I think a good measure of a board leash is whether you are going to be jumping or not and whether you are in flat water or not. Jumping with a board leash is stupid and makes you look like a jackass. That’s like jumping a BMX bike with training wheels on it--doesn't look too impressive, byatch.

Using a board leash at a spot like the Skyway seems lame to me as well, given that we usually don’t deal with that much current there, although I've heard some people have managed to lose boards there, but maybe that was because they were learning and flailing.

In heavy conditions like a race where separation from the board can delay you and possibly cause you to lose the board permanently, I can see using a board leash while wearing a helmet.

It seems like I still see a lot of people walking around at the Skyway on shore with a kite in the air, dragging a board around on the ground by a board leash, and that is the wackest thing I have ever seen. That’s taking a cool situation and turning into a tool situation, like crashing out between two beautiful babes then wetting the bed.