cord for a dog leash

We used a sewn sling. Some of the new ones are pretty light, and very strong. Hank liked it; I'm sure Charlie would, too.

I just use a guy line from my tarp (glowire). Hitch one end to her collar, the other to my belt. Works well, and no added weight! :)

If your dog is off-leash most of the time, but you occasional need a leash, the Ruffwear Quick Draw is convenient. It clips to the collar like an ordinary leash, but then wraps around and velcros to itself so it's out of the way until you need it. Then you grab it, pull, and it comes un-Velco'ed to form a short leash.

It's too short to walk your dog with, but useful if you need to hold your dog when passing another hiker or dog. Probably not something you'd want to use in bear territory, but then I wouldn't bring my dogs there to begin with.

I've also used paracord with a carabiner at one end, and a doubled up loop for the handle. A sewn webbing loop might make a better handle, but this has been sufficient for me with my 35-ish pound dogs.

Glowire would be plenty strong, but I'd be concerned about the dog getting such thin line wrapped around his legs (or mine).

I had a retractable leash that stopped retracting. Most of the leash was round cord about 3/16s but the last 4-5 feet was a nice, light, 1/2" wide, very thin nylon webbing. It already had the clip on the end. I just tied the flat strap into a loop with an overhand knot. That's the lightest I've put together and the flat strap doesn't cut into my hand if she pulls on it ("I gotta check out that rotten fish carcass!").

Going to Spectra or any 100-pound-test fishing line would be lighter but maybe more prone to tangling and be harder to untangle if it got into a knot while in my pocket.

I think the thin, flat webbing is good if you want it around your wrist for any period of time. But another lightweight style would be the pull-cord handles from a chainsaw or lawn mower – designed to be comfortably held while pulling hard and it has a hole for a cord coming out the center. $200 lawn mower are throw-away item so that's a possible free source, but they are also sold separately as replacement parts.

Mostly, I buy leashes sold for 15-pound dogs. They work fine for a few minutes with my much larger dog, don't tangle, and are cheaper and far lighter.

I guess I go heavy. I use a flexi lead so I don't have to deal with slack and can use my trekking poles. I wear it clipped to my waist belt so no extra weight for him, just me. But it's worth it for me to not have to hassle with the lead.

While hiking, we just use our normal dog leashes (~8 mm rope with a carabiner at one end and a loop with a tubular webbing sheath at the other end for a handle. I can clip the leash to my pack's waist belt while hiking using a small "S-biner").

For in camp, I carry a ~20' length of ~5mm cord with a small bowline tied into each end and a small carabiner. One end wraps around a tree and clips to itself. The other end either attaches to the dog's collar or their leash depending on how much slack we want to give them in camp.

Both our labs seem to have a penchant to wander off in search of food or swimming opportunities near camp, so they tend to stay leashed up if they don't otherwise have my full attention (i.e., while setting up camp, cooking, etc.).

Would some Lawson glowire attached to carabiners at each end work? i could just clip it to my hip belt on one side and his collar/pack on the other…

These cords are pretty strong, so unless a dog is large and a relentless puller it should work.

Mine is rarely on leash and never chases anything, so I carry a very light one made from cord with a tiny carabiner on one end and attached to some braided 550 cord on the other just to give me something a little more substantial to hold on to. Works prefectly for road crossings when there is zero tolerance for mistakes, and when passing through campgrounds/picnic areas.

UL "compliant" at 16g. :^) It is only about 3.5ft long.

if the dog is carrying it, I use parachute cord or similar. There is usually enough room in the dog pack to put it in a zippered pocket. I make a handle out of a loop of the cord. My dog carries her own food in a dog pack.

If I'm going to carry the leash, I use braided dacron fishing line with a 150 lb test for those kinds of uses. I carry a quantity of that line for use as a dog leash, bear bag hanging line, for extension loops on tent lines, for a fish stringer, replacement boot lace, tarp ridge line, and similar uses. It is too small in diameter to comfortably grip and pull hard, but I can attach it to a stick for a grip. You can carry a lot of that line and it weighs next to nothing. 150 lb test is enough for lots of jobs.