I had a cheap SUP leash (Aztron) break at the point where it attaches to the neoprene strap. I guess it had just bent and it was almost ready to break when I noticed on the beach.

Later on at home, I attached a thin rope around the "throat" part that remained intact and to my surprise I was easily able to pull and break that off too. There's a set screw that holds the metal swivel inside the plastic cup.

More expensive brand name coiled leashes look pretty similar. Are the coils just plastic all the way through or is there a cord running through? Looking at the design, it's either really bad or intentionally weak. Are the leashes intentionally made to break on high stress? I can kind understand how that might be beneficial and save limbs (let's say the leash gets caught in a car that drives away and the other end is attached to your leg). If they are made to break, then there's probably no reason to make the coil part strong either, so those would be plastic all the way through too? I haven't cut that part...I'm considering salvaging this leash (it was almost brand new and only used 5 times) by running lines through the hole on the swivel (bottom right corner photo).

Just buy quality leashes. They will stretch to absorb the tension, more than an inner cord would allow, but wont break.
Also, sand your fins to avoid fin cuts. And learn to alleviate the tension on the leash in wipeouts.

The extra you will pay for a good leash will be saved 10 times by what you save on board repairs in case of a leash break. Or even more in case of injuries to others or the risk you get getting stuck in rips without a board.

I use O&E ONE XT leashes, but others may have also favorite ones. (Creatures are good too). In all brands, avoid the entry-level leashes.



PS: my first leash 40 years ago was a rubber tube with a cord in it. Go quite hard pulls on the leg...

Totally agree.. Buy once and save the stress!!

Balin great leashes.

I had the same thing happen got a bit of webbing material sewn on in a small loop and then ran a small dee shackle through the swivel it may need a small amount of drilling out but is much better

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stroppo said..
I had the same thing happen got a bit of webbing material sewn on in a small loop and then ran a small dee shackle through the swivel it may need a small amount of drilling out but is much better

That's pretty much what I'll probably do to start with at least. As far as I can tell, the broken part is the weakest link on the leashes I use, so if I remove that part from all of them and just run a line through that hole (possibly twice), they should still do the job for a while. I bought the Aztron leashes from a supermarket, but that was after I saw that my windsurfing dealer was also stocking them. The windsurfing dealer then later stopped selling them due to the breakage issue.

I don't put a lot of stress on the leash in the conditions I sail in. This one was probably broken because I have it on my belt and the part coming out at a 90? angle was constantly being (gently) bent/pushed down by my impact vest.

I have some non-coiled fabric leashes (like windsurfing uphauls, but thinner). That's what I used on Thursday. I might also switch to using one coiled and one fabric leash.

Note: in fall 2016, a company announced the "silver cord"
magicseaweed.com/news/silver-cord-the-end-of-losing-a-board-after-a-leash-break/9436/

... but they seem to have disappeared in early 2017. (their instagram and twitter posts stop in Jan 2017)
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/The-Silver-Cord--safety-leash?page=1

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JuriM said..
the broken part is the weakest link on the leashes I use

... and is also where there is the most difference with quality leashes...

(I had no issue with my Da Kine colied leash when foiling)

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colas said..

JuriM said..
the broken part is the weakest link on the leashes I use

... and is also where there is the most difference with quality leashes...

(I had no issue with my Da Kine colied leash when foiling)

I have the same type of leash on my 5.0 and as a board leash and those have been used about 40 times this summer. This new one for the 3.5 broke after 5 times, so it may have just been faulty to start with. Now that I've seen what's inside that part, I'm just going to cut the old ones too to prevent sudden failure. I was going to add a safety loop brom the belt to the plastic neck, but as you can see from the photo, the neck also broke very easily when I tried pulling the safety line I had attached to it.

i can't even tell you how many times I've heard of people losing boards and wings due to "cheap leashes" failing. Also happens to good leashes that are worn out (like bad or peeling up velcro). Also, the little rope pigtails people use w/ leashes are sometimes not tied tight or correctly.

I bought a Balin Storm legrope for my SUP after snapping a previous brand rope. I have used it once and since taken it off. At 10mm thick, this thing could be used to tie a small tanker up in port. The issue with it is that it has no flex, so I reckon you stand a good chance of needing a knee reconstruction if you get caught in a big set.