Tow Tether/Cow Tail "Kayaking Safety Tip #02" 

Love the honesty. Worked years in factories dealing with sketchy safety situations and the number one way I saw people get hurt was having things dangling off them and getting stuck on something.

Thanks for the advice! I’m going to make the change right away and is really how I started out before I got a jacket with a quick release belt.

Well said - wise words. No need to paddle with snagging hazards hanging off you.

Well said

Great video as always. I have a cow tail in a box somewhere. Good point about not focusing on the boat and making sure the paddler is safe.

Great video!

Great video again love it

As a sea kayaker I find the cowtail very useful. We don't have the same entanglement issues as river paddlers. The cowtail is useful to quickly tow a boat or hook onto your own boat for a rock landing.

As a kayaker, I have no idea whether it's useful or not, but as an open ocean rescue swimmer, it's an essential part of our kit and used for many potential rescue scenarios.

I mean you are right. I also have a cow tail and why did I bought it ... let me think .... for no reason. I just need to have one because all my friend also have one and I want to look as cool as them. I have mine since 2018 and in these 3 years I NEVER used it and why? BECAUSE as you said these things are made to take a swimmers boat from A to B BUT for example simply a class 3 river is to much to clip the boat at the cow tail. So this thing just has no use. Then the next thing is that my lifejacket has no point which could release the cow tail in a case of an accident. So this thing is all in all just al massiv dangerous for me. Thats good that you spoke about this theme again especially for me because I'm paddling un austria tomorrow and now I am going to remove this thing before I'm paddling there again.

you smashed it mate

Really enjoying the safety tips series so far. Your passion for the sport is on full display, or maybe your just tired of seeing dangerous things on the river. Now I’m just beater class but I know not to have snaggy things affixed to my person. I have a piece like that…stowed behind my seat. Mostly for portage and I could achieve the same thing with the paracord stowed in the same location. Anyway good stuff to put out there, keep it coming.

Dude! Thanks for the info bro! Yes! 7:10 - The web sling

in France, as a kayaking instructor, you must have a quick realease cowtail, a throwbag and a knife when paddling class III or more... That's the law.

Good video Wade will probably save someone !

Beside all that was said which is all good things to do the one reason I keep the leash on class 4-5 is to be able to clip it on my boat and exit the boat when the shore is too steep to get out and hold the boat at the same time. That way I can use my 2 hands to scramble up and the boat follows behind me. Like you said there is always a risk vs benefit element to be considered and this piece of equipment can bring a lot of risk of not used properly. Great video mate, thanks!

Interesting video. I’m broadly in agreement that there’s little value and a fair bit of added risk using tethers on the river. I had a friend very nearly drown as a result of rescuing a boat using a tether. She clipped in, flipped upside down, the boat then snagged on something, her hands were so cold, she literally couldn’t pull the buckle. She was barely able to keep her head above water. From my understanding, she probably would have drowned, had another paddler not have been able to cut the line with his knife. That said, I don’t know that I agree with your method of clipping your webbing to the QR belt/ring. I think that method still presents many of the same risks. I have been teaching beginner/intermediate kayaking for a number of years and have literally rescued hundreds of boats. My preferred rescue method is; - ensure there are airbags in the boat. - ideally ensure there are bow airbags in a creeker - if someone does swim, paddle along side the boat. Flip it back up the right way. - grab one of the front handles and the side of the cockpit rim. Take 5 seconds or so to lift the front of the boat up, so the majority of the water drains out. Repeat again if needed to get 90% of the water out. - now float alongside the boat till you see a good eddy. Then you can shove it in from either end ~15ft or so. You can also tow with over the shoulder webbing if needed too. The nice thing with this method is that you don’t need to use any form of tow 70% or the time. The boat is also mostly emptied for the swimmer once it gets to the side. Much of the way people go with tethers is down to training. In the UK it’s rare to ever see many rescue classes teaching or promotion tethers. Hopefully classes in North America catch on with explaining the risks and showing alternate methods. Stay safe everyone.

I appreciate how you said outside of instructional boating… I was about to riot

Yah, I use this tether properly and used this to ferry a couple of boats only on III’s/IV. But, you make a heck of a lot of sense. Mines gone tomorrow and will be replaced with a similar set up as yours. Just eliminating one floppy snag point. Also, my tether has come loose on rapids a few times and is annoying as crap.

The sling method is so much better. I have a sling that I have in a loop that I just put over my shoulder to tow boats. So easy to let go of and to set up. Also means I can loop it over things to tie up the boat

I only use a tow tether when paddling with my son or with one of his friends. And when I do, it's stowed between the clamshell and my chest (not clipped into anything but loose in the mesh pocket) with the tether really tight against my body so it would be really hard for it to catch on anything. I never pull it out unless it's in calm water below the rapid, where it's actually incredibly handy. I also only put the thick webbing on the Green Jacket through the plastic cleat and never use the metal one so my tow tether could easily be released at all times.

I work as a camp counselor, and a lot of us have switched to a similar system to your sling. I have mine mounted to the belt at all times while I’m working, but so much of it stays tucked in the zipper pocket that there is nothing to get snagged. Astral actually makes a static tether with a ring on one end and a carabiner on the other, and it’s designed to be stored in those pockets

I don't disagree but this might be the most ADHD video I've seen so far.

I have a salamander waist throw bag. It has a tow tether that's stashed in a separate velcro pocket. Out of the way and snag free. And the belt has a quick release. I paddle a packraft and most of my paddling partners are inflatables that they can't roll, so being able to tow an inflatable that got separated from its paddler is really convenient.

Agree with the points made! It is a significant entanglement risk with very minimal reward. If you where a raft guide, would you have a super loose perimeter line? No. Job number one of a rescuer is to keep themselves safe. If they get themselves in trouble they have now dramatically changed the ratio of rescuers/swimmers. I have flipped and swam lots. My partners used the bulldozer method and is very low risk to the rescuer. During my SRT, they did live bait without the cow tails. A rope with a locking carabiner that is locked to the ring works and is quick to set up. An ever worse set up is the cow tail with a non-locking carabiner or a locking carabiner that is left unlocked. This is a recipe for hooking onto river gremlins, ie. re-bar, abandoned shopping carts, branches on sweepers. I also like your point of rescuing the paddle first. Boats are much easier to find than paddles, due to size and typical colours (some exceptions to colour do happen). Granted their is a counterpoint if you are on a multi day trip and all your survival supplies are in your boat. Keep the drive alive!

Wade Harrison I’ve never seen or heard of these. Don’t seem to be a thing in the UK…. Quite happy about that. Love the vids as a new kayaker. :)

Hey Wade! Love your Podcast btw 🤙🏽 I’ve heard you mention the use of slings as essential, multipurpose safety gear. What type of sling are you specifically talking about? Is it something like the Palm Equipment Snake Sling? Or more like a Black Diamond nylon rock climbing “runner” (sling)? Thanks for your time! Keep up the great work🤟🏽

Great video. Love the redundancy on these safety videos. How long is your sling? Have you played with different lengths to figure out what works best for you?

100 miles from nowhere in Alaska, I'll keep my tow strap easily accessible and rescue the boat. It's also a lot more securely (and easily easily released) tucked into my NRS Zen. Lots of swimming and boat towing in the packrafting world.

Mine gets used to clip onto my paddle on lake when doing rescues and the odd boat tow on lake or maybe class 2 when need arises. I like the laziness of clipping it to my paddle so I can just leave it in water beside me on lake and know it's there when I finish the rescue. Much prefer a sling method tucked up under the tunnel of dry top/suit out of way and easy to access when needed on moving water.

It has it's place, just not as the only tow component. If you have ever towed a heavy object on a long tow at sea, you will know that the swells place incredible forces directly on the tower's body. So, there are 2 things you need to effect a long tow at sea. One is a quick release for your own safety, so that you can disconnect from the tow instantly. A snap shackle with a short release line is the easy answer to this. The other is that you need an elastic section in the tow line to smooth out the tensioning loads as both you and the towed object encounter differently timed swells, white caps or breaking waves. This is the purpose of a cow tail, which may be a section of the tow line or simply an elastic core within the mid section of the tow line. However, this elastic section must not be near a persons body, but sufficiently far away that in the event of a line breakage or brake away, the lines resistance through the water will prevent the heavy elastic or attached fittings from hitting the person & causing injury. So, it should be near the centre section of the tow line & not at either end. That means that a dedicated cow tail must have a line attached at both ends of it. If you are doing a short tow, then the towed boat needs to overlap the towing boat so that both experience similar swell dynamics at the same time, minimising the loads between them & protecting the kayakers from injury. Therefore, the short tow should not include elastic as it is largely unnecessary and breakage of elastic even under moderate load can cause injury and again, as a matter of safety you do need a quick release to escape dangerous situations before they become dire. I would certainly agree that there is absolutely no place for a loopy thing like that when paddling rapids. It's a drowning entrapment waiting to happen.

I got rid of mine a couple of years ago and like you keep a webbing sling in that side pocket. I ditched the outside knife also... more because I got tired of losing them than because of a safety issue. Peace

So, to be clear. You don't like it - right? JK Wade - great video CYOTR

I removed mine when I got the pfd 7 years ago. Class 3+ open boater.

So let's point out the negitives to your system, it takes two hands. As you say we all don't have great flexibility and reaching the teather back to the back of your jacket where you can't see and clipping in an emergency could prove to be difficult, time consuming, or worst accidentally clip into a non releasable spot. Speaking in absolute is foolish at best, especially in a dynamic environment like the river. Tethers that are clipped in on the back ought to be ran as streamlined as possible, a clean streamlined teather adds negligable intrapmeant possibilities compared to all the other straps on the pfd. It also ought to be quickly accessible, yet not accidentally deployable, quick release is good or better just tuck it into a pocket. I have mine for the worst case scenario, a friend is face down in the water, in that case I'm willing to put myself at a much higher risk to make sure they get to come home.

Best use for cow tail is to remove it from pfd and use it open boating - they are great for attaching the swim line (a thow bag) to the secure end loop on the boat.

The AKC did run into an issue on class V whitewater leading to the the death of a fellow member who had a swim and was unconcious. They had no means to reach out to him despite kayaking right next to his body for half an hour. That Issue has lead to the Invention of the Cowtail by Horst Fuersattel (the guy behind HF) Most vests provide plastic D Rings which break at a well defined amount of force to secure the cowtails carabiner the problem of those D rings are that they are not easy replaceable and that they are the first thing that breaks on your life vest. And you are right, if that happens people tend to hook the carabiner in Places where it does not belong, and that is definitely dangerous.

I have abandoned using this equipment more recently as well. The risk versus reward is not worth it. Great video.

I think you talked ab this somewhere else, maybe podcast, but another thing is people using non-locking carabiners. I’ve seen them attached to cowtails and also just loose on vests (usually on shoulder straps) as an “extra.” 😳

I only use mine to tow tired kids the last few hundred metres to the takeout. I don't wear it when kayaking with adults or above class 3. It's great, one of my best pieces of equipment.

Great Video Wade!!! Where can I find a build specs to make my own sling? Cheers!!!

I live in the french alps I’m a monitor/guide for kayaking and rafting and I ran safety on the french championship of descent kayaking/canoeing last week and I’m currently running safety for the french championship of slalom kayaking/canoeing and we have to we’re these they are part of our security kit I paddle class 3/4 daily and paddle class 5 weekly I will always have this on my pfd especially when I taking kids down class 2/3 because the amount of boats we have to tow because they don’t know how to roll but I understand where your coming from no hate nice vid

Wade, You should do a video on how to tow a boat with a sling! Kind regards

Where can I find the video of the atow tether you carry?

I use that to pack my Timber Jacks around. As for on the water, they can be a hazard.

Agreed, I have one, and usually on trips where I am supporting class 2/3, every time I start reaching for it to hook a boat I can get the stupid thing unhooked fast enough. Waste of money

First nice video dude

I use them and also wont stop: I think the risk of getting cought on something ( i have to be a tree or branch) at the cowtail is as low as to get cought at the shoulder or bottom strap....with the different that the tail can be released in emergency (and always have to be as you said) Allways consider to not use it when its not save, especialy when its ww 4 and above.... the big reward is the time you need to be ready to use, these few strokes different can realy make the different between catching the eddy or not. Also i sometimes use it as a fixture point as rescue swimmer, the flexible part add a lot of comfort. I hope my english was good enough =)

Take the playboater approach, if you don't bring safety gear you can't get snagged in it

Can you drop a link to the video of the sling you showed in the vid.

Got it, like it, agree, could have been three minutes, put the red bull down :)

Glad your back , been missing ya

My #1 use for this: to pull my kayak behind me when I'm sick of carrying it on my shoulder, which happens...after 10 seconds !

I use it for teaching in class 2/2+

They have been invented by the Akc when somebody drowned on a bigwater run on a swim and they had gotten right up to him but they were unable to safe him so for lowwater runs with possibly trees I agree with you but I would consider it for very bigwater runs where person rescue from the shore is impossible.

I use very short (like 20-30cm) cow tail for livebaiting. You see a buddy in a sticky hole, give a rope to someone on the shore, attach the bag end to your cow tail and paddle into the hole. Grab on to the swimmer or kayak and get pulled to the shore. Also always use screw gates and practice bulldozing kayaks.

I paddle with mine when I know swimmers are possible, I also have a webbing loop with 2 biners in my rear pouch. 100% on the no reason for it above class iii

So do you still wear the cow tail ?7:49

I keep a D ring on my vest, with no strap, I have line for for that. I have a loop that goes over my should, if the tow boat become issue, I just let it slide off my shoulder.

Agree with what you say, cows tails can certainly lead to problems. I also use a sling, but I don’t even attach it to the tail. I literally hold the end of the sling in my hand (against the paddle shaft) as I paddle. I found it surprisingly effective It means I have an instant quick release - let go.

Could have been a 2 minute video.

Wade, great vid! Pass the belt through the metal slider just once, if you do a double pass through the slider the belt can get stuck under tension!

Agree and disagree. Except for small creek runs, I've almost always had a tow tether on my PFD for the past 20 or 30 years. It's ALWAYS attached to the releasable ring in back, and a releasable clip in front. I have jettisoned the tow tether and its cargo multiple times. But here in Colorado, especially at high water, there frequently is NO flat water, darn few eddies, and everything is going downhill in a big hurry. Bulldogging a boat to shore isn't a serious option, although you might get lucky and the boat might lodge on a rock or log against shore. Even with a tow tether clipped to a boat, I've often only been able to get near enough to shore to grab a shrub and hold on until someone comes along to deal with the boat. I could not have done those rescues trying to paddle while holding on to webbing - now way you could hold on to the webbing, paddle, and shrub (three things) with your two hands. I also use webbing - it's great for all the things you identify in your video, but without a previously attached tow tether, some of those mile-long boat rescues would likely have been 'lost boat' adventures. Bottom line for me: a tether is a potentially dangerous tool that MUST be properly attached, AND you need to practice releasing it, but where I usually (not always) boat the benefits outweigh the costs. I might add that I've been involved in many rescues (100? 200?) rescues, and I've swiftwater training. I consider rescue vests and associated equipment as 'advanced' and dangerous, and not for untrained or less skilled users.

I've seen some things man!!! I've educated someone today and I think he thought I was being a dick but I hope it got through to him... ten min later carabiner and cow tail was dangling off the back of his pfd... I should have paddled over and cut it off..

I threw mine in the trash after it come unraveled in bouncer on the north fork of the payette.

It's like the knife on the outside of the vest. People are more worried about an image than their/other's actual safety. Instead of spending money on gear you will have to find reason to implement, just spend the time to actually be better on the water and impress someone with skill instead of kit.

As constructive criticism, that was useful info (thanks) but man that was painful to watch. "Don't use these things" - but here's how to use them! Repeating the same contradictory points over and over again. Probably 1 minute of real content overall. A demonstration of how to use them (but don't use them!) in the water would have been a good addition.

They're not a half-bad close quarters dog leash. (real dog)

Get to the point man.