leash or safety strap ????

[lowrider]

why do riders on boards get singled out for no tether straps when skiers are exempt? new year new rules? $7 for a piece of string and a hook. my hill treats people like politicians treat tax payers what happened to the fun??? when was the last time you found a snowboard with a boot in it under the chairlift ? I did come across a ski with the sole of a boot in it should have checked out the condition of those old boots better before i put on all that duct tape !!

[crucible]

I agree completely.

If you're board comes off your foot- then your definitely doing a lot of things wrong- or you've just been hit full bore by a class 2 avalanche in which case losing your snowboard might be a good thing.

Out west, it seems to be a bit less anal- I hardly see safety straps on snowboards anymore, and if I do, they're usually flimsy little hooks that look like they would break if you coughed too hard.

Personally, I like the old school long runaway straps on my carving boards, but not because of its intended purpose. I find them handy for carrying the board across the parking lot back to my car.

I clip the strap together across the two toe plates and then sling the board across my shoulder. Especially when I go with my family, having the extra arm free because I'm carrying my board allows me to carry the rest of my family's gear- that's why they call me "Sherpa Dad"...

I went looking for a long runaway strap in eight of the top snowboard shops in Vancouver yesterday - and came away skunked.

All the shops had were those flimsy clips - half the shops didn't even know what I was talking about- one kid looked at me puzzled and said "Oh, like you mean for a Noboard? Sorry dude, we don't carry that".

SIGH.

Guess I'll go to my nearest Mountain Equipment Coop and make my own.

[xxguitarist]

A friend was telling me that anything over a certain length (ski wise) must have releasable bindings (which have integrated brakes), and most snowbladers that I have seen use bail type, non-releasable bindings much like ours. They often wear leashes, too.

That said, I've never had a liftie give me any trouble while on a hardboot setup, only rental softboot boards.

[tufty]

why do riders on boards get singled out for no tether straps when skiers are exempt? new year new rules? $7 for a piece of string and a hook. my hill treats people like politicians treat tax payers what happened to the fun??? when was the last time you found a snowboard with a boot in it under the chairlift ? I did come across a ski with the sole of a boot in it should have checked out the condition of those old boots better before i put on all that duct tape !!

Riders on boards, many skiers with AT bindings, along with snowskates and snowblades get singled out for leashes because they have one thing in common - no brake on the bindings. It's not on the lift that it's a danger, it's runaways when putting boards on at the top, or (quite frequently with rental bindings) when the entire binding comes off with the boot. I've seen what a runaway can do to a lift cabin after doing 50 feet or so of vertical, you really don't want to be in the way. Think decapitation.

Yes, there are always extreme edge cases where security bindings won't deploy their brakes; loss of the entire sole is one of those cases. Very rare, though, and not worth the added danger that having leashes on skis introduces.

[Kimo]

I think their concern is runaway equipment after a wipeout. Skis have, in their bindings, those little braking arms that pop out when the binding releases. Tele skis don't have those brakes so I think they have to have leashes.

I don't think snowboards should be required to have leashes. When has anyone ever become completely detached from their board? You would have to have both bindings detach from the board (as in insert failure or something) and, guess what, the leash goes from your boot to your binding (not the board) so the friggin' board is gone anyway.

I've seen one runaway snowboard. It happened when the rider was trying to strap in. Since the leash is the last thing you connect anyway, the leash couldn't have prevented that incident either.

Snowboard leashes are STOOPID (sic).

[biggerwrangler]

worse i see is when they don't put the leash on and let it drag in the snow and then wonder why they keep falling!

[martyagt4]

I use a leash. I consider it cheap insurance in case something odd happens. Just saw an instructor, of all people, lose a board yesterday. Thankfully it missed several people.

And I always clip it first.

[crucible]

In 20 years of riding, I have only had a snowboard run away from me once.

ONCE.

I was trying to keep my speed up on a cat-track at Whistler, during a heavy snow day.

At a bottle neck turn, I had to drop off the cat track on to the shoulder and then into the trees to avoid a skier pile up- and then found myself thigh deep in unconsolidated powder.

After wallowing out of my bindings, I proceeded to throw my board up onto the cat track , only to have it land base first and then slide away for 100 feet.

My family still never lets me forget that one.;)

[tufty]

I've seen one runaway snowboard. It happened when the rider was trying to strap in. Since the leash is the last thing you connect anyway, the leash couldn't have prevented that incident either.

You have your attachment order all wrong. Leash first, bindings after. If you have those wanky little leashes than you can be forgiven, I guess, as your foot needs to be in the binding before you can attach it, but that's a fault of the leash being designed for people who don't understand what leashes are for, and who will leave it unattached.

Snowboard leashes are STOOPID (sic).

No comment.

[Rob Stevens]

I don't think snowboards should be required to have leashes. When has anyone ever become completely detached from their board? You would have to have both bindings detach from the board (as in insert failure or something) and, guess what, the leash goes from your boot to your binding (not the board) so the friggin' board is gone anyway.

Snowboard leashes are STOOPID (sic).

Clearly, you've never been hit by a runaway binding, have you?

[Kimo]

You have your attachment order all wrong. Leash first, bindings after. If you have those wanky little leashes than you can be forgiven, I guess, as your foot needs to be in the binding before you can attach it, but that's a fault of the leash being designed for people who don't understand what leashes are for, and who will leave it unattached.

No comment.

I'll consider myself forgiven as that is the type of leash I use and I do attach it.

[Kimo]

Clearly, you've never been hit by a runaway binding, have you?

Huh? Please explain.

[Randy T.]

I saw an incident yesterday where a leash prevented a board from falling from the chair lift.

There was a guy riding the chair with me and the toe bail on his TD1 released, I think he might have kicked it with his free foot.

Anyway his board was left dangling by the leash. Had it fallen he would have had a long walk down to recover the board. So many bad scenarios for that if the board had dropped.

I know that it was a fluke occurrence but it made me think that I should be using a leash.

[Corey]

I agree with the principle - that all skis/boards should have devices to prevent runaway equipment. But the execution is all wrong and completely pointless on a snowboard.

One local resort has an employee in each lift line whose only job is to check for snowboard leashes. I actually had a hard time convincing the one guy that my Bomber leash actually was a leash. He had never seen plates before and didn't really understand what he was looking for. Even unclipping and leaving the board dangling from my foot via the leash wasn't enough proof for him. Luckily a supervisor wasn't that far away...

[shawndoggy]

I saw an incident yesterday where a leash prevented a board from falling from the chair lift.

There was a guy riding the chair with me and the toe bail on his TD1 released, I think he might have kicked it with his free foot.

Anyway his board was left dangling by the leash. Had it fallen he would have had a long walk down to recover the board. So many bad scenarios for that if the board had dropped.

I know that it was a fluke occurrence but it made me think that I should be using a leash.

After 22 years of riding, the same thing happened to me last season... except that my leash also by freak happenstance popped open and I saw my board careen out of control from the top of the chairlift.

If you don't think it can't happen to you... well, it can. Just about the worst feeling you can possibly have... to have no control and know something really really bad could happen as a result. Happily the board crashed into a snowbank and stopped, but the jibbers it buzzed gave me an earful (and rightfully so).

[Rob Stevens]

My sarcasm goes unnoted alot. I hate emoticons:AR15firin

Don't fight the power. Attach your leash to an unused front binding insert and have at it.

[tufty]

I'll consider myself forgiven as that is the type of leash I use and I do attach it.

:)

Consider getting (or making) a long leash, they are a whole load better / less of a pain in the ass. For example, with a "below the knee" leash you can (as has been noted) loop it betweeen bindings to provide a shoulder strap for your board when walking to and from the lift or hiking up to the backcountry, you can even detach your bindings and carry your board with the leash attached.

On top of that, they do what they are supposed to do: i.e. protect you from runaways when you're strapping / clipping / clicking in / out; the one time when you are really liable to have a runaway. They also protect you on the lift (I've seen a lot of boards come off on the lift, although that doesn't usually end with a runaway as they tend to remain in the pit at the end of the takeoff ramp), but that's less important unless you're running hardboots 'n bails.

I don't know about the states, but a leash is a legal requirement over here on any device that doesn't have approved brakes fitted if you want to use it on "approved" slopes (i.e. in any resort served by lifts).

I think the "runaway binding" thing was a joke. Well, I know it was a joke, but hey.

[tufty]

FWIW, I've had a few binding releases on the lift, with various softy step-in rigs (clickers being most prone to it) and with hardboots and bails. I've also lost a ski once (for shame, ice under boot), which made for an "amusing" one-ski descent offpiste to retrieve.

[Rob Stevens]

Burton soft bindings with speed ratchets can be released with one errant kick. This kick came from the safety bar with foot rest engaging the buckle when I lifted it to get off.

That day, my board practically wound up back in town.

Lots of good reasons to use one. I also like to NoBoard occasionally, standing behind, or between, the bindings, so I've got that going for me, too.

[martyagt4]

The lift scenario is what worries me the most. I'm either trying to get comfortable, or smacking snow off my board with my free foot. I can just imagine hitting my toe bail just right and sending the board for a ride all on it's lonesome.

[Kimo]

I thought it might be a joke. Wasn't sure, but didn't think it was trash talking.

About leashes being stupid... I wanted to clarify that I think they are stupid because they (as far as I have seen) all attach to the binding. I got back on here to further say that I wouldn't think they were stupid if they attached the boot directly to the board, maybe by screwing into an unused insert, but I see someone has just beat me to that.

I used to have a long leash, but I prefer the shorter ones... even if it means I can no longer shoulder carry my boards as I used to do.

[Vahur]

I think that this issue had come up at least couple of times in this forum. And leash is to prevent run-away board when boots are not strapped/clicked/bailed to bindings, not to help unlikely cases when equipment fails.

I've seen run-away board (one guy lost it while strapping) and I don't want to see anything like that never again: fortunately all this board caused was hitting skier's boots in relatively level hill and causing skier to fall without injury, but if this had happened on steeper slope then getting hit by such missile could mean wheel-chair (when hit to spine) or decapitation (when hit to neck).

Here is another example of reason to use leash and keep yourself from getting into Darwin award list:

http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=212510&postcount=6

[Recon]

I use a leash---- just because it makes a great shoulder strap when I carry the board !!!!!!!!

[KingCrimson]

Ahh leashes. I've been on the snow 7 times in hardboots, and probably 5 times in softies. That's very little time, but I've seen enough and I have very good reasons why several things should be mandatory. If you haven't seen a snowboarding going mach one without anyone on it, you'll go pale when you do.

1- Mandatory UL listed leashes of a certain length. Give NO reason to remove the leash until you walk inside the lodge. The spiral stretchy ones, such as those used in Hard Attack, would appear to be the strongest. Light steel braided cable inside a jacket, with a swivel that threads into an insert. Solid clips too.

2- All new snowboards have to have a standardized leash insert about an inch in front of the insert pack.

Riding at Mt. Cesspool a total of 7 times, I've seen 8 runaway boards. EIGHT. Biggest issue is at night. If you venture off the commonly used trails, you are on solid ice. For 90% of people, this would involve getting up, falling 2 feet later. What happens? They carelessly unstrap while frustrated and in pain to try and walk out. Bye bye snowboard! Now you have 8 pounds of fiberglass and wood on wet ice. Great. At least you can't complain about the customer service when the terrain park crewmember runs and dives onto the board

Mt Baldy, generally all skiers, I've seen one run away. This one was bad. Anyone who has been to Baldy knows it is disgustingly steep, and all the snow blows off and leaves ice. I don't know the circumstances of the snowboard being released, but it hit Mach 1 and then chose the most solid tree to hit. No clue what it looked like, but it couldn't be pretty.

It'll be a pain in the ass to get people to comply, to do it yourself, to standardize it all. People will still die and get hurt at ski resorts, because we can't pad every tree, can't rope off every cliff. We will still get hit by the straightliner, break our wrists on ice because skidders took it all off, we will still break our ribs and seperate our shoulders, but if you can do one more thing so that I don't get hit, you don't get hit, the 3 year olds that carve like olympic racers don't get hit, and every other person on the mountain doesn't get hit, why not?

[Kaida]

I too love the long leashes doubling as a shoulder strap. Even if leashes may not save the day in all situations, it provides enough safety benefits that I consider it necessary equipment.

Ultimately, they're like helmets. Some people don't think they need to wear one, but when/if the day comes -- with leash or helmet, you're going to thank your lucky stars you had one, or cursing yourself for not.

Odds are, resorts' insurance policies probably require leashes to be in use, so enforcement of the rule is just CYA.