ski leashes

I heard if you attach the leash to your binding with a large (size unspecified...) zip tie it will stay with you if you fall but will break away if being tossed around in an avalanche.

I haven't tried it because I am not a fan of having an out of control ski attached to me if it comes off, but there is something to be said about being able to quickly clean up your yardsale when in avalanche terrain..

Ideas, thoughts?

Not to worry; B&D provides you with plastic tubing and appropriate zip ties along with their telephone cord leashes; I made my own leashes using zip ties and, cord, and scavenged clips and eventually bought B&D--I like them, they are handy! All disclaimers apply--I have no connection with B&D besides buying their leashes and crampons

I have been using leashes for about 20 years while backcountry touring. Everyone has an opinion about the pluses/minuses of leashes and brakes.  Just select what seems right for you.  Last spring I purchased the BnD coiled leashes and have been using them on one pair of of skis.  I attach  one end on the Dynafit toepiece with the plastic tubing and zip tie provided by BnD.  I attach a ring on the rear of my touring boot with a zip tie for the other end of the leash with the clip. It's rather convenient to be able to remove and apply your skins without removing the leash.

I used the B&D ski leash for a while with the zip ties provided and protective tubing.
The leash broke when I sunk a tip and buried a ski in Silver Basin pow.
I experimented with stronger zip ties but some calculations done by an engineer co-worker persuaded me that the zip tie strong enough to resist the force induced by a 200 lb skier traveling at 25 mph attached to a buried ski was so large that I would have no confidence they would break in an avalanche.

My reason for going  to leashes was I had always had problems with the brakes on my dynafit comforts.
Other minor problems I discovered during my "leash" period.
On short bootpacks when I shouldered skis, because there was no brakes to intertwine, they kept slipping against each other and it was very annoying. Can be solved by attaching a ski strap before bootpacking but whose got time for that when the ropes just gone down and powder awaits and the race is on?
On some hard pack transitions, although I had the comfort of the ski not disappearing down the slope if they slid off, because there was no brake it was sometimes marginally more difficult to keep the ski stable for clicking in.

I eventually ditched them and put a brake on my STS Dynafits and found that the brake mechanism worked just great on that model and were vastly superior to the brakes on my Comforts( no auto rotation, easy to turn etc).
Problem solved for me.

Leashes cut off and discarded as failed experiment.
If anybody wants them PM me and they are yours( if I can find them in the garage)

The main function of leashes is for skiing in crevassed terrain where you can remove your ski if you fall in one and still have it attached. Leashes are not recommended in steep avalanche terrain where they can batter you if you fall or drag you under debris if you are caught in an avalanche.

Ski areas require them, but the back country does not. Your choice except on a glacier where it is considered a best practice while traveling in the alpine.

I admit that I have not given this much thought, but I always find it a pain in the neck to take the brakes off and switch to leashes when I transition from in-bounds to BC.  So I end up using the brakes a lot in the BC.  Part of my laziness is because I feel that all the pros and cons on both sides of the argument make good sense to me.

I had thought that I would just leave the brakes on and then use leashes as well in the bc.  Not sure whether that solves some of the problems discussed here, but in the case where the powder is deep, I have had circumstances where a tip dive caused a release and a leash sure would help keep me from losing a ski in the BC.  I do have powder straps, but that is a pain in the neck touring and the leashes do offer some other advantages and security.  I do like the new commercial leash models that replace the dynafit.  Who knows, if the zip tie breaks inadvertently, maybe the brakes might save the ski from a full flight.  Unlike so many others here, I usually do not ski super radically steep terrain, at least not for the duration of a tour.

In the suggestion that even in a 25mph fall in powder a zip would break, I do agree that it might be likely to break the tie, but the tug that makes the break might be enough to pull the ski nearer to the surface where it would be easier to find.  I guess the alternative would be to have the fail point be at the boot, so that the cable could act a bit like a powder strap.  How about fluorescent cables?

Alan