A personal protective device tether. The tether comprises an elongate tether. The tether defines opposing, first and second ends and a length separating the first and second ends. The tether is configured to provide an initial state in which the length is an initial length (L1). Further, the tether is configured to self-retain a stretched state when stretched from the initial state at a first temperature (T1), the length in the stretched state being a stretched length (L2) that is greater than Ll. Even further, the tether is configured to self-transition from the stretched state to a recovered state when heated to a second temperature (T2) greater than T1.
