River Surf Leashes, Critical Review (updated 4/19/24)

Open post in browser for chart of leash options (none are good)… Updated this blog post April 19, 2024 (originally posted 6/5/23) for clarification of terms and additional info. Read and share this river surfing leash info.

Leash Type	Good Points	Bad Points (Comments to Mitigate)
Ankle Leash	Keeps surfboard near you & able to swim drag the board to the eddy line.	Unable to release when held down. Documented deaths in river waves from ankle leashes.… STOP USING ANKLE LEASHES… UPDATE: If you must use an ankle leash at least zip tie mod it to self-release. If you have a cheap leash and you can’t zip tie, toss the crap out, you are asking to die. Spend the $50 bucks for an XM river surf calf/knee leash and hopefully zip tie mod it.. Worth your life.
Quick Release Snap Shackle-PFD	Intuitive and easy to find/purchase . Good for downriver SUP use (not good for river surfing).	Intuitive as in meaning not based on any factual evidence it works. Reported to fall apart. Near fatality due to surfer unable locate pull quick release tab/ball while held down. UPDATE: Sept 2023 Paddle UK org commissioned study results showed high failure rate of QR leashes because the test subjects could not locate and pull the release mechanism 10% to 42% of the time. Here is the Paddle UK statement: https://paddleuk.org.uk/quick-release-leash-systems-in-a-white-water-environment/ Paddle UK recommends no leash system in the whitewater environment until a failsafe self-releasing leash is developed and sold to the public…. High profile drowning death of PNW downriver SUP paddler Charles Claassen summer 2023 unable to deploy snap shackle leash or rescue vest quick release in entanglement… If you are still going to use this QR leash system, at least zip tie mod it and practice pulling it hundreds of times for muscle memory and have a friend surprise yank on your leash to see if you could release it timely.
Quick Release-Belt	Same as Quick Release-PFD	Belt spins on body. Unable to find release mechanism. No proof it works during hold down. UPDATE: DON’T USE THIS LEASH. Paddle UK study showed this leash failed 10% to 42% of time. If you are still going to use this type of leash, zip tie mod it.
Quick Release-Calf/Knee	More likely able to locate in hold down. Natural body placement on leg. Safer alternative to the ankle leash.	Not proven in hold down situations. Death (Bend, OR 2022) using a quick release-calf/knee leash that was a contributing factor. All types of leashes are now prohibited at the Bend Wave… Hard to purchase (online only- https://xmsurfmore.com/collections/river-lake/products/xm-riversurf-leash-power-clip-knee-calf or https://www.dakine.com/products/river-floating-6-x-1-4-with-easy-clip-surf-leash). UPDATE: If you are going to use this type of leash, zip tie mod it so you don’t drown if you can’t figure out how to pull the ring/pin in the few seconds you have being held under.
Rescue Vest PFD w/ Quick Release Harness	USED ONLY BY SWIFT WATER TRAINED INDIVIDUALS	UPDATE: Not a proper device for river surfing. It is a “rescue” vest developed for rescues and not safe as a daily surf leash. UK study in 2013 showed the rescue vest failed 25% of the time due to threading issues of the harness belt. Sure a rescuer would risk a 25% failure to make a save, but there is no reason for risking such a failure rate jumping onto a river wave literally hundreds of times. UK Study on rescue vests failure: https://www.whitewaterguidebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Quick-Release-Harness-paper-IJES.pdf …. Documented fireman’s death from rescue vest and recently PNW downriver SUP paddler Charles Claassen summer 2023 unable to deploy snap shackle leash or rescue vest quick release in entanglement.
Rope	None	Have actually seen this at a river wave and was blown away by it. Only thing worse than an ankle leash!
No Leash	Safest for most part	Some waves you will loose your board without a leash. You also will loose your floatation device. Swims become critical.
Future Technology	River surfing specific leash	Costly R&D and manufacturing. Flawed business heuristic thinking has so far killed the idea because people honestly think their leash choice works, even though they have absolutely no proof their leash is safe and thus ignore the obvious dangerous failings of the leash they use in the river.. UPDATE: The Sept 2013 Paddle UK study has been attacked by the SUP community and other organizations as inaccurate; however, such blanketed statements are done so without any counter studies and is foolish at best if not outright negligent. SUP community can take care of SUP, river surfing needs to have tested and safe failsafe self-releasing leashes.

LEASH SUGGESTIONS:

• UPDATE: Learn to river surf without a leash but if you must use a leash, zip tie modify and read this article on even the safety concerns of a zip tie mod that has never been lab tested: https://denversurfreport.blog/2024/04/15/self-releasing-leash-zip-tie-mod/
• DON’T WEAR AN ANKLE LEASH!!! There is no way to undue and ankle leash in a hold down situation from leash wrapped/stuck on underwater items such as rocks and other debris.
• If you are an ocean surfer, go with a quick release leash attached to your calf/under the knee that you are naturally used to finding the leash on your back leg. You will have no clue how to find your pfd or belt leash release mechanism because it is not part of your “muscle memory” in the few seconds you have held underwater…. Go with the XM Surfmore “XM RIVER SURF SURFBOARD LEASH / POWER-CLIP / KNEE/CALF / COMP (.220in)” leash at $56.95
• If you insist on a pfd or belt attached quick release leash, practice it literally a thousand times: (blindfolded; looking the other way; hanging the other end off a door handle while you are lying on the ground; have your buddy surprise pull on your leash in the river to then release the leash; pour holy water on it; don’t play the lottery to save up all you luck for when you hope you can deploy the quick release). Oh, and double check the string that ties the ball or handle thingy to make sure it will not fall off if you can find it in a hold down. UPDATE: Zip tie mod your leash and learn to not inadvertently self-release it by not doing the swim drag thing that submarines the board.
• If God forbid, you do wear a leash, try limiting the drag the board to the eddy. Learn to kick off the wave and grab the board. Also the leash can sling the board back at your head, I broke my nose once that way wearing a leash in the river, lucky my eye did not get put out.
• If you don’t wear a leash, scope down beyond the wave for the eddy outs and swims and river bank runs to get to your board. Stay calm in your swims but don’t delay swimming after your board. UPDATE: Write your phone number on your board so if it gets away, you might get a call it was found. A lost board is better than a lost life.
• Everyone else; keep an eye after someone comes unstuck off the wave. First for a safety check of the surfer and secondly to point to where the board is for the non-leash surfer.
• Lastly, demand the river surfing industry and retailers come up with a true river surfing leash with fail-safe secondary release redundancy if the river surfer held under and is unable to “quick release” their leash….. Crap, we can put a man on the moon, surely we can build a better river surfing leash!!!!

Comment section below is open, so fire away on this hot topic of river surf leashes.

LBK