It seems that there is a growing trend among our longboard friends that it is much cooler not to wear a legrope.
Not matter how good they are they do lose their boards.
I witnessed a number of loose boards at first point come through the line up where many younger kids are learning to surf. Same thing at Jonnos Noosa as well and saw a girl get her nose broken from a lost mal.
I wonder if they will fell so cool when someone sues them for injury and expenses.
What is happenning at other areas with this trend???
errrr that sounds pretty silly ay!! I reckon longbaords are deadly when they are ropeless.. I would be pretty "ropeable" if one hit me ropeless..
lonboard owner
RIO
no problems around my surf spots with minni and mals,most use leggies but a new curse is creeping in apon us.The STAND UP PADDLE CRUISER and these things are deadly.
Like most things in surfing it sounds like going ropeless is becoming just another 'old school' trend. Wannabes and has beens trying to 'bring back the feeling' when they never had it in the first place.
Not really a problem at my local I only know of one of other guy who goes ropeless and hes as old school as it gets.
But like Lucky Mac said the SUP scourge in the lineup is something I cannot fathom
I'm a big fan of ropeless I enjoy the 'extra' freedom and the no tangles, but only when it's appropriate...ie only when the waves are small, the crowd is light, and there is a good deep inside gutter to stop your board going all the way in. Saying that I have enough confidence in my longboarding that I won't lose my board in most situations.
I agree with chadster, One has to seriously think about the 'negligence' in legal terms of not wearing a leggie, but saying that I see the just as much negligence with those that wear leggies.
were do you surf?
I've been around long enough,I've seen the best of the best come unstuck not wearing leggies! and the damage a lost board causes is not good for the head 
Ask my Bec who copped a stay board to the ear at Noosa and received 8 stitchers
[}:)] do you think she surfed again ? no!
mac
Any board with out a leash is deadly - it's not just the longboarders
Especially the people that ride the softboards in the flags (your alowed to ride a softboard under 6' in the flags at manly) on a busy day.
i dont know if people surf without legropes cause its 'cooler' . . .Maybesome do but I think there are other reasons to forgo a leash.
The stakes are higher if a fall means a swim, no leash can also mean 'we try harder'. There is nothing I like better than to get five and get back again without the backup of a legrope. Still if I'm on a long board in a crowded area I always wear a leggie. For some reason I always wear a leash when riding a short board.
What really worries me about you folk who say surfing without a legrope is reckless is that I suspect some of you are possibly the same people who throw your board at the slightest sniff of whitewater.
A surfer who is confident enough to surf without a legrope not only reflects traditional values but is probably a less dangerous person to surf with than a learner with a leash and 2 surf school lessons under his/her belt.
For those who dont know - there once was a time when there were no legropes and I seem to remember that was also the time when there were a lot less people in the water and those that were out there could swim more than 25 metres.
Rename general -> Shortboarding ?
