Why NOT a waist leash?

Over the last few months, I have invested in several no hands dog running leashes since I got my rescue 2-year-old German Short Hair Pointer experimenting with them as we train and run together. She is a was a big-time puller even when running but now we are in synch running and even biking that we do one or the other every day. Walking, she still pulls greatly so still more training.  

A few weeks ago, after paddling and practicing my remounts on one of my advanced skis, I thought it would be great to have a waist leash after reading about them for a few years. I always use a paddle leash.  Since I am older and wiser now, I think more about my ability to get back in a ski. The last time I capsized was 2 years ago after a race was over on the way back to the take out point on a big day in Narragansett Bay in my Evo.  So while many of us rarely capsize, I remind myself to practice, especially in my advanced skis that are significantly harder to remount than my intermediate and entry-level skis. 

So after a run with Emma and then a paddle, the light bulb went off, I can use a bungee no hands dog leash as a waist leash on my ski. I had an older one for my previous dog that I modified the metal carabiner with an extremely heavy-duty nylon clip and added 3 ft line to it. The waist belt and bungee line are all integrated unlike most of the new running no hands leashes. I attached the nylon clip to the stern ski handle and clipped in the waist belt with the standard nylon buckle clip that it came with. I run the line up under the back deck bungees so it does no-flop around.  No Fuss. I have paddled using both the paddle leash and my modified dog running leash for 4 times now. I practiced using it only once remount and it works fine. I need to practice it more with it but I don't foresee any problems. I feel more confident now that I am using both the paddle leash and waist leash knowing this is safer than just my paddle leash. Redundancy is one of the keys to safety.