I had the good fortune to try out the new Cabrinha Drifter this past week and here is my review.
Wind: averaging 18-20knots, no gusts above 22knots.
First thing I noticed, it looks like a hybrid delta shape, with some c-kite elements, namely the straight cutoffs on the wingtips.
Second noticeable element: The hardcore bar setup with loads of steel and soft comfortable rubber grip. It seems like bar design has come along some, the simple chicken loop and release system is very streamlined, albeit very complicated looking. (I didn’t release and see how it was put together)
Bar pressure was definitely at a comfortable level, I know cabrinha’s have in the past been known for some very stiff bar pressure, but this was very comfortable.
The most noticeable flying element that was apparent was the stability in the air, no matter what you do with the bar or where you fly the kite, even directly through the window on a kiteloop or downloop, the kite did not luff once!
Even flying straight through the window on a hard carved turn, and releasing some power through pushing the bar out sharply, there was literally zero canopy distortion whatsoever.
What this means is that cabrinha have built an extraordinarily solid kite, that you have to worry less about where you fly it in order to keep the canopy in shape.
The overall power was good, but I have become accustomed to my </a href=”http://www.timharper.co.za/2010/03/f-one-bandit-3-review/”>F-One bandit 3 </a> that has some amazing grunt behind it.
The power ratio from the side of the window to the center of the wind window was also fairly consistent, some kites really peak quite dramatically when you send it through the center of the wind window.
I would like to try the 7m kite in some overpowered situations to give a more solid review that would include how well the kite depowered, but I was certainly impressed.
Definitely another kite to test if you are considering asking Santa for a new kite this festive season!

I had the good fortune to try out the new Cabrinha Drifter this past week and here is my review.

Wind: averaging 18-20knots, no gusts above 22knots.

Cabrinha Drifter 2012

First thing I noticed, it looks like a hybrid delta shape, with some c-kite elements, namely the straight cutoffs on the wingtips.

Second noticeable element: The hardcore bar setup with loads of steel and soft comfortable rubber grip. It seems like bar design has come along some, the simple chicken loop and release system is very streamlined, albeit very complicated looking. (I didn’t release and see how it was put together)

Bar pressure was definitely at a comfortable level, I know cabrinha’s have in the past been known for some very stiff bar pressure, but this was very comfortable. The most noticeable flying element that was apparent was the stability in the air, no matter what you do with the bar or where you fly the kite, even directly through the window on a kiteloop or downloop, the kite did not luff once! Even flying straight through the window on a hard carved turn, and releasing some power through pushing the bar out sharply, there was literally zero canopy distortion whatsoever. What this means is that cabrinha have built an extraordinarily solid kite, that you have to worry less about where you fly it in order to keep the canopy in shape.

The overall power was good, but I have become accustomed to my </a href=”http://www.timharper.co.za/2010/03/f-one-bandit-3-review/”>F-One bandit 3 </a> that has some amazing grunt behind it. The power ratio from the side of the window to the center of the wind window was also fairly consistent, some kites really peak quite dramatically when you send it through the center of the wind window.

I would like to try the 7m kite in some overpowered situations to give a more solid review that would include how well the kite depowered, but I was certainly impressed.

Definitely another kite to test if you are considering asking Santa for a new kite this festive season!

For full details on the kite see the Cabrinha site here.