"To Leash or Not to Leash, That is the Question," by Corky Carroll, ran in the December 1972 issue of Surfing. The first commercially sold leashes were introduced about 18 months earlier, and while the device was fast gaining acceptance, in '72 it remained a red-hot topic.

There is a lot of controversy about the surf leash. One thing for sure is that a lot of people are using them, and at the same time people are violently opposed to them. Let’s take a short look at both sides of the question.

Those against using the leash claim it isn’t pure and that it destroys the aesthetics of surfing. They say that if you make a mistake you should pay the price with a swim to the beach, even if it means having your board destroyed against a cliff or jetty. They also point out the danger of being hit by your board or having the cord wrapped around your neck.

On the other side we have people who use the leash. Their motto is: “Are you swimming while others are trimming?” They claim that the leash prevents the board from being destroyed on rocks and cliffs, and when you have a $100-or-more dollar investment in a board it's worth protecting. They also claim there really isn’t much danger in using them.

I was strictly opposed to the leash at first, mainly because guys were putting it on the nose of their board and pulling on it like a yo-yo. I have never seen anything so Mickey Mouse. The ankle strap with the cord attached to the tail of the board, however, didn’t seem quite so bad. My first experience with the leash came when I went up to Santa Cruz last winter; the thought of the cold water and board-destroying cliffs made me decide to give it a try. Since then I have been a believer.

I feel that using the leash gives me greater freedom to experiment. With no worry of losing my board I feel at ease going for things that I know I might not make, or even going for full-on cremating wipeout. Getting creamed really can be fun, especially on a warm day. Some guys say that you should naturally surf with no worry of losing your board, leash or no leash. Well, this is true to a degree but I contend that when a large section is about to break on you and you have no chance at all to make it, your natural reaction would be to either straighten out or kick out. With the leash you can go for it and see what happens, even if you're a long way from shore. Maybe you're one of the dudes who says, “Hey, I go for it anyway!” That’s fine with me because while you're swimming in I’ll be riding more waves. In other words, I like to take the risks without having to pay in dings. If there are guys who are so confident that they can surf with the same feeling of freedom, that’s groovy. For me, I ain’t Superman, I’ll take the leash.

As for the danger, well, there is a certain chance of being hit with your board. I don’t really care, it’s worth an occasional clouting. However, I wouldn't recommend the leash to a beginner, as without the proper reflexes it could really be dangerous. As a matter of fact, I don’t recommend the leash to anyone. It's totally up to you. If you dig it then use it, if you don’t then don’t use it. As far as I’m concerned the fewer people using them the better.

Oh yes, one last thing. I wouldn’t use a leash in big surf in Hawaii. It won't rip your leg off, but on a wave over about 12', with Island velocity, you could get drug clear to the beach and man it's hard to your breath that long. More experimentation will have to be done to determine whether or not the leash can be used in large surf.

[Photos above by Art Brewer; below by Bernie Baker]

WATCH: "Unleashed: When Surfboards Roamed Free"

"TO LEASH OR NOT TO LEASH, THAT IS THE QUESTION," BY CORKY CARROLL (1972)

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