Which Style of Wing Leash Is Best for You?

This is Jeff and Ryan with MACkite, and we're here to help you make the decision between a wrist leash and a waist leash for your wing.

Waist Leash Pros & Cons

Jeff: I prefer the waist leash. I've ridden a lot of different leashes, and what I like about the waist leash is that it is around your waist. When you're trying to get out into the water, you have both your arms free so that you can paddle through the break, which is important when you start to get into a big break. It definitely lets you propel yourself through, and the pull of the board comes from your waist, not one of your arms, so that's one thing I really like about the waist leash for your wing.

It does slide around your waist pretty easily, so if your leash gets tangled up, you can just slide it back into place to give you the full extension you need for your wing. And if you have a harness, you can attach your waist leash there.

The other advantage that I like about the waist leash for your wing is that when you're pumping and getting started, it doesn't get wrapped around your arm; it seems to stay out of the way.

On the flip side of that, something to consider with a waist leash is that when you're transitioning or you're doing a jibe or a tack, sometimes the leash can get wrapped around the back of your neck a little bit. It's nothing to be too alarmed about; you can just quickly pick the wing up and bring the leash back over. It doesn't happen to me as often as it used to when I first used it, so I've obviously made some subtle adjustments in my turns and my jibes to prevent that.

If you're more of a beginner or a budding intermediate, the other thing you're going to notice is that the waist leash doesn't have as much room as the wrist leash does because the distance between you and your wing is shorter, so when you're trying to flip the wing over in the water, it can feel a little tighter on you. This is something to consider when you're making that decision.

Wrist Leash Pros & Cons

Ryan: I've been riding the wrist leash. The reason that I like riding the wrist leash over the waist leash is that I've been riding a waist leash for my board, so rather than having both leashes attached to my waist I've got one attached to my wrist and one attached to my waist. If there's ever any malfunction in either one of the leashes, I'm still attached to one or the other part of my gear.

The disadvantage to the wrist leash is that the same thing can happen where it can get tossed around your neck if you've got too long of a leash, so it's important to make sure that you're sizing up that leash appropriately to the wing that you're using. The larger the wing you have, the longer leash you're going to need, so make sure you've got the right size leash. You shouldn't have a lot of extra slack when you grab onto the wing with your back hand. If you have too long of a leash, it's going to give it more opportunity to get coiled behind your head, and when you're pumping that wing it's going to be flapping in your face the whole time, so make sure that you're getting the right size leash line for your wrist leash.

I really haven't seen it with the waist leash, but the wrist leash also comes in a coil version. This is kind of a new thing and there aren't a whole lot of brands doing the coiled wrist leash; most of them are selling the straight leash. I just grabbed one by Ion the other day because I was without a leash and figured I'd give it a shot.

One feature that I like is the little carabiner on the wrist cuff. You can wrap your leash around your foil mast, a park bench, a sign, or whatever you have and clip the carabiner back onto the leash itself. It is a really easy system to secure your wing while it's sitting on the beach.

One thing that I haven't liked of wrist coil leashes in the past is that, once you get pumping the wing, the coil tends to be pretty heavy, and it can create a banjo effect where it smacks you in the face and gets in your way, which is not real fun when you're out there riding.

However, the one from Ion seems to have a little thinner diameter and may even be coiled a little bit tighter, so I really haven't had any issues with it like I have with other coiled wrist leashes in the past. A coiled wrist leash is definitely a good idea. It helps take up some of that slack that can cause issues with it potentially wrapping around you or flappin

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