Cabrinha Switchblade 3 12m 2008
Reviews / Kites
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At A Glance
The Switchblade has been a staple favourite amongst the Cabrinha kite line up for a few years now. Many of their pro riders have it as their kite of choice; wakestyle king Andre Philip loves it can be seen using it 100% of the time. In previous years it was seen as more of an entry-level freeride kite playing second fiddle to the performance orientated Crossbow. But as wakestyle riding has become more and more popular the Switchblade moved stables slightly to become the core wakestyle kite in the Cabrinha line up. The Switchblade comes as standard with the Powerdrive 121 bar. This has some great safety features on it like the Override 2 stopper ball and safety release. This allows the rider to set the resistance at which the stopper will release. This year Cabrinha have worked hard to improve their construction and the Switchblade is a very well made kite, reinforcement and thicker materials being used in the main stress areas.
In The Air
The first thing you notice about the Switchblade 3 is the raw power it delivers, back to back with other kites of a similar size the Cabrinha consistently delivers more grunt and more power. The kite has quite a flat arc shape to it, which delivers more power per square meter, yet at the same time providing plenty of depower. With all this power comes control as although the pulleys have gone on the bar the kite still has a relatively short depower throw. This means that with just a small movement of the arms you can dump power as you need to and have a smooth enjoyable ride. The Switchblade is also very stable; small input on the bar won’t have it whipping around the window like an angry wasp. This means for freestyle tricks you really can park and play with the Switchblade 3. The steering, once engaged, is quite quick, it certainly feels faster and more direct than last years model. There is a slight delay when you engage the bar, this helps the kite remain stable, but once the kite turns it has a good amount of pace to it. The pull is smooth and consistent and kite loops are an exciting affair. The kite rides well upwind and its grunt and power will get you up there very early on. It is also a very easy kite to fly; whilst it has been designed with wakestyle in mind the Swithcblade 3 isn’t just about that. The light bar pressure coupled with the predictability of the kite make it a good kite for the aspiring intermediate rider who wants a kite that will see them through to expert level and still excite them as they get better. As a lightwind power house the kite should also be considered by all those looking to be among the first to get going down the beach. It has probably one of the best low ends of any of the 12m kites we have flown this year.
For
Very stable, lots of low-end power coupled with excellent depower and control. A very versatile kite, even though it was built with wakestyle in mind.
Against
With a great bar set up and an awesome kite it is hard to find fault. If you aren’t looking for a stable pulling machine to do tricks behind then perhaps look to the Crossbow.
Overall
The perfect wakestyle machine could well be here in the form of the Switchblade 3, powerful, consistent and stable with heaps of control at your
This review was in Issue 9 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit CabrinhaRelated
By Rou Chater
Rou has been kiting since the sports inception and has been working as an editor and tester for magazines since 2004. He started IKSURFMAG with his brother in 2006 and has tested hundreds of different kites and travelled all over the world to kitesurf. He's a walking encyclopedia of all things kite and is just as passionate about the sport today as he was when he first started!
