Bomb Proof Leashes From Bluebird Day

Posted: January 20th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Gear | 3 responses »

Leashes. So many options! I figure, when it comes to safety, you should always take extra precaution – kind of like climbing where you double or triple everything up in case something fails.  Of course, nobody really likes a loose ski whipping down the slopes like a missile – especially on the receiving end.

Jeff over at Bluebird Day Gear has sent us a pair of Bluebird Day Leashes and we had an opportunity to run these through some of the worst conditions we’ve seen in a long time…

The Setup

I chose some Crispi boots, Atomics, and some Black Diamond 02s.  This minimal setup is a lot of fun for carving in the rain and those powder days when you’re feeling like a minimalist. But the real reason why I chose the 02s for these leashes is because the bindings are blue!

Today, I get to test these leashes in some pretty dicey conditions: rain, and a thick glassy coating of ice on top of powder.  I really don’t want to fall today…

Weight & Construction

The leashes came in plastic packaging with instructions on how to use them.  Instantly, you can feel the weight of these.  In comparison to the 7TM and BlackDiamond leashes, the Bluebird Day leashes are heavier.

But that isn’t to diminish the construction and materials used for the build of these leashes.  Each leash is made from durable pebax-coated cable and the jaws are constructed with stainless steel.  From the get go, you will probably have to worry more about the boot leash loop breaking before these leashes.

Yeah in this photo I took my gloves off... but I wanted to show you what this looks like

Of course, if you happen to break these, which I doubt, Bluebird Day will replace them for free.

Thinking Differently

A common problem with leashes is the amount of fiddling you have to do to open the jaws, and connect it through the loop on your boot.  With most leashes, I usually find myself taking my gloves off to make the connection.  With Bluebird Day leashes, the mechanics have been somewhat reversed:  instead of pushing the jaws apart, you basically grab the cable, pull upwards, and connect the jaws to the loop.  This is ingenious because you don’t need the dexterity of your fingers make this work.

Courtesy of Bluebird Day Leashes

Overall Impression

Ingenious design to solve a very common problem with leashes, burly construction, and top notch materials make this our favorite leash.  These leashes will withstand pretty much anything you throw at it, and if you happen to break them, Bluebird Day will replace them for free – something you don’t see too often these days.

MSRP: $20.00

What kind of leash do you use?  Give us a shout down below!

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  • http://www.writeblocked.org Mike

    I bought a pair of these with my new skis a couple of months ago, on the second day I had a big fall, caught an edge going fast on a step run. I went flying over my skis and as I was sliding down the hill I could feel one ski had come off, but could not feel the other. Once I stopped (headfirst into a pine tree 30ft down the hill) I found that one ski was still attached, but the other had come off. Checking my boot I found that the buckle with the leash attachment had been ripped out! Once I got back to my ski the Bluebird Day leash was still attached to the ski, along with my boot buckle. The leash had not broken, although part of the cable had been cut.
    I was pretty impressed with this. However I was even more impressed when I reached out to the manufacturer to see if they would honour thier lifetime warranty. I figured that if the leash held through a fall that tore the buckle of my boot it had done it’s job and I would have to buy another one (small cost when compared to a new boot anyway). However after reaching out to Jeff I had two new leashes three days later! You cannot ask for more than that.

    One a side not I have been telemarking for around 20 years and have used a heap of different leashes in that time. These are the best I have ever used.

    An extremely satisified customer.

    • http://www.freeheelgranola.com Shayne Kasai

      Glad to hear – so far I’ve only had a bent ski boot buckle and I’ve had my skis release several times. So far these leashes haven’t let me down.

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