You configure it to release the rope at a specific weight tension (anything between 100 - 800 lbs). It's meant to prevent injury from a rope that might wrap around a body part when you fall. If you look at the Malibu forum thread it links to another thread which has a very graphic example of what can happen.
Here's the description from their site:
http://skyski.com/store/comptech-safety ... lease.html"The Comptech Adjustable Swivel Automatic Trick Release The patented Swivel Release has been in development for over 3-1/2 years. The basic design allows riders to quickly interchange ropes by using extra swivels. The rope swivels in the three rollers located in the end of the housing. When you pull on the manual release cord these three rollers tip out and release the swivel. By pushing the swivel into the three rollers they will tip in and lock into operating position. For all you flippers this is a real load-bearing swivel and has almost no drag. A spring and plunger assembly inside the housing controls the automatic part of the release. The release pressure is infinitely variable in pressure from 100 to 800 pounds. In testing we found that an average size rider takes 150 pounds of pull to get up on a plane. Once your up the load drops to around 50 lbs. So what do you do if you want to run the release at 100 pounds? Set the adjuster to 200 pounds, get up and have the observer back the nut down to 100 pounds. Just that easy! You want to go up to 800 pounds turn the adjuster to 800 pounds and keep on riding. (Just a FYI we tested the release with a knee board and saw over 400 lbs pull across the wake. We saw spikes of over 550 lbs on wake jumps) How do you know where to set the Release load setting at? There is a gauge on the side of the Release that shows you how many pounds have been exerted on the unit. Push the white pin to zero and set the release to 800 pounds. Ride as you would normally and have someone in the boat see how far the pin moved on the graduated scale. If you never went above 300 pounds then set the adjuster at 400 lbs. and enjoy. They can even do this while you are still riding. When learning new tricks that require low line tension, set the adjuster to a lower level."
