Cabrinha Chaos 11m 2018
Reviews / Kites
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At A Glance
The world of kiteboarding has lately been seeing some incredible advances in freestyle riding and big air riding, with riders pushing the limits further than ever before. We have had c-shape kites in kitesurfing for many moons now. However, the latest c-kites are performing above and beyond what we could only have dreamt of back in the early days. We are going to take a look at Cabrinha’s top end freestyle kite the Chaos.
The 2018 Cabrinha Chaos is a high-performance C-kite with arc support lines (6 line setup). The kite features are Cabrinha’s Pure Profile Panels to improve airflow, High Tenacity Dacron for durability, Sprint Airlock enabling lightning-fast inflation and deflation the Skeletal Frame offering rigidity where need and there is plenty more. It’s built to a very high standard and is fit for the highest levels of riders.
The 2018 Chaos comes in 4 sizes, one colourway and is compatible with the Chaos 1X Trimlite control system.
Sizes: 7, 9, 11, 13m
The Bar
The Cabrinha Chaos comes with its very own specialised bar, the Chaos 1X w/ Trimlite. Due to the kite being a 6-line connection system the front lines include the additional split 6-line system. Don’t worry you’ve got four lines still to untangle from the bar end and the split lines are easy to separate.
The bar itself has undergone a revamp with new smaller bar ends and grip while remaining 44cm in size. It's super comfortable and simple. The bar comes with the larger Quickloop, and Trimlite cleat depower system.
The Trimlite depower itself is super easy to use and looks tidy. The centre line is pretty long for a C-shape freestyle kite, something I’m not so used to personally, however when you get overpowered it’s pretty useful.
The Quickloop is a perfect size for unhooked riding. The 1X safety system and quick release system are super clean and comfortable to reset.
“Well built, rapid in the sky, loads of slack and plenty of feedback on the bar.”
In the Air
The Chaos is built to be a high-end performance C-kite, and within moments of having it in the air, you can tell that it is. The kite is super agile in the air, it has bundles of forwards drive, and the turns are tight and fast. The feedback from the kite is fantastic, you can feel every twitch it makes in the sky, and you know where it is at all times. The pressure on the bar while turning and riding is light so you can save some energy for more riding. The kite is very stable considering its C-shape design; it remains stable even in lumpy, gusty winds.
Depending on how you like your kite to fly you can trim the kite to sit further back in the window and stall ever so slightly, for which it flies incredibly well. The flip side, you can depower and ride front line heavy, and it still performs.
The Chaos provides a substantial amount of power at all times and loads up incredibly well. It is a snappy kite, firing you into your moves. The slack created is ideal, just the right amount with no tendency to stall out upon landing. Sending the Chaos into boosts the kite delivers an explosive take off with a quick ascent. As with many C-shape kites, there isn’t heaps of float, but you can whip the kite around for some extra airtime. Looping the Chaos shows its speed, it whips around super-fast even though it’s an 11m kite (I bet the smaller sizes are insanely good when powered). The loops a not only fast but powerful and the drive back to the top is rapid with no lag in the centre.
Relaunch is of course not the easiest on the Chaos, but it falls in line with any other C-shape kite and is easy enough, if you put some effort in and learn the technique you’ll be set.
For
Light bar pressure, tons of feedback, loads of slack and rapid through the sky.
Against
Personally, I would like to see a shorter centre throw and a smaller bar option available for the Chaos considering its built for freestyle. However, the current set up does allow the use of one bar for all size kites.
Overall
The Chaos does what it says on the tin. It boasts high performance for freestyle riding and is one of the top contenders on the market for those wanting a C kite. It’s well built; it’s rapid, has excellent feedback through the bar and generates loads of slack. Oh, and it boosts and loops insanely well too! It is a technical kite to fly and does require a higher level of skill to maximise its potential. Those who are already landing some unhooked moves will find the transition to this style of kite reasonably easy.
Videos
This review was in Issue 69 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit CabrinhaRelated
By Robin and Sukie
With years of kite sport experience combined, you can be sure you’ll be receiving the highest quality of knowledge on the best equipment the industry has to offer.
