OK I don’t really want to spend time on this subject as it comes up every few months, if you can’t be bothered to use the search function or you may just be trolling but I am genuinely concerned you think it wouldn’t be a problem because you’ve thought it through.
For your information the link to the picture of a lady
(it's difficult to tell as it's such a mess) with her mouth smashed in was done using a reel leash.
I can speak from experience in my early days I used a reel leash until the leash got wrapped around the unit, disabling any “safe” retractable operation, sending the board over my head missing it by inches.
No one's holding a gun to your head, go do it but don’t speak authoritatively that there will be no problems.
When I was learning the guy in Balmoral Boards told me NOT to buy a leash when I went into the store to buy one.... I bought one and used it for about 2 weeks.
Moon waxing. That photo..... ewww
Id like to offer diffrent point of view on the subject .I see great benefits of having every single kook on the leash.
The benefit is 2fold, 1stly its the foolproof way to recognize someone who has very limited idea what he/she is doing when I see those people at my local I keep awaaaay, its much better way than looking for a cabrinha kite in the sky, sometimes it may be misleading coz some real kiteboarders might also ride cabrinha.
2ndly, there is no doubt that in most cases its faster to recover a board on the leash so you have less kooks body dragging backwards and forwards blocking your way, many of them can bodydrag to some degree but are simply too lazy or perhaps just want to have more FUN on the board as the guy who started this topic put it so let them have FUN and if in the process they loose some body parts so be it.
Long live the retractable leash!!!!
all you newbs can argue the point till your blue in the face. the one thing we all have over use is experience. either learn from our mistakes or learn from your own. if you decide to learn from your own then we will know we tried and sleep very easy at night. prob alot easier then you when you are woken up every 2 hours by a nurse checking on you.
I USE A OCEANUS REEL LEASH!!! [}:)]
There, I've said it. I used it as a beginner, and I used it last season as a slightly more experienced kiter, and I'm using it again this season too 
I love it, and at no time has it tried to kill or maim me 
I don't consider myself a beginner any more - I can body drag if I need to, stay up wind, go toe side, jump a little, carve a turn, ride a swell - but I'm certainly no expert. I learn a little each time I go out, and nothing in my kiting experience so far has turned me away from using my leash.
Yes, I've had a few stacks where I've lost control of the kite and it has whipped me straight out of the water again, and the board has been at the full extent of it's leash, but there is no elasticity in the leash so the board did not want to 'ping' back to it's attachment point - me!
There has been a couple of occasions where my leash has been a real bonus :
One of these times my kite has somehow managed to invert and get tangled in the lines, to the point where I have not been able to re-launch it and have had to drift into shore. I did not have to worry about hanging onto my board because it was on the end of my leash, all safe and secure and not heading off down the beach somewhere. It was one less thing I had to worry about.
The other time was when I went out and the wind dropped to the point where I just couldn't re-launch the kite easily. I spent a bit of time drifting down wind whilst trying to get the kite back up in the air. Once again, didn't have to worry about where my board was, and could focus all my energy on getting the kite up again. Got the kite up, reached back and grabbed my waiting board, and off I went.
One kiting spot I sometimes use has a very narrow beach for rigging, and the water is quite shallow for a fair way out. The launch is done from the water. I simply attach my board to my leash, get my bar and wade on out to my launch position, my board trailing along beside me. Kite is launched and my board is right there next to me, not drifting down wind or sitting back on the shore. It also works well when you come in. Just step off the board, land the kite, disengage your rig and walk into shore with your board trailing along after you. Sweet 
To the guy who says the leash is good because he can see it and keep well away from the user because it signifies he is a noob and obviously incompetent - fantastic! I'm happy to have plenty of room on the ocean, and feel no shame in displaying my leash to all and sundry. Stay well away from me, I don't care. Whisper and point at me with your cool friends. Once again, don't care. Maybe it's an 'age' thing
Just about everything in life is a choice, and you make your choice based on information you gather, both positive and negative. You weigh up the risks against the benefits, as you see them, and base your decision on that. Everyone is different, and what is a high risk to one person may be seen as a very low risk to someone else. Whatever choice we make, we must be prepared to accept the consequences of that choice.
My attitude to my leash might change if I start to do more jumping, but for now, I wouldn't be without it 
Have a look at this - report of a death in taiwan apparently caused by leash. As th e others have said, sooner or later things will go very pear shaped kiting and another factor like a board leash is the last thing you need.
kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2349521&start=0
Maybe you could call up the boys at Star Trek and see if they can lend you one of those beem me up thingy's to get you back to your my little poney board.
Once again for the blind knobs like paul (no offence mate!) this was only a thread for discussion of improving the system, not whether I should use one or not. I don't use one. I don't intend to use one (unless a better one is made!)
Hard concept to grasp, I know mate. It's all right
You need to learn to take advice of people clearly more educated then yourself.
PLEASE come to grips with it. Leashes will never be safe.
There's another thread at the moment on the safety leash. Kiting would be a lot safer without using them......for us. And would inherently get the sport banned. Experienced kiters would rather not attach themselves to a potential projectile....period.
For my two cents worth, I agree you should not have one and these are the reasons why from 11 years of kite boarding experience.
The surf board leash is the most deadly due to it building up so much energy allowing the board to get up to some serious speed. I found the waiting time for it flying back to be the horror, you feel the load go light and wait in silence with your head down as low as possible and time slows down. Then out of curiosity you just have to put your head up for a look only to hear the board whistle a few millimetres by your ear. It didn’t take long to work out this is not a nice place to be so we dumped them. I saw some very ugly wounds caused by broken leashes with the skin being opened up completely and the kiter shown the way to emergency.
Next came the rope which was just dandy, no problems with this system sending the board in the back my head. Things that pissed me off were how the rope tangled up and got in the way, the sudden shock load on the ankle after the big crash and yes we did try tying it to our harness but it was just as bad. The thing that really got me goat was it snapped my 6’2” 2002 RRD directional. All others were on Stonkers and it made me look good.
Then the reel leash which looked like the answer even though they didn’t last long and still put some serious load on the harness.
Then back in 2004 we saw the light and removed our leashes and walked free, it’s like walking on a nudist beach for the first time you think everyone’s watching.
But 99% of kiters know this already. Lets start another thread about helium in kites.
