Do you use powder leashes. Why? Why not?

I have been wondering about the use of powder leashes in the bc trying to weigh out the pros and cons. I have a deep seated and not completely unfounded fear of loosing a ski in deep snow. I also remember safety straps and the injury that can result from being hit by your ski. Is anyone using leashes these days? If so, how do you justify it? If not, what's the problem?

I ski with leashes quite a bit of the time. Many people (myself included) include a zip-tie somewhere in the chain to ensure that it's not a rigid connection.

Leashes have saved me from losing a ski to gravity on an icy volcano in addition to making it easier to recover a lost ski in deep snow. I've seen a couple of falls with leashed skis that were scary to watch, as the skis thrashed around near the skier and generally compromised self-arrest. Wearing a helmet may help to mitigate the worst of the risk.

Leashes are fiddly and antagonistic toward the convenience of the step-in binding. Some folks use a coil-spring leash (see B+D for the most popular) that allows you to click in, click out, reskin, and make short carries without removing the leash. I prefer a simple leash (see BD Clipwire (?) ) clipped to a ziptie attached to a solid part of my boot.

Also, brakes are heavy, mechanically complicated, and get in the way of rotating the heelpiece (this is changing with new lifter designs).

Search TAY for more on this. There was a great thread here a couple years ago.

I always have a set in the pack, if the ski crampons go on so do the leashes.     My ski brakes will not work with the crampons, I've noticed guys with tech bindings and no ski breaks without leashes......asking for a problem.  I've had the joy of chest deep pow and a ski that torpedoed in, no fun trying to find it.  So yep inthe deep fluf the leashes go on.  In my early ski days they where standard with only one ski tip in the........ well lets say it made the chair rides for the rest of the day uncomfortable.

Two kinds of leashes.

First kind. I once bought a pair of powder leashes (after losing a ski in deep snow at Roger's Pass but then found they were a real hassle being so long and sticking them up the pants leg; these leashes of course are meant to lead a long string on the surface of the snow so one can find the buried ski. I can't remember throwing them away but I never used them more than once.

Second kind. I routinely carry B&D "telephone cord" leashes. I really like them on hard snow especially when using crampons or skinning up. I can click out of my bindings without any fear of the ski slipping away and I don only have to reach to my boot cuff to trap the leash, pull the ski up, take on crampons and/or skins, and lower the ski down to put my boot in the bindings. The telephone cord design helps keep the ski away from me if the bindings release on the downhill; I also using a zip tie in case the ski gets really hung up or if there is an avalanche.

The B and D ski leashes rock. www.bndskigear.com/skileash.html

They use a break-away attachment so in avalanche the leash will break and not drag you down. The long stretchy leash also avoids "windmill" injuries.

Beyond that they rock for transitions -- cause you may remove your skis without removing the leash -- so no worries about a ski skittering away during a transistion.

Yes, I like my BnD leashes too. I had one fall where I broke the zip tie - a slo-mo shrub impact (skiing with Randy, in fact) - and I felt nothing. It broke away nicely.

gone leash no brake for over 10 years without many problems.
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i justify using leashes in two ways. Lighter than brakes, and more reliable on hard steep snow conditions. The B and D leash looks like a good tool for sketchy upper mountain conditions, or deep pow days, but is heavy. I use the Black Diamond Clipwire like Charlie, but have found that zip ties are not strong enough or predictable enough (suffer from wear). Some brands may be better than others. I use a 14ga solid copper loop with four twists at the loose ends. This seems to hold well, and consistently, with no significant wear over the years, and will pull loose with about 100# force (tested several times in my shop). I will probably try the B and D leash next spring with my La Sportivas, since they have no where to attach a link.

TAY sponsor Feathered Friends has B & D leashes in stock. Just picked up a pair myself.

most excellent feedback. thanks.

Yes, I use the dynafit shorty leashes and swagged cable loop to attach them to my boots. I don't have brakes on my bc skis and it would be a long walk home if I lost a ski. Most of my partners use the B&D leashes, they look a little easier to get in and out of with the additional length.