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“I remember surfing at home at Dixon Park, Newcastle,” legendary surfer/shaper Peter McCabe told Surfline. “It was huge and just MR and I were out, and we were caught by a big clean-up set. I tried to duck-dive it, but lost my board immediately. I came up and couldn’t believe my board was right next to me. I jumped on and started paddling until I heard MR yelling at me to get off his board. I couldn’t understand how he was still attached to the other end of it.”
“It was the first time I’d ever seen a leash,” McCabe added. “I got one for my trip to Bali not long after, and the first time I ever used one was at Kuta Reef in 1975. It was a total game-changer.”
For most surfers, it’s impossible to imagine a world without the leash (with or without MR attached to it). Today, almost every surfer in the world wears one every session. MR and McCabe were early adopters, but even by then leashes had been around a while. In the 1930s, Tom Blake attached a 10-foot length of rope to his board from a belt on his waist — before the balsa wood log almost tore his pelvis off. Then in the early 1960s, French surfer George Hennebutte used an elastic line and a double-velcro ankle strap. He called it a footline.
Pat O’Neill testing early prototypes. Photo: O’Neill Archives
The invention of the modern surf leash, though, is often attributed to Pat O’Neill, son of wetsuit guru Jack O’Neill. In 1970, Pat fastened a length of surgical tubing to the nose of his board with a suction cup and looped the other end to his wrist. He soon figured out (the hard way, no doubt) that tail-to-ankle was a better configuration, and by late 1971 that design, known as a board saver, was sold in California stores.
All those early models, some of which used marine surplus bungee cord, shared one big design fault: the stretch and recoil of the cord. That’s exactly how Jack O’Neill lost his eye. Then in 1976, leash technology took a great leap forward. John Malloy, an American living in Western Australia, had seen a washing machine repairman use urethane to replace fan belts, so Malloy hooked one end to a post, the other end to a tractor, and started driving. The strength was amazing, and by 1976, he founded Pipe Lines and introduced urethane leashes to the market.
Malloy added further tech to his great urethane leap. He started Creatures of Leisure in the 1980s, then in 2002, he introduced a stainless-steel bearing swivel with acetal plastic, which stopped the swivels from seizing up. This became the industry standard for surf leashes across the globe. Five years later, Creatures released the DNA Flex Mould, a patented cord-to-mold connection that absorbed wave impact, increased strength and reduced breakages. Their current premium leash, the Superlite, is the culmination of three decades of innovation by Malloy and company. They claim the premium materials make for a “no leash feel.”
“Any designer can put lipstick on a pig, but it still oinks,” said Creatures of Leisure Brand & Product Director, Beau Campi. “The combination of elevated materials and components will always provide a more reliable, durable and functional piece of equipment. That’s the goal.”
Creatures of Leisure Superlite Pro 6 in Military – Buy Now
Brian Cregan is the other big innovator in the leash game. As a fledgling professional Cregan won an early version of the legrope, as Aussies still call them, in a surf contest. It promptly broke. So, being a trained carpenter, Cregan started designing his own. He saw a urethane cord for the first time in 1978 on Shaun Tomson’s board and knew that was the future. Not long after, Cregan started Ocean & Earth and remains the owner.
“Those lightbulb moments are fewer and farther between,” said Phil MacDonald, former World #4-now CEO of O&E. “Brian came up with the rail-saver, for example, in the 1970s, and about 30 years later, my brother Ant had the idea to add the sewn-in anchor cord.”
In 2010 O&E’s production manager, Steve Raynor, who’s worked alongside Cregan since the 1970s, designed and patented the One-XT technology, which uses just one cord and one component from swivel to swivel. That eliminated the need for end joins, which are the weakest points in conventional leashes. The plug buddy, a small piece of plastic that helps feed the leash rope through the leash plug, is another O&E introduction that actually came from customer feedback. Their premium One-XT leash features all these innovations.
“In terms of where we are headed, I’d say most surfers are looking for three things in their leashes now,” said MacDonald. “They want them stronger, lighter and greener.”
FCS concentrated on those three aspects in particular with their Freedom Helix leash. They reduced weight through a helical cord construction, which minimizes the cord diameter. They also machined their swivels from titanium, rather than the usual stainless-steel, which shaved off several grams of weight. Design-wise, the horn’s length is extended to kick the cord further away from the ankle, reducing back foot tangling.
The green, or sustainability, issues with leashes are harder to address, because the cord, usually made from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), represents the bulk of the product mass and is traditionally 100% petroleum-based. FCS addresses this by using a bio-based TPU made with 50% renewable-sourced material.
FCS Freedom Helix Leash in Natural – Buy Now
Revolwe, a Swedish brand that aims for more sustainable leashes, have teamed up with Slater Designs and use 20% recycled content urethane cord, Yulex cuff and 100% recycled PET bottles to make their ankle strap, rail-saver webbing and woven labels. And the company Sympl uses REPREVE, a leading recycled fiber, and claims each leash uses two recycled plastic bottles, although the cord itself is standard polyurethane.
And until a substitute material for urethane can be found, the eco-credentials of any leash remain somewhat of a hard sell. “There are alternative cords out there, but through our testing, their performance, durability and reliability do not stack up to polyurethane,” said Campi. “And with the leash doing such an important job, it’s a sacrifice [surfers] aren’t willing to make.”
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Dakine also uses urethane but have recently developed new tech to improve their leash’s performance. “Our Kaimana series utilizes a new cord that includes Speed Pockets,” said Todd Janda, Dakine’s product manager. “These are little dimples in the cord which make it cavitate and rise to the surface of the water rather than below, which reduces drag.”
A streamlined ankle cuff and a thin-line rail-saver are other techniques to keep resistance to a minimum.
Leash tech advancements are being made in the big-wave realm, as well. Dakine’s Peahi leash is seen as the gold standard for big-wave leashes. The 7/16” (11mm) Dura-cord is the thickest on the market and was previously only available to elite teamriders like Albee Layer. “Working in tandem with the world’s best hellmen and women and our suppliers, we make sure we do all we can to offer leashes that do what they’re supposed to do: keep your board attached to your ankle,” said Janda. “Most of the stuff we do with the Peahi leashes trickles down to the newly released Comp Plus and Kainui Plus leashes for 2022.”
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“I think most people don’t realize that, at its most basic, the leash is a life-saving tool, in any size waves,” MacDonald concluded. “People forget just how many injuries they’ve prevented, how many lives they’ve saved. And the other factor is that a new surfboard can cost up to a thousand dollars now. So, the price of a leash is pretty cheap when it’s the only piece of kit that stops your board from ending up on the rocks.”
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