Howdy,
Just interested to hear if you experienced lot who kitesurf ?strapless (in the surf) use a leash or not? ?
I'm clearly not very experienced in the surf and spent 10%+ of my last session chasing my board to shore after I lost it.
I'm guessing the pros of getting a leash is quicker retrieval time, but down side, I'm guessing is board in the face, tangled over bar if one gets rolled in a wave, distracted/annoyed by trailing leash especially when riding goofy.
read the above link about this subject
kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2393491&p=941038&hilit=leash
I kite without a leash most of the time. I have only used a leash when I was surfing a point break with lost of waves and got frustated looking for the board. I did wear a helment just in case the board hits my heard.
cheers
Use if rocks or if not able to retrieve I use pro light weight legy And if I loose kite I can paddle in
Hey salty
A really good piece of advice I got a while back, and like to pass on, is to try to never let both feet off your board (ie fall completely off) at any time, but always keep at least one in contact. This sounds like a no brainer/impossible when learning, but is a really useful strategy if attempted for a few sessions, and then consciously but less strictly applied from then on. For example, if I am gybing or duck tacking, and I mess up my timing or whatever, and sink into water, I concentrate on lift and kite pulling me into a start position, and always with one foot touching the deck of board so that I can get lift back up on top at any time. And if I have fallen, one part of my brain is concentrating on keeping board within reach and under foot the whole time. Same on a wave, if I big or fall, I try to roll with it and "recover" no matter what. You find yourself getting out of some funny situations in time.
Give it a try for 30 min next session, helps to slow everything down as well.
Ps. Exceptions are in barrelling waves and large airs, where you need to abort and get max distance away from sharp flying objects 
PPS. And as for leashes, as posted above, only for point breaks and rocky shores, too dangerous otherwise. Try the approach above and in a few weeks it will be far less board chasing 
Select to expand quotemazdon said..
Hey salty
A really good piece of advice I got a while back, and like to pass on, is to try to never let both feet off your board (ie fall completely off) at any time, but always keep at least one in contact. This sounds like a no brainer/impossible when learning, but is a really useful strategy if attempted for a few sessions, and then consciously but less strictly applied from then on. For example, if I am gybing or duck tacking, and I mess up my timing or whatever, and sink into water, I concentrate on lift and kite pulling me into a start position, and always with one foot touching the deck of board so that I can get lift back up on top at any time. And if I have fallen, one part of my brain is concentrating on keeping board within reach and under foot the whole time. Same on a wave, if I big or fall, I try to roll with it and "recover" no matter what. You find yourself getting out of some funny situations in time.
Give it a try for 30 min next session, helps to slow everything down as well.
Ps. Exceptions are in barrelling waves and large airs, where you need to abort and get max distance away from sharp flying objects
PPS. And as for leashes, as posted above, only for point breaks and rocky shores, too dangerous otherwise. Try the approach above and in a few weeks it will be far less board chasing
Thanks Mazdon,... I'll give it a go next time I'm out.
I'm typically losing the board as I'm tacking out (in cross shore) and inadvertently launch off an unbroken wave. ?I appreciate there are various techniques to avoid this (including slowing down, riding away from the wave down wind, performing a small jump, not sucking quite so hard, etc.) but at times, it gets away from me.
I then find in the process of trying to get the board back, from time to time, a helpful wave will pick the board up and dump it on my head...?
No worries, sounds like you are already onto it
+1 for slow down, sink back into harness a bit more, legs like shockies, constant contact with board 
For white wash, I slow down and try to pop the board onto the wash.
For an unbroken wave, i slow down, de-power the kite and then drive the board down the backside of the wave and power up.
If it's big, i use a strapped board.
Select to expand quoteSaltySinus said...
I then find in the process of trying to get the board back, from time to time, a helpful wave will pick the board up and dump it on my head...?
Yeah, I've copped it in the back of the head a couple of times.
I don't use leg ropes 
Select to expand quoteRicardo1709 said...
Get a longboard leash 9 ft
+1
Never kite without one.
No leash, not just because you risk a slingshot board to the head but a mate had his leashed board pop through the lines between bar and kite, major drama, immediate kite loops.
Select to expand quoteSurfer62 said...
No leash, not just because you risk a slingshot board to the head but a mate had his leashed board pop through the lines between bar and kite, major drama, immediate kite loops.
I had it happen to a mate aswell, there was nothing I could do to help - after about 30 kite loops he got his leggie off & has not worn one since.
But sure there are some circumstances that the positives of wearing one outway the negatives.
Select to expand quoteSurfer62 said..
No leash, not just because you risk a slingshot board to the head but a mate had his leashed board pop through the lines between bar and kite, major drama, immediate kite loops.
I currently ride a Slingshot board (as in the brand) so maybe that's a bad omen!?
I think it just depends on where you kite and the conditions, if it's just in the bay I wouldn't bother as they're kind of annoying when they get wrapped around your feet or harness. If you're in sketchy waves with rocks and rips I'd want to have the board connected to me so I could grab it and paddle in.
I always wear one ,just got sick of losing my board .when I fall of my board seem to go downwind of me and I kind of aware to stay upwind of my board at all times
I ride my surfboard strapped and have never used a leash. Im a lot more keen on getting away from my board if i screw up a jump or get smashed by a wave. I focus on keeping the kite in the air then its easy to high speed body drag after the board. ( though i dropped my kite twice in big surf yesterday duhhhh )
Ive also seen leashed boards tangled in lines resulting in death loops. Horrible.
Each to their own preference but no leash for me. Rather lose the board.
On a beach break there is no need for a leash. Even if you fall off your board, have to go into shore reset your kite etc, more than likely your board is going to be waiting on the beach within 50m of you. If it gets in a rip and pushed out past the break it will just track downwind slowly and likely get sucked in by the next incoming rip. Leashes are a pain in the arse to kite with irrespective of the safety concerns. Its bad enough wondering if you're going to get sledged by your board when you're not attached to it, at least without one you can power sideways away from it.
I am either on a strapped or unstrapped surfboard, never on a twin tip, only use a legrope when I am kiting outer reefs as lost a board once after being smashed in big surf and the long long body drag back to shore over shark infested reef was one scary ride, I have always used a 8 to 10 ft SUP leash which greatly reduces chance of board hitting you, can be a little annoying but also great if you wipe out and middle of set with big one still coming for you and you can body drag out of danger and not worry about board , but would never put a leggie on a twin tip and wouldn't use one unless you have had a fair bit of time on the water.
Select to expand quotepattiecannon said..
Leash, unleashers get in the road with all their bodydragging
you are like super kook
Select to expand quote 
kernal said..
pattiecannon said..
Leash, unleashers get in the road with all their bodydragging
you are like super kook
That may be true kernel, but there is no denying that you are a complete ****tard
Select to expand quoteSurfer62 said..
No leash, not just because you risk a slingshot board to the head but a mate had his leashed board pop through the lines between bar and kite, major drama, immediate kite loops.
lol. my mate somehow went thew his centre lines. by memory he was throwing a big shift 5 off a kicker and over slacked and fully went thew his lines, total mess!
I preferred no leash. Yesterday however, I decided to leash up in side offshore gusty conditions. When I fell off the board and kite flying across the wind window, doing its best to pull, my board was pulling on the other end and trying to dive under water. Pulling like mad on my ankle/leg. Not cool
I'll body drag for my board again from now on.
