When I first started skiing in the backcountry on Alpine Touring (AT) gear in the mid ‘90s, like many Americans, I used a step in binding, the Fritschi Titanal. Dynafit was out but everyone I talked to seemed to think it was sketchy and fragile. It certainly looked like it so I did the Frankenstein plod up the skin track for nearly a decade on heavy step ins. When I moved Jackson full time in 2005, I was immediately swayed by the locals and fellow Exum guides to switch over to Dynafit tech bindings. Hell, if they worked for Doug Coombs, they’d work for me.
At first, I had brakes on my Dynafit Comforts but soon noticed that most of my partners didn’t use them. I’ll admit, I felt pretty cool taking the brakes off and really liked the clean lines of my skis without them. I’ve skied that way ever since. I think I’ve popped out of a ski a time or two, usually in powder, but the ski just stuck into the snow and went no where. One other time, in a 45-degree couloir, I lost a ski and it went for a ride. You can read about that mini epic here.
Anyway, my point is, I, like many others, have survived skiing the backcountry on tech bindings without any ski retention devices or brakes. Most of us, for better or worse, simply don’t want to be bothered with them.
This past season, I spent a week with Ruedi Beglinger at Selkirk Mountain Experience. Now, powder skiing in big groups is not typically my thing. But I’ve heard so much about the man over the years - I saw the movie about him, “A Life Ascending” – and I’d never skied in Canada that I had to go. Reading the client info sent to me prior to the trip I noticed that he wanted all of us to have skis equipped with brakes. I called him and told him about my situation. I pointed out that I’ve skied on race bindings for years, which really don’t have a brake option. I mentioned leashes and he said they were “suicide”. He said that if I lost a ski I might have to call a helicopter to get out. Hmmm. Not super helpful.
Truth be told, in real powder snow, there’s nothing particularly helpful about ski brakes. A ski that releases at speed is going to keep going, brakes or not, and submarine god knows how far. I’ve been part of these ski search shenanigans a time or two and have witnessed many more. Lot’s of post-holing around Mr. Misfortune, clawing the snow with arms and ski poles only to find the errant ski several meters away with everyone wondering how the hell it got over there.
As you guys know I’m a big fan of B&D Ski Gear ski crampons. After years of cruising the site I also know that Bill makes lots of other innovative stuff, including ski leashes. There are several cool features of these leashes that set them apart from all others. First, they use a telephone cord looking leash that has quite a bit of extendability allowing the skier to remove skis to don skins while keeping the leash on. Once the ski is back on your foot, the leash recovers back to a tidy length that doesn’t get in the way.
This expansile feature serves a couple of purposes. The obvious one I just described. The second is a type of load limiting feature that will allow a released ski to get away from you a bit while not ripping your leg off if it comes up tight. Nice. 
The second related feature is an actual breakaway load limiter that will snap at 40 or 60 pounds (two options) in the event that you actually get caught in an avalanche and the ski is bringing you down. The leashes come with several of these little clips in case you need a replacement. They weigh nothing and can be kept in your repair kit.
After being exposed to these beauties, I can see myself using them regularly, particularly in steep skiing situations. Certainly one of the most stressful times on steep terrain is during transitions. Getting your skis on or off on a 45° slope can be tricky and dropping a ski is a serious concern. Being able to hook up the leashes before the skis even come off your pack eliminates this little disaster and day ender/epic initiator. I’ve been there. Serious buzz kill.