I must confess to not being a regular user of Korda's Heli Safe system but it has been around a while now and I thought it time to give you lovely lot a tried and tested review!
So, for those who are not familiar with the concept. The Heli Safe was designed to allow anglers to fish a helicopter style set up, that can deliberately allow the lead to eject if required. In the past it was common place for anglers using a helicopter set up, to attack their leads to the leader using a small O ring and some 4lb line. The theory being that in the event of a fish becoming snagged up or caught in the weed, the much weaker 4lb line on your
carp fishing rods which is keeping the lead in place, will break under moderate pressure and allow the angler to maintain contact with the fish.
The Heli Safe was definitely a solution to a problem and I was impressed by the compact design and the clear thought process that has gone into the construction of the Heli Safe. Again, for those that are not familiar with the product, this is what it looks like.
The khaki coloured plastic bead is the Heli Safe and I will let Korda explain a little more about how it came about and how it works....
'We've been working on a solution to a problem that anglers been faced with for some time, how to safely and consistently discharge the lead when fishing with a helicopter setup.In order to be a true game-changing product, the Heli-Safe had to fulfill some important criteria…
One such criterion was the ability to fish chod rigs at range. The heavy leads needed to fish at long range often become a problem once a fish is hooked.The combination of a very short hook link and large lead would often result in dropped fish. Likewise, venues that had been choked by weed often dictated that dropping the lead was paramount, something that just isn’t consistently possible with conventional systems. The demand from anglers to produce a drop-off lead system for use in these situations pushed us to develop the product you see before you.
The Heli-Safe System enables you to drop the lead when the situation calls for it. When used in conjunction with our unique Helicopter Safety System and unique No-Trace Beads, you can fish a rotary-rig setup in situations that would have previously led to the loss of hooked fish. The system works by employing a pressure-release function, not seen in the angling world until now. The latched lead clip will open once a hooked fish pulls against the angler, allowing the lead to drop free.
By threading a Barrel Bead onto the leader above the Heli Safe, you will prevent the lead from discharging, should you pick up weed or other detritus on the retrieve. Once engaged in battle though, the bead will simply pull down and allow the lead to discharge. The unique design enables the angler to choose when to drop the lead, and when to retain it. In situations where it’s not necessary to discharge the lead, a small plastic collar (which is supplied in the kit) can be fitted to fix the lead in place.'
So there we have it. Now my thoughts....
Like I mentioned before I am not a regular user of the Heli Safe but I have used it and to good effect. An example of one of those times was a trip to Cherry Lakes in the Cotswold Water Park. I knew the venue to be quite weedy and there is a ban on leaders with tubing being the only option, after asking about, the Heli Safe seemed the perfect option as I was planning to fish little spinner rigs into holes in the weed and the Heli Safe would allow me to drop the lead on the take, drastically increasing my chances of landing anything I was lucky to hook. I won't bore you with the details but over two days I landed four fish, two twenty pound mirrors and two mid 30 mirrors! Four takes, four fish landed. I like the compact design that sits flush to the lake bed, it isn't too bulky or obvious.
All the components slot together effortlessly and with the addition of a little plug, you can prevent the lead from ejecting on the take, so no need to change set ups. All in all I liked the idea and I loved the product, the proof after all, is in the eating!
Andy Grenfell 
