There isn't much phone reception never mind internet connection. Wait til they get back then it'll start.

Rhys Porter said...

I'm gonna have a Custom tomorrow WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They missed the plane Rhys, we are getting thenm sent by sea freight they will be here is approx 3 weeks.
However, the new boards and kites are awesome, we had 4 good days of wind, and 1 marginal day.
The Nomad is sick, the new CB is much better than last years, lower bar pressure better turning, the new SB is also turning faster, has better bar feel.
IDSx, mmm, very nice.
Very tired, Sydney feels very cold after a month in Fiji, more from me soon.

Cya and

Good to be back

Steve

C'mon Paul1 gimme a break, I need my beauty sleep these days more than ever!
:-)
Maybe I always needed it, and now need it more than ever?

Anyways, feeling 100% Sydneysider again and ready for some wind and colder water.
The Nomad is going to be a very popular kite with wave riders and freestylers. It has a bit less power than an similar sized bow kite like the SB IDSX, so the 11M Nomad had similar power and bottom end as the 10M SB IDSX.
The Nomad is the fastest turning kite that Cabrinha have made, or that I have used, the 9M is very lively. We had winds in the 25+ knots wind range when I tested the kite and everyone else that rode it that day also commented on how exciting it was to fly. I saw riders unhooking and kite looping the Nomad and it seemed to do everyhting they threw at it with ease. There were extremely high level riders at the conference.
One thing I noticed was how well the kite drifted when I rode straight at it chasing down the small choppy waves that broke on the edges of the reefs.
Relaunch, was easy, although not as easy as say the Convert or Crossbow IDSX kites, and I never saw anyone stuck with the kite down for more than 30-40 seconds. I had no trouble relaunching to from a couple of awkward crashes.
One rider tested the bottome end of the 11M while I was on a 11M CB IDSX, he was on a fish style surfboard, quite large and floaty, I was on a Caliber 1.36 and we had about the same bottom end and upwind.
This years CB IDSX is a big improvement over last years and the years before, lower bar pressure and a faster turn initiation. All the kites have had a lot of work done to their bridles, to minimise the bridle and to make the turn initiation much faster and crisper as well as to improve the depower throw and feel.
All the kites are minus 1 pulley per side, as there has been a refinement of the IDS, and there is a new forged stainless eye that allows the IDS to operate (replaces a pulley)

The IDS system is further refined and is now a fully spinning below the bar flagging and 95% depower system. There is now only a slightly larger OD single black plastic centre line going through the bar, the IDS line passes down the centre of the black plastic centre line.
The bar stopper is improved, but is still not a 100% locking system (unless modified by a rider), because Cabrinha do not wish to make a system that removes and disables the 95% IDS depower system.

The kites construction is also further refined to make them even more durable to the abuses we dish out to them. Canopy and LE cloths are now manufactured exclusively for Cabrinha allowing the kites designer to customise the cloths qualities specifically to his/our sports needs. The use of varying weighted (strength) cloths throughout the kite, to make the kites more durable and longer lasting is carefully controlled, and noticeable.
The graphics of this years kites are the best yet in my opinion and the wild card colour option should be very popular.

Convert kite is also a big improver this year, with 4 colours in the range and tight fast turning, medium/fast speed in the window, super easy relaunch, easy unhooking, should be a popular kite, especially since its pricing will still be at the lowest in the Cabrinha range.

Boards, look and ride sick. The new redesigned Syncs are even more backlessly binding and comfortable.

The bars are slightly smaller doameter with a smoother grip, plenty of red on one side with red and black plastic coated leaders and new bar ends, make the total package extremely high quality and some of the best and most user friendly, gear in the market. Cabrinha have stuck to a core principle since releasing the first bow kites onto the market back in 2006, and the safety systems and release systems are now the most refined on the market, with a proven and continuously evolving history of safe functionality.

Kitepower shops have demo boards ( I lied, they were not delayed, sorry Rhys!), and each shop has a demo 2010 kite. Right now the Nomad 9M is in Brisbane, Sydney has a 10M CB and Geelong will have a 7M CB by Wednesday.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve

4 good days of wind and 1 marginal day out of one month in Fiji.. Please tell me that's not right.. I am only going for 2 weeks and with those odds I will need a lot more money for piss..

Steve, thanks for the breif reveiw, have been waiting for some news on the new kites. the nomad looks nice. I am wondering who each of the cabs are aimed at this year. It seems that the nomad is aimed at wakestylers/waveriders, which was the domain of the SB. I also heard the new CB will be aimed at speed kiting and I guess a big boosting higher aspect kite. So where does this leave the SB? I am guessing as an allaound freeride kite. And what about the convert, is this kite still marketed as an entry level kite?

Also it seems that cabrinha aren't jumping on the delta kite bandwagon this year unlike the majority of other companys, but are more or less staying true to their bow style philosophy. Is it simply a case of "if it aint broke don't fix it" or is there more to it than that? I would be interested to know your thoughts on this

i wanna know what the nugget and the custom are like :) what size is the custom you got?

Thanks for the reviews so far guys.

I'd be really interested to hear what Cabrinha have done with the Calibre this year - I heard they introduced a 139, and would really like to know which direction they have gone with the 2010 board in terms of feel and performance.

Any light you could shed would be appreciated,

Richie

sweet, def have to get another custom this year as well as a nugget. Finally somethin like a wakeskate to have fun on :) keep us updated rhys, the gear looks awesome this year. Cannot wait to get my hands on it :)

Any news of a production race board from Cabrinha?

hey rhys u able to show us pictures of the boards? love to see the what they look like

14 and 12M take the 55cm bar, 10, 9, 8 take the 48cm bar and the 6 and 4 take the 42cm bar.
There were no 9M kites on demo in Fiji, but am really looking forward to riding this size, should be an awesome wave kite.

Are you saying that there is a 9m Switchy in the mix ?

The bar only costs $50. It's the bar and lines and chicken loop and everything that cost $500.

There's nothing to stop you getting any length bar you like when you buy a kite. It doesn't take long to adapt your style to a longer or shorter bar.

It's a false economy to not buy a bar and lines for every kite. The lines will wear out much quicker if you use the same set over a number of kites and when you sell a kite it's easier to sell a kite. bar and bag as a complete set.

Monkeyfish said...

toppleover said...

14 and 12M take the 55cm bar, 10, 9, 8 take the 48cm bar and the 6 and 4 take the 42cm bar.
There were no 9M kites on demo in Fiji, but am really looking forward to riding this size, should be an awesome wave kite.

Are you saying that there is a 9m Switchy in the mix ?

topple over

that was just my question to kitepower for confirmation ???

mf

YES

Just got word that the Twintips get released to the world on 29th July.
Untill then, your limited to coming into the shop to check them out. Sydney Kitepower will have Caliber and Nugget (I think) By Wednesday next week :)

Yes Geoff. They still do a 10m.