Sometimes you don’t want the weight or mechanical hassle of ski brakes. More, perhaps you need something that’ll keep a lost ski from rolling into a crevasse. In such cases, “leashes” or “safety straps” are the gear of choice.
Dynafit backcountry skiing binding with custom lightweight safety leash system.
European standards dictate that ski safety straps sold with ski bindings be complex and heavy contraptions that might have their place for making SURE you ski never comes off your foot. Such straps may be appropriate in certain situation, and to their credit they do usually include a slick quick-release system that would be handy if your strap is under tension and you need to get-out-now. But standard leashes are frequently overkill, and they’re so strong you may not completely loose your ski in an avalanche. More, most OEM leashes weigh in the neighborhood of several ounces — way too heavy for an add-on.
Hence, I’ve been using a DIY lightweight leash system for years. Here are the details. (Please note, this system is designed to let go in a high force situation such as an avalanche, so is not recommended for resort use where a runaway ski could be a safety hazard.)
Lanyards with clips, from Office Depot. On the right, 2-pack of item 74458 from Avery is the one we like.
Since I published this system years ago in my Dynafit FAQ, I’ve seen scores of people who’ve cobbled similar rigs using everything from carabiners to knots. Many such systems are too bulky and complicated. Some are too weak, others too strong (such as those using steel cable from telemark bindings.)
Key is using a clip that’s the correct strength. Best we’ve found is one we take off the Office Depot “Avery Neck Hanging Lanyards” 2-pack, item 74458. Or if you want something that will let go easier, but is somewhat weak, you can use the clip from Office Depot “Black Lanyards” 10-pack, item 754-521. The strength of these clips is quite different, so beware and use the stronger if in doubt. More, buy several pair and test the strength yourself. You may find this system seems too wimpy. If so, go to a stronger clip of the variety you can find in hardware stores.
Remove the clip from the lanyard.
Tie a loop of lightweight cord under the boot tongue holder. You can also drill a hole in the toe of the boot and run a knotted cord up through that.
Clip with cord. We girth hitch the cord so it stays in position on clip, a drop of epoxy on the hitch helps too.
You can attach the loop to Dynafit binding with two methods. As shown above, you can just drape the loop over the toe latch. This method is quick, but may come off too easily and can be lost while you're carrying skis.
Best method of attaching loop to binding is shown above, and is same as shown in Dynafit literature. You poke a loop through the hole in the binding toe lever, then pass the cord back through the loop, thus creating a girth hitch through the hole.
Variations: One problem with the rig described above is that working the clip with gloved hands can be tricky. Lanyard clips work better when they’ve got something solid to clip to, so we’ve tried riveting a small D-ring to the toe of the boot, or including a small metal ring on the boot loop. Another option is to use a larger and more easily operated clip, such can sometimes be found at hardware stores and have the advantage or disadvantage of being stronger.
Lastly, again, be aware that the small lanyard clips we show above are not particularly strong. Thus, do not use these at ski resorts or in situations where you absolutely can not loose a ski.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain. For more about Lou, please see his personal website at https://www.loudawson.com/ (Blogger stats: 5 foot 10 inches (178 cm) tall, 160 lbs (72574.8 grams).
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lou.dawson.writer
32 comments
Please no more use of the thong, I thought we “covered” this last spring.
Oh come on, Lou post some more thong shots….. Aspen should be prime thong country!!
My system is very similar, but for better ease of handling with gloves, I use a “Hangman Snap Hook”:
http://www.seattlefabrics.com/snap%20hooks.html
I dremmel off the large plastic loop, then attach the hook to some 3mm accessory cord using a cable tie (with different strengths possible).
For the boot attachment point, I use a plastic ski area ticket loop, although a stronger system could use a cable tie (with a little bit of duct tape to preven the loop from becoming smaller over time).
Funny you should post this-I just took my skis in to have brakes added! I used a similar ski strap last year but ended up wanting brakes so I could take the skis to (or through) a resort. I emailed you about this topic but it may have been spam-trapped.
My Dynafit leashes are the BD cable tele-leashes. I have one set of the older simple (small) silver metal clip-on, and one set of the newer BD expanding prong-tyoe tele leash. I use a 1 inch keyring around the lower boot-buckle catch to attach the leash to the boot on the lateral or outside aspect.
The 1-inch keyring will bend open with reasonable force, so that is a safety feature. I have inadvertantly opened the ring when taking off the ski, so in my view it holds just enough, I want the system to break before I am injured.
A benefit is that there is virtually no wear to this durable and lightweight system, and if it unhooks while skkiing is not cut by the ski edge. Also, it is easy to use with gloves. I use leashes on spring corn and glaciers.
Halstead, I think you are confusing Aspen with Mission Beach….
I used a lanyard clip from an area ski pass landyard, but while in the backcountry, I fell on an icy slope and the clip bent, sending my ski a few hundred feet down. I switched to the clip from the BD tele leashes, but cut the cable off and hook it to a bit of rope like you have in the picture, relying on the rope to break in an emergency.
One problem I have using the girth hitch as in the Dynafit literature is that the rope frays over time. Any hints on preventing this?
Jonathan, we had some trouble with the plastic clips not being strong enough when cold, but I think they’re a viable option, everyone should just test in the field by yanking on it.
Randonnee, that sounds like a good system.
Michael, I’d just replace the cord every so often…
All, the level of strength you want from this sort of system is very dependent on individual needs. As stated in the post, my method is not super strong, by intent. I hardly ever take a fall that releases a ski, so I’m not depending on the system very often, sometimes not for months.
My old BD cable tele-leash is on the third Dynafit binding/ ski rig, I have used it 8 years. So far I needed it twice, it worked fine. I use leashes only on corn in spring/ summer. The keyring fails appropriately in my view, if I ever take a big crash I do not want the leashes to hold and cause me to be flailed by skis.
My old Tri Step heels with brakes worked so poorly both in rotation and deployment of the brakes and I did not like the weight, so I used no brake or leash in powder for four seasons. The new FT 12 brake looks great, I look forward to using it.
Hi Lou,
What could be the recommended strenght (resistance) of the leash system (cord + clip) in order to avoid any leg injury ? 5 kg, 10 kg, 15 kg ?
Thank you very much for your blog, you help me to wait for the snow…
Marion.
Just out of curiosity: what kind of bindings are these? Low Tech Race? What makes me wonder is the base being machined alu (?) vs. pressed sheet metal (which I think is found in all models up to Vertical Race Ti).
It’s a Low Tech Race titanium…
Marion, there is no real number for that, it’s just personal preference. Judging from the OEM strap systems and my experience with them over the years, the binding safety leash can be quite strong without resulting in leg injury from pulling on the leg and foot, though having the ski attached during a fall can result in other injury from the ski bashing various body parts. What we’re more concerned about is the leash staying on during an avalanche ride. We make the leash weaker for that reason. So it will break if we’re caught in an avalanche.
If you ski in avalanche terrain and rarely fall, systems such as ours can work well. It also works good for racing if you do want to use a leash (most racers don’t). If you fall more frequently or ski at resorts, stick with the OEM leash, or better , use mechanical ski brakes.
I am with Randonee on this. My key ring has broken when it should. Randonee, could you go into more detail on how you attach the key ring to your boot? I tie the key ring to a cord tied around the base of the tongue, as in Lou’s pictures.
Randonee, email me a photo of your attachments system and I’ll publish in this blog post, so we can show some alternate methods in the same place. I’ve experimented with key rings as “fuses” for other applications and they work pretty well. They come in different sizes and thicknesses, so easy to fine tune.
If there is avalanche potential, I use no leash or use ski brakes. I do not want any anchor potential that could drag me down or slow my escape even by a fraction of a second, or contribute to a lower extremity fracture/ injury.
I tend to like simple fixes since drilling or other modifications may cause another problem in my view. So I just work the keyring around the buckle bail catch that is riveted to the boot shell, there is just enough room. The cable tele leash loop is then girth-hitched to the Dynafit toe. The clip then is easily attached to the keyring. There are possible variations with drilling or adding loops to the ski or boot, but that adds more complexity in my view that can fail or cause a problem. Even if the keyring opens, I have been able to bend it with my hands back into a loop that can be used.
I just asked my nine year-old daughter if she can figure how to put a photo online- we did get a WIldsnow favorite Canon A720 recently. Sorry, the first time I went to college computers took up part of a room and used punch cards, and we developed film and printed photos… : )}.
Hi Lou,
Sorry for thread drift, but are using the Low Tech Race heal as well? The lateral release is so low on the heal that I find it necessary to keep the toe locked while skiing. Just curious if you do the same or swapped out for another heal with adjustable lateral release.
Yeah Randonnee,
Please put your best daughter on that— I wanna see your leash set-up too!
Randonneee, you don’t need to do anything fancy, just get her to email me the photo and I’ll display.
Marco, I’m using the regular TLT heel with an aluminum top plate. I actually don’t have a problem skiing the race heel, but don’t like that it has no for/aft adjustment and thus is tricky to mount. They’re cool though. We usually mount ’em up on something for 24 Hours of Sunlight.
Hey Lou, I just scored a cherry pair of older TLTs- the ones in your photo with the Scarpa Lazers (blue metal tops with groovy half moon cut outs). The base-plate on the toe is plastic-which may fail this spring while using ski crampons.
Any ideas on where to get a pair of the aluminum toe base places?
*Also, the binders didn’t come with brakes and I’m contemplating buying a pair off RandoSteve (Romeo)- do the older TLT brakes really suck as bad as I’ve heard they do?
-I’m open to just rigging up a break-away leash system.
Thanks- I’m jealous-looks like the Elks are getting hammered-up here in Grand Lake we’re finally getting some coverage. RMNP soon!
Hi Doug, just use an aftermarket crampon such as B&D. And yes, the TLT brakes are really not that great, mainly because they’re hard to install and the screws tend to strip. Once installed they do work.
Hey Lou,
This has been my preferred leash set up, but I just bought some Dynafit Zeus boots which have no tongue around which to tie some cord. Do you have any suggestions on how to re-work this system for an overlap boot?
Thanks
Ben, some folks tie a loop of cord around a buckle strap. I prefer to drill a hole somewhere in the lower end of the overlap and place a loop through that, then seal with silicone.
Just found this page and contacted Stefano. You can buy the safe loops from skimo company in Salt Lake: http://skimo.co/maruelli-binding-parts
Just ordered some, thanks for the awesome how-to, lou! Excited to try this out this winter. Tried zip ties, fell, and lost my ski about 500 feet down the hill, someone grabbed it just before it disappeared forever. I’ll be trying this for more sturdiness.
Christy, beware the method I detail above is quite weak by intention. You’ll probably want to use a stronger clip. The Dynafit OEM clip combined with Maruelli works well. Just be aware that if you want a break-away system it an indeed break-away! Lou
Lou, thanks for the response. With the Dynafit OEM clip and the Maruelli safe loop, what forces have you found will break it? Do you have any recommendations that will keep the ski on incase of a fall, but break incase of an avalanche or more forceful scenario?
Just realized- meant to comment on this post: https://www.wildsnow.com/8704/leash-dynafit-speed-radical-2011-13-sportiva/
Hello Christy, these sorts of systems are intended for skiers who don’t fall much. If you fall more than a couple times a year, you should be using ski brakes or a strong leash that won’t break. Use of these systems is a balance between safety and ski loss. So, it’s as much about your style as about the actual leash system. Lou
I plan on using the B&D new fuse system with the stock Dynafit leash on the speed turn bindings (yay for still being able to rotate the heel with a ski pole.)
Upgrade kit is only $8
http://www.bndskigear.com/skileash.html
(No affiliation with B&D other than I like their stuff.)
That is not a very good idea.
The stock dynafit leash does not dissipate the energy of a fall enough
for the fuses to work properly. They will break too easily.
I would agree with Bill B on this one, also the beauty of the B & D leashes IME is you can can clip in at the beginning of the day & do everything without unclipping the leashes even walk a bit with a ski in each hand
to get them up in here canada the kit ends up costing 40$ if i order 4 which I then sell to friends on cost recovery basis but everybody likes them so … its worth it
I’ve used brakes on a variety of Dynafit bindings (and 7tm’s). Aside from the added weight, I’ve never really had any issues. Sometimes they stick closed, but if the ski comes off and starts rocketing down the hill, the attendant shocks will almost certainly cause the brake to deploy (ime).
Comments are closed.