What can happen when you dont have a tether....

[Frankenytro]

For the life of me I dont understand why people cant take 2 seconds to clip it on if they have one..if you think you look cool by not wearing one I just shake my head at you.its there for a reason..so you dont get seriously injured or write your sled off.

for guys that dont have teathers..i would strongly reccomend getting one installed.personally i would not ride a sled without one.

teathers are there to prevent injury to you or your sled..SO CLIP IT BEFORE YOU RIP IT!

this is just like not doing up the strap on your helmet. "It takes so long" or "if I get buried in an Avy it will be quicker for my rescuers to get to my airways" lol. I ride with a few of those a guys and just shake my head. This isn't grade school, nobody cares if you can ride with it undone/unclipped. You simply look like a fool to those who actually value their life.

 

[dgjordan]

this is just like not doing up the strap on your helmet. "It takes so long" or "if I get buried in an Avy it will be quicker for my rescuers to get to my airways" lol. I ride with a few of those a guys and just shake my head. This isn't grade school, nobody cares if you can ride with it undone/unclipped. You simply look like a fool to those who actually value their life.

couldnt have said it better.

 

[cattechsummitrider]

I have seen those people!
The same ones that have a airbag backpack and don't have the handle out because it might get caught on the handle bars or a tree branch ( Yes it is true )

 

[ducati]

I will admit that i did not ride with a tether for many many years. Been riding for about 25 years and only my last two sleds had tethers installed and it was mainly because of things i saw on this site. Two seasons ago i had an incident with a guy in a different group that just had to ride around our group having lunch with plenty of other area to ride in. He decided to do a small drop on a nearby hill and ran out of talent, the sled flipped end over end once and then, because he wasn't wearing the stock Doo tether, the bar riser folded down and hit the throttle. I looked over just in time to jump out of the way and have his sled slam into the side of mine (with 200km on it) moving it about 10 feet. Did $4500 worth of damage to my sled.

I wear a tether for many reasons now, not only for my safety but for the safety of others around.

 

[Couch]

I use a clip type tether - rather than clip it on I use the clip to make a loop on the end then put it over my wrist. Makes it easy to pull off (intentionally) to shut the sled off and has come in handy a few times. No need to unclip from clothing just let it do its job when getting off the sled - best way to make sure it's working properly and you don't mind the dangling end when standing around.

 

[vodoo103]

I'm someone that got hit by a ghost sled in 2011. Would not have happened if the guy was wearing his tether. He hit a drift and got bucked off after hitting the bars hard. His sled traveled about 100 yards from where he fell off with the throttle pinned. I had just slowed down to stop and his sled hit me from behind directly into the back of my left leg. Didn't even see it coming.

Took 2 years physio to recover, and I will always have some long term issues to deal with.

I'm honestly VERY lucky since we were in Hyder and it was overcast (day one of a 10 day trip). I highly doubt that a chopper would have been able to come get me if the injury from catching a 500lb. sled was worse. 18" to the right and it would have hit me square in the back.

I get pretty angry when I see someone without a tether on and it amazes me that some of the manufacturers still don't have factory installed tethers. It also amazes me that the excuses are still that "it didn't come with one" or "it's too hard to install one". Anyone that thinks it's too hard - I'd be happy to install for you.

 

[canuck5]

Yammies do not have them and it was the first thing I threw on new machine. Seen way to many stuck throttles that just happened to end well. Buddy of mine was tied up in a law suit years ago because of a large no teather incident ghost sled took out multiple sleds and struck one person in between them broken femur and was off work as you can imagine that liability adds up fast.

 

[C of Red]

I have seen those people!
The same ones that have a airbag backpack and don't have the handle out because it might get caught on the handle bars or a tree branch ( Yes it is true )

I've "field tested" my ABS backpack twice in the last few years because the handle was out. Once rolling my sled after a stuck, the other when I did the scorpion on a steep climb and hit some ice (waterfall) under the snow on a transition. Everyone sure laughed both times. Still keep the handle out to this day, "field testing" the airbag is much better than not being able to use it when you need it.

Always ride with my tether as well. Our group was able to convince a few to use them, still have a couple hold outs. Makes me shake my head. Like someone mentioned above that new Doo RF one is such an improvement over the old style, I just can't fathom why someone wouldn't use it.

 

[~Rowdy~]

After having a tether malfunction last season, if I can offer a piece of advise to anyone using a tether, take the little plastic/metal clip off and throw it in the garbage. Use a carabiner in the loop where the clip was.

 

[big_vernster]

Absolutely. First thing I do is replace with a sturdy caribiner. Good advice! Also helps big time with clipping it easily onto yourself not messing around with that tiny metal clip.

 

[team dirt]

Carry a spare also in your pack. Went over the bars hard and tether ripped the loop off my coat because of the way it was over the bar. Then it finally let go of the sled and slingshotted into the trees. An hour of searching I finally found it. Now I have a spare in my pack.

 

[AGGRESIVEZEBRA]

Carry a spare also in your pack. Went over the bars hard and tether ripped the loop off my coat because of the way it was over the bar. Then it finally let go of the sled and slingshotted into the trees. An hour of searching I finally found it. Now I have a spare in my pack.

YUP!!! had the same thing happen to me, although I couldn't find it anywhere. A guy in the group became a back country god after he thought to tape a piece of wood pushing the button down to get back to town. Now have a spare in my bag at all times.

 

[Crustyolddude]

This thread made me go p/up a tether at snowmobile show. One of the vendors out side the snowmobile show had them sale, for $15.00.. Install this week.