I've been getting a lot of time sup'ing my local spots with usually 2 sessions a day.
Ive snapped 2 leg ropes of late, last week, prob 6mths old ?, both heavy duty, one a Dakine the other Ocean and Earth. (Both well made?)When I'm short board surfing is pretty rare, unless your getting away with a light weight one on a bigger day, or it's 2 yrs old etc.
I know a wave sup, is still big a board, 8'5" infinity Blurr.
I don't fight the leg rope on a wipe out, or being washed by a set, as the board catches a lot of water force. I also go out in over head days and punchy beach breaks.

Is it just par for the course ?, big sup catching all that wave energy or any recommendations from anyone that sup's surfs decent waves and can recommend suitable leggies ?
Im not blaming the above leg ropes, should I just change 6mthly and consider it a cost of business. I do the same with my windsurf uni joints and ropes, as it saves losing gear / big swims or being unnecessary shark during the east coast whale season.

Get a SMIK leggie. I absolutely love mine. It's sturdy and well-designed.

For SUP I want 8mm or 5/16th minimum cord diameter.

I have been using the dakine big wave leash 8mm. Its been great so far and no stretching!

I was using the ocean and earth premium leashes but they stretch sooo much. Only snapped 2 of them though over the years.

Cheers, I'll look for a new Dakine, big wave ?, I've always been impressed with windsurf kit and rashies etc. cheers

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Nerdburger said..
Cheers, I'll look for a new Dakine, big wave ?, I've always been impressed with windsurf kit and rashies etc. cheers

www.surffx.com.au/collections/sup-accessories/products/dakine-kainui-leash-5-16-big-wave

I've been using the 8 foot as they can't get hold of the 7 foot stock with everything going on.

Hey James, cool seeing you ripping on your backhand last Sunday!! Ive had a Creatures of Leisure Reef 8 for 2 x yrs. Bought a new one before I went to PNG back in March this year expecting this one to give out any surf, but its still hanging in there. Ive done many brands over my 15 x years on SUP's but back these all the way. See how stretchy they are with 100kgs on the end? hahaha

i also use creatures ...8 foot & 10 foot length .depending on size of waves ..8 ml 2 years old now ..i might change them one day ..
best ropes Ive had ..none have broke

You want something 8mm plus. My Dakines have always snapped at the railsaver, but they usually last a year. The nylon cord they use is the failure point, but its hard to inspect because its within the railsaver. My leashloks have been going strong 3 years plus now. I should replace them, but at this point I'm curious what it will take to break one.

Thanks everyone for the recommendations, I'll check out my local tomorrow for something suitable.
Must just had bad luck on the leggies. ??

I've had a really good run with Ocean and Earth, but the last couple the leash has torn through the rail saver well before the use by date. Very comfortable and strong otherwise.

Cheers Ian, the waves have been super fun at Southside of late, even scored a couple of days mid week on my own. Anytime your keen to try out the 8'5" let me know ?

Smik leg ropes are great value and so comfortable.

Yeah next time I'm up at the Goldie if FX has them I'll pick Smik one up to try, website says 9 ft only length, I'd prefer shorter 6-8 ft for quick board retrieves, but will give it a go for the bigger days.

If your cord has broken up to 2' from the rail saver, it is most probably a fin cut.
In which case, no cord would have resisted it(*). I have never broken an O&E ONE leash.

With experience (I have a dozen of broken leashes still lying around), you can know what made your leash break:

- you feel the leash stretch, stretch, the force on your leg increasing, but at some point the force begins to decrease for a fraction of a second,, and the cord snaps: The cord strength limit was reached. You need to streamline yourself in the water to reduce the tension in the cord by not resisting, or move to a bigger cord diameter.

- you feel the leash break before a lot of force had time to build up:
- if the cord itself breaks, it means a fin cut, or a previously undetected cut that had weakened the leash. Sand your fins, do not left the board go in a position where the wave can push it backwards, take care of your cord on land. No need to switch brands.
- if the cord breaks at an attachment, it is a design fault: the attachment was creating a weak point. Switch model or brand.

(*) Except the FCS Freedom, with their external fiber tubing acting as an anti fin cuts armor. But they are 6' only, and small diameters, so they will break if you use them with SUPs in head high waves. They are awesome for 6'-something small wave SUPs however.

Cheers colas,

Yeah both leggies snapped 1 ft from the rail saver.
Haa, I didn't think about fin cuts, but I do take the leggies off my board after use. I put them in my wettie tub, and the board loose in the board bag.
I don't fight the leg rope on wipeouts, and wait for my board to clear white water before I pull it back, both have been 8 mm quality leggies.
I will check my infinity fins, boards only 4/6 weeks old, so fins could be a tad sharp and bad luck with a leggie nick on some solid, should be out on a short board days, size swell.

Leg Ropes...THE BEST IS Balin..10mm and 9foot long...sold at North Freo Sup at about $70...I use every day at Yals...and you do need a very good leggy at that break.

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Nerdburger said..
Yeah both leggies snapped 1 ft from the rail saver.

Seems like a fin cut.
- sand the trailing edge of your fins, especially inside the deep point of the "sickle"
- but the most important: before facing whitewater with a possibility of falling or letting your board go, orient it so that it is not facing the wave: otherwise the wave will push the board onto the leash fins-first, and even with sanded fins it risk cutting the cord, whatever its quality.

I have never had an O&E leash break "naturally" on me, but I have cut more than my share with fins...

Ah, I forgot: replace the rope loops by 2 dyneema loops. I cut the built-in ones on my O&E before installing them.
See my post in www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Leg-rope-recommendations-2?page=1

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ianm said..
Leg Ropes...THE BEST IS Balin..10mm and 9foot long...sold at North Freo Sup at about $70...I use every day at Yals...and you do need a very good leggy at that break.

Absolutely agree with this, Balin 10mm is the bomb, I usually only got the 8 foot one though.
That sounds short but they hardly stretch at all so there is hardly any recoil, they really test out the hip and knee joints but my leg hasn't fallen off yet.

Balin monster coil. Da best!

I checked the leggy on one of my boards a few years ago & found the cord was starting to fray at the attachment plug. Found that the plug had hard edges on the inside diameter that I sanded the edges smooth. Then I just attached an extra bit of nylon cord. Speargun cord would do as well. So it doubles the cord strength.
Other than that like Colas says its fins & any small nicks & cuts along the leash that will cause a weak point.
Simply accidently treading on your leash on a hard rough surface can do it.

Must admit I've been using the waist leashes and absolutely love them.

I got sick to death of getting caught in the impact zone which we've all found ourselves and then the fun starts with one's leg or rather ankle getting pulled in every direction. I'm trying to source a thicker coil leash if that's possible.

There are inherent pros and cons with a coil which I'll cover in a follow up post having used both.

And this morning... fin cut!!!
Was caught in the impact zone of a good set, I guess the board was tumbled and found itself fins first.
Some sanding duty for me now...

On the plus side, using a leash for my paddling simulator taught me which knots were working, so I just did a simple (in French) "noeud de plein poing" - literally: "full fist knot", I do not know the English name.www.lesnoeuds.com/noeud-78-noeud-de-plein-poing.html

And I could go on with my session... ugly and added some drag, but better than the ling hike to the van to get a spare leash.

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ghost4man said..
Must admit I've been using the waist leashes and absolutely love them.

I got sick to death of getting caught in the impact zone which we've all found ourselves and then the fun starts with one's leg or rather ankle getting pulled in every direction. I'm trying to source a thicker coil leash if that's possible.

There are inherent pros and cons with a coil which I'll cover in a follow up post having used both.

can't wait to hear about the pros and cons. I started with a waist leash a while ago, as my leash got caught on some rocks once and I saw the writing on the wall when I couldn't get to it easily. Also in the inertia there is a recent article on leashes tangling your legs together and getting caught. Probably not going to happen in the waves that I surf, but I just feel safer with a waist leash, plus less pull on my leg and better for walking up and down the board.

Bad karma!

Like Colas said about fin cuts... When I first went to SUP from short boards, I had a few leash breaks. Figured out that it was the fins pretty quick, and started inspecting/replacing them whenever I found a nick. Seems to happen most when punching through waves and falling off or bailing off just before the wave, as the board gets pushed backward, leash into fin trailing edge. On waves I can't get through and have to bail, I started making sure to kick or push the board sideways, and the problem disappeared. I use Dakine Kainui 5/15x9' leashes. What exiled said about the rail-saver point is true, but you can see the outer black sheath worn through, and see the white inner cords if you inspect them regularly. I've only found one like this, as I wash with fresh water every time, and the one I'm on now has lasted a year, surfing 3 times per week. I often surf a mile off shore, so I'm fanatical about leash inspection. The slightest imperfection, and it gets binned.

They all break. I broke 2 creatures last year in 2 weeks. A surer option is to wear 2. Also reduces tombstoning which is a great. Cheers

Probably NOT this one!

I was involved in a rescue of sorts yesterday, when a novice used a thin nylon string as a leash.
Almost cut his foot off.
Took 5 minutes to cut the line.... his foot was being choked off.


It left a deep mark all around his ankle, that looked pretty serious.


Luckily his bid board broke the line when he wiped out, instead of dragging him.

and yes.... I did school him as he lay helpless in the sand.
I showed him what a proper leggie looked like

I'll post a video of it at some point.... yes, my Kook Hat Cam was rolling through the entire incident.

Hey Ghostman - give us some more feedback on the waist leash - super curious ... I wanna get one .... for bigger waves / general wave sup surfing with smaller sups ...

I use the modulair Smart Leash Co leashes now for 2 years and i must say i feel more confident than with the other brands i had before (main players).
i was not dissatisfied with the other brands, but i managed to snap all of them and so far no damage with the SLC ??
sure that a fin will cut any normal leash Hahaha lucky lately

waist leash, get a diving weight belt, remove the buckle, sew on some 50mm velcro, put the ankle cuff around the belt and you're done.
use a 10mm Balin storm, super strong, no stretch (much) and you hardly feel the tug on the waist leash.
good for bad backs and problem knees!!