I ordered 2, one for me and one for my buddy.

I am not a worry wart kind of person but for $350 and the lakes we fish up here in north Texas it is something that has crossed my mind before.

I have had mine for over a year now. To me it is peace of mind and cheap insurance. I hope I never have to use it. People buy life insurance every day, the only way you get it is if you die.... well actually you never get a penny of it, but you paid for it.

Obviously a personal decision, but every time there is a Leash thread, someone says how cheap and easy it can be made. Interestingly enough, I've never even seen one example of one someone came up with. Imagine what a business opportunity it would provide if you could make one as you say for $20.

That would depend on your comfort level for risk. No one truly knows what minimum strength of materials are required and do you want to throw it together, make claims and risk being sued if it fails. The leash has never had tests performed on it officially. They have had some on boats that hit something yes but they have never put them thru any tests and no one knows at what point they may fail. So could someone throw something together for $20 that works? No one will ever know

You could make one for less than $20 that I KNOW would work. Just get 3 ft of chain and bolt it on. It will look bad and scratch the motor to hell, but it will be cheap and work.

The Leash has held up well to being in the water a lot. Hasn’t scratched the new motor after 20 months of service. What I don’t know is the degradation of the fibers from constant water soaking.

Water won't hurt poly ropes but UV will degrade it over time.

Not sure how many have seen this but it is worth a watch esp if you own a Mercury 4 stroke.
https://youtu.be/IiY7iW1YEao?si=7kBqTYnWzDAMoIct