't help as now your being towed backwards behind a looping kite with the board stuck in the bar leaders with you totally seperated from the bar unable to reach it.

Yes you can say thats such a rare occurance, but it has happened to me once, and I've seen it twice and heard of it on another occassion.

If your life is worth less than the cost of a board, then you should march in and buy one straight away and let Darwins theory of evolution begin immediately.

If your upwind body dragging is so poor that it takes more than 1 minute to get back to your board (even in the worst crash) , then you need more practice, not a reel leash.

If you have a weak point in the line to your board so it snaps under excessive load, then doesn't that negate the reason of having a leash in the first place??? and then you can't get back to your board anyways???

I hate seeing people substitute gizmo's to make up for inadequate skills. UWBD is a fundamental skill as mentioned by bennie, and MUST be learned BEFORE you go riding a board.

Good winds,

Kitehard is on the money. Don't get a leash. way too risky IMO. I have admittedly taken longer than 1 min to retrieve a board on some days though eg light wind with strong reverse sweep.

thanks guys,
have to admit i'm a bit dubious.
I think i might invest in a pair of seabreeze sunnies, main problem i've had was spotting the board in the water from all the glare.
cheers,
Mike.

Hey Mike , why dont you get Go Joe from Ocean Rodeo, make no mistake you will still look like a kook, but smart kook in my opinion not a stupid kook on the leash, you will never loose your board unless you decide to kite in offshore wind, but in such wind Go Joe isnt wise move, extra benefit no helmet unless you like it.
Cheers

Hi Kitehard
Thanks for your response and I totally agree with you. Anyone using a surfboard leash is asking for trouble. After all we are kite surfers not surfers. Hence we use the Oceanus Reel Leash. Unlike the surfers leash that reacts like a bungee cord the Oceanus Reel Leash retracts slowly. There is no bungee effect. I did stipulate in my response that everyone should know how to body drag (so we agree on another point) as well as having the safety precaution of helmet and impact jacket. I have no affiliation to Oceanus except that I use the product. I also noted that on the beginners progression dvd which most instructors promote there is footage of students using board leashes that are closer to what surfers use. I do not recommend that at all. It is also interesting that Ben Wilson ( arguably the best wave kite surfer) also uses a board leash.

Dont do it, not only is it dangerous but everyone on the beach will think your a noob!

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newo said...

Dont do it, not only is it dangerous but everyone on the beach will think know your a noob!

Hope you don't mind I just edited it a little bit.

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thorn said...

<snip>......It is also interesting that Ben Wilson ( arguably the best wave kite surfer) also uses a board leash.

Only when riding somewhere where the current is running out against the wind, or it is offshore wind and big swell, or where there is shallow reef inside or something like that I would imagine.

Also when using a surfboard you are normally using a relatively small kite and are not as powered as when you are riding freestyle on a TT.
As long as there is enough wind and you are able to relaunch your kite if it crashes, it's really not that hard to drag back to your board.
The sooner you learn the better, and before long it will be a piece of cake.
IMO opinion the only time you should ever use one is if you are experienced and are kiting in waves on a surfboard in conditions as described above.
Or if you only connect one to your board after you fall off and crash your kite, so your board doesn't float away whilst you are relaunching......but I still wouldn't.

Oh.......I tell you what, a picture tells a thousand words, have a look here www.seabreeze.com.au/Media/Search/all/leash/

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thorn said...

<snip>.... Once again I never use mine without my helmet.

Hope it's a full face.

There is a photo floating around somewhere with some guys calf muscle half chopped off... like almost to the bone... pity i cant find it.

Dont listen to anyone who says they are OK, its not hard to body drag, really, its not

I think there is better photo on kiteforum just go to " board leashes strike again" a shocking photo of a girl who lost most of front teeth thanks to the great oceanus reel, she had a helmet, but not full face ( still have to see someone wearing those).
I n the end however nothing is going to scare those idiots on the leashes, they are more afraid to loose a board than the face .

In W.A. at the moment we have beach goers trying to stop Kiting at Mullaloo beach saying it is too dangerous. I'm sure none of them have tried Kite surfing, hence their lack of knowledge of the sport just as I'm sure that "Tightlines" along with the other people have never tried a Reel leash. I remember many years ago I got my first board, after falling off and being dragged (through lack of experience) my board was left behind. The next kiter that came along ran over my board, gouging two holes through my one day old $700.00 board effectively destroying it, . He also destroyed his own fins along with smashing his kite into the water. Totally preventable with a Reel leash. Today I am sick of kiting around people body dragging back to their boards. Yes there are dangers to using a leash, just as there are dangers in doing massive jumps at Kite stock landing in less than 1m of water, kiting with no helmet or impact jacket, kiting in waters that have sharks and rips, strong gusty conditions etc but people still do it. That's their choice!
All the pictures that people have said to look at show no Reel leashes, talking about calves being ripped off ,when was a reel leash used in that incident? There are injuries all over the forum just from kite surfing, it is a dangerous sport.

I'm a kiter at Pinnaroo point, like many i scoffed at Darren and the AKS boys who gave me the Kook look when i went out with a reel leash. Yes i was being lazy, yes i was getting more time on the board, and less time in the water. But you know what, I wasn't really advancing, there was no risk vs reward. I fell off, I reeled the board back in, got on and off i went. But the people who were at the same level as me seemed to be getting even more time on the board.
Then I had a couple of mishaps. First one, I lost the board and the leash went between my legs (narrowly missing the crown jewels). Now if anyone has been in a proper car crash, not the prang you get in Cole's car but a proper front end write-off you will know what a seat belt welt looks like. At about 30 cm long, swollen, purple and the kind of throbbing that keeps you awake at night for a week, this is not the kind of bruise that you want anywhere near your nads.
The second one happened about a month later, about the time feeling was starting to return to my thigh. Came off the board in a bit of chop was floating around getting the board back when I inadvertantly sent my kite from 11 to 2, in my panic to get the kite back to 12, I fishpoled my bar and pulled the bar towards me.
I got lofted first then looped the kite so not only did i get excelent height, i went 30 meters down wind as well. Now i know a lot of people say that the board on a leash acts as an anchor, my 144 Switch followed me like a heat seeking missile at the full extention of my leash with the shock cord, so 14ft, 3 1/2 meters in a wide gracefull arc. Although this took only 1/2 a second, your brain has a habit of slowing down these moments so you can fully appreciate your stupidity. I let go the bar, covered my face, dropped like a stone and took a board to the back of the head (luckily i had a helmet on). I limped back to shore, took the leash off my harness and never used it again.
Luckily it happened mid-week at the start of a busy afternoon kiting in December. Any other regular day with 20 or so riders, i would have taken out myself and probably 1 or 2 others.
So in summary, don't use a leash, they

1. Slow your progression
2. Can cause you serious damage (and scare the living piss out of other kiters)

but if you want to use a leash, despite all the horror stories and hurt yourself thats fine, its you choice, but what about the other kiters around you?

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thorn said...

.....I'm sure that "Tightlines" along with the other people have never tried a Reel leash. .......All the pictures that people have said to look at show no Reel leashes......

Your right I haven't used a reel leash, and if that is what you want to do go for it, but the the link that I posted was to photo's at least two of which were a result of reel leashes.
The one with the sliced ear and the one with the smashed teeth,read the info below or the links attached to the expanded photo's but as I said it is your life to do with what you want and yes there are risk in lots of the things we do in life/kiting but for me using a leash is not a risk I am prepared to take.

Hi mickeeH
Well I hope you have a bit more info now, there is obviously fors and against (more against on this page), Each to their own.
Good winds

Hi MickeeH,
My first couple of years i thought leashes were the gun. Coming from a surfing background, used a leggie, seemed much quicker than bodydragging. Snapped about five leashes so changed to a Oceanus reel. Much, much better! No slingshot effect but still tends to tombstone a bit. However, put the tombstone thing in strong winds and i snapped three reel cords. Decided i couldn't afford to keep replacing to bailed the leash. I now get my board back bodydragging even quicker than i did with a leash due to the old anchor/tombstone effect you get from being attached to your board. Only took about five sessions without a leash to make it quicker. Moral is...short term leash good...long term, leash bad.

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thorn said...

All the pictures that people have said to look at show no Reel leashes

This was using a REEL leash and yes I've got experience of using a reel leash.

I used a reel leash for my first year until the leash got wrapped around the casing disabling the reel. My board shot over my head between the lines missing my head by inches. I paused for a few seconds in shock that my head was nearly taken off, I had a helmet on but don't know if that would have helped much.

It seems easier recovering the board using a leash but it's only a case of time before you'll get injured. Take the time to learn to body drag.

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=38691
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=43437
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=45058

i used one for a while in flat water, i could b/drag really well but wanted to spend less time doing it. more time on the board (when learning) but the shear weight of scary accidents around seemed to indicate it was only a matter of time...
so its a clothes line now. another lesson was cheaper and i got more out of it, and now i rarely need to b/drag.
if those photo's dont deter you, i wont either, but another lesson is safer cheaper and more effective

I have witnessed more kiting accidents and injuries from simply idiotic behaviour, and mostly from experienced riders too! Kiting is a risky sport, with or without leash you just got to take extra care. I use one in strong current environment, and many people use one cause they get a lot more kiting time.

YOu only need a leash if : you cant body drag and if you cant body drag you need more lessons....YOU WORK IT OUT !!!!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LEASHES

To those advocating him wearing a leash...WAKE UP they are accepted by the greater kiting community as dangerous and unnecessary..hope you guys are willing to foot his medical bills.

Hi I use a leash but not a short one I got one from woolies a 6mt dog leash stainless steel spring $18. I can body drag very well, but now I spend less time looking like white pointer bait! Spend more time kiting! This is not your 2m leash that will smack you back. I had to modify the dog leash as it did not have a big enough stopper knot & over spooled the spring fixed that also I have about a meter of bungi cord to take any shock out. This I beleive improved my tricks because I could kick the board of if the trick was not turning out how it was supposed to. You do occasionally get it caught around your leg but does not take a second to stop free it up then carry on. I Agree Short leads are very dangerous would not recomend them to any one. I cant see why the manufactures did not look at dog leeds & work out making them longer would be safer. I hardly ever loose the board learning new tricks some time I dont use a leash. I could always find a place where there's not so many white pointers swimming around three were just of shore this year. I had a seal chase me one day I wondered what the f it was, some guys not far from here kited right over the top of a very big white that put an end to their days session. My Modified leash is 2 years old no maintenance so far.

"Col303" -

I am not sure if you are trolling, but that is the silliest thing i have heard someone do. - A dog leash is fine, if you are a dog. You are lucky that in the 2 years you haven't had a problem, but i don't envy you when you do.

Dumb, Dumb Dumb. - If you are trolling, be careful of your statements because newbies, may take this advice and actually carry it out.

This topic is really pointless since you cant convince someone with half a brain that he is wrong, they always find some excuses like the leash cost $18 or its 6m long not 1m long or its not great Oceanus leash etc. etc.
Besides great majority of those idiots on leashes dont even go to this forum, so no argument is going to convince them.

A leash to some kiters is like a pacifer to a baby......