Silver Cord: the humble legrope goes high tech
It wasn't so long ago that the humble boardshort got promoted up the ranks. With a few dabs of rubber added to the waist strap and the odd velcro patch they became 'tech' boardshorts. All this while other more important surf equipment kept getting made the same as it always had.
Take the legrope for example, an ankle strap and cord joined by a length of plain urethane. Yeah, there have design innovations, the rail saver and the swivel for instance, but each was invented before 1990. Since then - nothing.
Craig Drysdale is a South African surfer and he's just launched the Silver Cord, a legrope with a truly clever design. It may not be for everyone, but for surfers who can't afford to break a legrope, say while surfing big waves or in sharky waters, it's worth a closer inspection.
The Silver Cord looks similar to all other leggys on the market; an ankle strap and cord joined by a length of plain urethane. However, the urethane has a hollow section and inside that is the eponymous 'silver cord'.
If the urethane breaks then the silver cord activates and the surfer remains tethered to their board. Drysdale wont say what the silver cord is made of, except that it's waterproof, UV resistant, and has an average break strength of 365 kilograms. He's adamant that it'll cover any situation in the surf.
If the urethane breaks the surfer has a choice to continue surfing - though the cord has no stretch and would hurt like a bastard if it wrapped around your leg in a wipeout - or return to shore and swap it out. All the parts, rail saver, strap, and cord, can be interchaged and replaced.
As the Silver Cord is designed with serious waves in mind, Drysdale has dropped another little feature into the mix. The BSD, or Bail Safe Device, is a quick release pin that can be pulled when a surfer doesn't want to be attached to their board.
The Silver Cord isn't on the market yet, but Craig Drysdale has taken it to Surf Expo in America with an eye on international trade deals. Our guess is that surfers who paddle big or sketchy waves, or even just those who don't want to lose a new stick on the rocks, will be taking a closer look at this little legrope.
Comments
Everything old is new again
All of the early legropes that I owned in 80's were like this
Similar to the 70s ones.
What is a 'rail saver'?
A rail saver does NOT work unless your string hangs over the rail of the board. Trust me.
Or better still, this ad from 1978 (when then were apparently first introduced).
From SurfResearch: http://www.surfresearch.com.au/agr.html
Legripes are for kooks
Yeah I remember the early Balin ones had a rubber sleeve over a nylon cord. Shitful. The rubber probably lasted 2 surfs then you were left with the unforgiving nylon. Yes what goes around comes around.
I like the pin pull release, great idea!
A key thing is how long is the silver cord? If you get a huge stretch and it hits the extended length of the cord it will create a sudden shock, same if the flex bit breaks. This used to happen with the old rubber tube with braided nylon cords inside them in the 70s. Mostly this is okay but often it will just pull the plug out of your board. Plugs are not that strong. They rarely pull out because the stretch with modern leg ropes is gradual. Plus a hollow tube will be a lot weaker.
Go gadget
I was thinking the same.
Looks like the stainless steel screen braiding found inside instrumentation cables used to protect the inner cores..
Might be Spectra, Dyneema or some similar exotic cordage - extremely strong and much lighter than stainless.
Would be very easy to stuff more than enough length inside an outer sheath.
Interchangeable and replaceable parts - nice! I've a box full of broken leggies/recycled as dog leashes sitting around all because the poly cord snapped.
How much weight does it add to a leggy?
By my estimation, 6ft of 5mm Spectra weighs about 75 grams.
Offset against loss of weight in leggie due to polyurethane sheath being hollow, so total weight gain wouldn't be much I'd guess.
Just saw that 5mm Spectra has a tensile strength of over 2 ton, so suspect he's using something thinner and lower quality than that.
Can't remember the last leggy that broke? Tend to get a massive hyperextension of the cord that'll ruin it but not snap it.
Once the urethane breaks would the 'silver' cut your foot off? Please answer. I would like to know if I have the potential for litigation in the future or not, my dole payments are to be canceled forthwith.
A fella I used to work with told me a story.
He was doing illegal sailing charters in Sydney Harbour (his boat wasn't in survey).
He didn't have a proper anchor windlass setup, just an anchor tied to some thin Spectra or Dyneema or whatever.
One of his guests somehow got involved with dropping the anchor, got the line caught around his hand and had three fingers taken clean off.
Your average surf conditions probably wouldn't generate these forces clif but you could always persevere!
Don't they say shiny things attract sharks?
And women from the Eastern suburbs.
(Can I say that these days?)
same same
same same
Haha, touché. They might be harder to shake loose too.
hey Stu , did Mr Drysdale send you a sample to test?
No, I only heard about it via a South African journo who gave me the info you read above. Wouldn't mind seeing one though I reckon their best use is in huge paddle entry waves, so not something I have a need for.
Ok so the info in your piece is 2nd hand at best so who takes responsibility for quotes like "a truly clever design" ?
Ask em for a sample and go test it or have an appropriate big wave freak test it before plugging it...just saying!
I take responsibility for it. I think it is a clever design, yet if it doesn't work as planned then it would be bad execution, or maybe bad mechanics, but a metal rope and pull pin is good design.
Just saying...
I guess the issue is that statistically I would have thought more surfers have drowned because their leash got snagged and they could not get free than have drowned by loosing their board.
Release pins have been around for 15 years (maybe SurfMore was first) and they had a release cord that came higher near the knee as it was well recognised that getting to your ankle to pull the pin can be impossible in certain situations.
Also Fanning maybe would not be alive today if he was wearing one of these and the Noah could not bit through the leash. Getting dragged under water by a large shark would do you in and no way could you release.
So good luck to them and hope they carry very large insurance!
"I guess the issue is that statistically I would have thought more surfers have drowned because their leash got snagged and they could not get free than have drowned by loosing their board."
Don't think too many people are snagging the bottom at Waimea, Jaws, Todos, Mavs, Two Mile, YB , Dungeons or wherever else "big wave freaks" surf big waves. By their nature they're deep water waves.
Bit of a long bow with the Mick Fanning shark analogy, but keep trying, I'm sure you can find more reasons to dislike it.
Ha, Ha yes you would need an aqualung to snag a leggie at one of those spots. And you will probably call me a semantic dick however I heaps prefer Leggie to leash. Good Aussie word like Rashie rather than jersey. Jersey is a rugby league word which doesn't rate a mention down here. We used to call them jumpers. Australia has some great words which seem to get gobbled up by the unstoppable roll of the USA English. Another pet hate is the WSL calling rocks bricks. WTF calls them bricks outside of the US? There ends todays rant.
Maybe worth a thread of its own Memla.
U.S. English seems unstoppable - I keep telling fellas at the pub when they go to the "bathroom", there ain't no bath in there and if you think there is, it's probably time to go home (and have a shower).
Your right I got off topic completely and yes I prefer dunny or thunderbox however toilet will suffice.
Wasn't trying to shut you down, I do think that it's a topic worth talking about.
Nah was only pulling your leg, having a lend of you - another couple of golden oldies. As long as don't start they rhyming slang I shouldn't need any medication.
Would be interesting to compare stats on drowning from legropes getting snagged up though, just in the past few years here there was one at the Wreck, one at Broken Head and there's been one or two from Lennox Point where legropes entanglement has led to a fatality .
I remember a picture of a surfer with a leg stretched an extra 6 feet cause of the cord in his old style leg-rope, might a been in an old Tracks mag.
If your neoprene leg-rope snaps it is too old or too light, or you just need some swimming exercise.
A metal rope is just plain dangerous, who the fuck thought of that.
Slater design legropes have a Kevlar core don't they ?
Yep. Not out yet though.
Not sure how much give Kevlar has.
There's always the speculation from Riding Giants about Mark Foo's leggie getting snagged on the bottom at Mavs
And these examples of the shallow water snaggings there
thank you Benski. That highlights exactly what my point was.
Stu, who said I disliked it? I was just making a few observations in the absence of any un biased test/review of a 'leggie' that is getting quite a wrap here on SN. One could misread it as an endorsement, which is cool if that is what SN is prepared to commit to.
Wasn't a young pro drowned at Margrets (big wave spot) by getting 'leggie' snagged?
1) If normal legropes are snagging and killing people, as per info above, then having a metal inner wont matter.
2) Unlike most other legropes on the market this has a quick release device if you did get snagged. That makes it safer then most other legropes.
Problem is...?
If you cant reach it ,happened to me last year in very shallow water ,boards wrapped around a rock but current was real strong so real hard to reach,can see how guys have drowned with waves coming thru.....
How'd you react? it'd be pretty scary id imagine.
In huge surf I still reckon you need a starter cord from thigh or waist to the quick release clip, first reaction is to try and reach down to your ankle which is near impossible at times...its takes a few seconds to gell that you need to bend your leg to get to it .
The tip is, don't try to just reach out with your hands to get the leash off your ankle. Instead, draw yourself in by bending your legs until you can reach your ankle with ease.
Everybody should probably practice this.
As Wally said use your legs and core muscles.
As for the leg rope I imagine the tube would be weaker than solid plastic and the steel wire even though it looks to be braided would be fucking stiff after the tube breaks likely rendering the leggie string and leash plug the next weakest points. Guess someone will have to test it out to prove its worth. Not something the average surfer would require.
I don't know why you all think the average surfer would not need a leggie that is unlikely to break. I'm an average surfer and 8' is about my limit, not having a leggie break sounds good to me. Loosing a board onto rocks or out to sea is a bit costly and in the last few years I've broken more than a couple of legropes within the first week and they were replaced, but I doubt if I had have damaged or lost my board any of the makers would have coughed up.
If these leggies are that strong and the can handle 3 times the size I surf, that will do me. :-)
These Silver Cord leashes are infringing existing domestic and international surf leash patents. I don't think they will get to market, and if they do, it will be short lived.
These Silver Cord leashes are infringing existing domestic and international surf leash patents. I don't think they will get to market, and if they do, it will be short lived.