Testing, testing

Testing,

Panda Board Sport quick release waist belt

www.pandaboardsports.com Dale Mears @StandUpPaddleUK

Quick Release waist belts have been something to take the SUP world by storm this year and used in specific disciplines for the advantages of holding the leash up away from your feet and reducing drag in some situations from the water. However, many issues have been raised this year from organisations, brands and paddlers about the safety in some situations when wearing an ankle leash. To sum it up, an ankle leash is more challenging to remove in an emergency than reaching your waist due to distance from your hands. A Quick Release waist belt allows you to use a standard ankle leash usually provided with your board, but instead of attaching to your ankle, it is attached to a loop on the back of the waist belt. In an emergency (trained correctly) the toggle on the belt can be quickly pulled releasing the belt and leash from the paddler.

AFFORDABLE

There are many waist belts available and some more advanced than others. However, today I want to show you one of the cheaper and more affordable belts on the market. Panda Board Sports are a UK company passionate about peoples safety; they promote QR waist belts and paddlers joining clubs for lessons and advice.

testing The Paddler ezine test stati on . I f y o u wan t y our p roduct reviewed and it will be of interes t t o paddlers email us: reviews@thepaddlerezine .com Panda's belts come in a couple of different sizes. The standard belt (normal) is a 50mm thick belt featuring a hard-wearing quick-release buckle with a bright yellow easily identifiable pull toggle at the front for emergency release should you need it. The belts are stitched with saltwater resistant bonded 40 industrial nylon, so they will not degrade over time through use in the water. The loop on the back is stitched in and doesn’t have a separate release itself like some other belts, so when released, there is no confusion about what to release. The standard length belt is a good size for approx up to 40inch waist. There is also a Junior for the smaller paddler. JUNIOR The junior, 38mm in width, construction is the same. However, the belt is slightly reduced in overall length to suit the smaller paddler. Recently the junior model comes as standard as a high-vis model with a reflective strip. Reflective model, the Hi-Vis version is identical except for the high visibility strip so that it stands out in low light situations, a great safety feature. All belts feature Panda Board Sports branding and packaged in a card box which is nice to see, reducing plastics used in packaging items. Easy to cut to length if required, but always insure enough overhang to grab in an emergency. These are a great addition to your sup set up, but please understand how to release it before using fully. Priced at £15.99 for the standard, £18.99 for the HiVis version and £15.99 for the Junior these are very affordable belts.