via: Dirtyhabits

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!

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

More on the performance later, but it really does look slick in the black and gold colour scheme, I can’t find an image online to post here, but I’ll attempt to get one up later. The blue and white one below will have to do for now!
The construction seems as solid as the rest of the nobile range, not as bombproof as some kites I’ve seen though, but all the right triple stitched seams and rough gaurds that you would come to expect these days.
The bar and lines are standard Nobile, but there’s no improvement needed there, the bar is comfortable with finger shaped grooves close to the center of the bar. The bag is standard too, nothing special but it was never a huge selling point for me in a kite anyway.
The only one improvement both Nobile and F-One could make is that they could include some sort of spinning shackle for the center lines, as they do tend to get twisted on themselves if I do kiteloops in only one direction for a session. Slingshot’s below the bar spinning chicken loop is definitely the way forward, I’ve got no idea why other brands don’t follow suite.

So performance wise the NHP is quite impressive, it’s very smooth through the entire window, and has a very direct feel to the kite. It turns really quickly too and the kiteloops feel very stable throughout the whole loop. Unhooked the NHP has all the drawbacks of all other bow / hybrid kites where your normal riding will see you fairly powered up, and you will need to depower before unhooking to make sure you don’t flare the wingtips. I tried this and it worked just fine, I only needed to depower around a quarter of the depower strap to counter this. When I was unhooked the kite still felt very stable and didn’t fly further back in the window like I mentioned on my F-One Bandit 3 review.

I’m trying to think of a negative or two to balance my review but the only thing that springs to mind is this: The kite fell back into the window once or twice when it was on the 14knot side of the wind range, but a quick correction saw it come back to the edge of the window, and this was generally on the beach or when I had turned into a wave / carving turn. (So it may have been my fault in the first place!)

So overall a great looking kite with all the characteristics that I look for, if you are in the Cape Town region and want to test it out yourself call Coci on 083 273 2212. There are only a few in South Africa at this stage, so if you want one I’d get on it quick.

NHP Kite 2010

I’ve had the bandit 3 for just under two months now, and can say that it really is a superb kite. I used to ride slingshot fuels, so the need for direct input on the bar, and quick turning speed were essential in a new kite for me. A few highlights of the kite’s performance that set it apart from anything else I’ve ever flown:

1. The pull  from the bandit 3 remains consistent throughout the entire window, the fuels have a very definite sweet spot below 12o’clock and it will slow down as it gets to the edge of the window. This means that when I jump on the new bandit 3, the upward motion is never a jerk upwards, it’s always a very smooth, floaty lift, and then it’s always a smooth float down too.

2. Turning speed, the bandit 3 that I have is a 7m, so it should be quick anyway, but this thing turns on an absolute dime, beating the 2008 fuels I own hands down.

3. Wind range, I’ve been out in 18knots and been happily riding upwind on the bandit 3, and then I’ve also been out in 35knots and been ok too, (just depower and hold on!!). The low end is seriously impressive and this kite will see me through most of the Cape Town wind that we get.

So to give a balanced review I need to mention the two things that I don’t enjoy about the bandit 3…

1. The lines are cheap and nasty – I’m not sure how long they will last, but they really do feel a lot thinner than any other’s I’ve owned.

2. I need to depower to unhook – riding comfortably when I’m on full power on the depower rope, I’ve found that I need to depower if I want to unhook, I’ve also found that when I do unhook the kite is very responsive still, so any tiny tweak sends the kite off into the water, or back to 12o’clock

Overall a fantastic kite, and it is the 3rd generation so F-One has obviously made some improvements along the way. I’ll have to send it through a wave or two to test the construction, but I’d rather not do that for the purposes of a review…

f-one_bandit_3_most_wanted

nobile_nhp_3D_kiteboard

nobile_nhp_3D_kiteboard_specs

More details on the nobile website:

http://www.nobilekiteboarding.com/#/board-nhp

Eventually got to our room after almost murdering a reception monkey, a bellboy and the transfer driver, 22 hours worth of travelling will do that to you. (Did I mention Egypt Air is stuck in the 80’s?)

Headed to the Kite center, boards assembled and all sorted to get on the water, go out on my 11m and end up far downwind. Disaster. First lesson learned, wind is up at 9 / 10am and ends by 3 everyday, like clockwork.

I was on my 9m and 11m for almost every single day, I had to borrow a 14m for one day and had one session on my 7m. So 12 days later I was absolutely poked, body ached, hands were falling apart and I cracked a bone in my foot, but had one of the best kiting experiences ever, super flat water out at the sandbar, with consistent wind and warm warm water.
We didn’t venture out of the resort much, but after having 3-4 hour sessions every day, sometimes with another afternoon session, we didn’t have much energy, so stuck to a few beers at the shisha bar on the premises.

I read a review about the all inclusive restaurant before we went and it said the staff were like bolivian prison gaurds, this is totally not true, they were all fairly attentive (as attentive as an egyptian can be) and some were even friendly. The food was average but not bad by any standards, the variety was fine for a week, but after day 13 I couldn’t wait for something other than cafeteria food.

The Colona Watersports kite center was ok, a little bit pricey (45euro for the week for rescue / beach access and 70euro for 2 weeks), but the staff were easy going and always willing to help. The launch and land area was really tiny, and gusty and if it gets busy it can be a nightmare, but if you aren’t experienced enough, just dump your kite and they’ll come fetch you.

All in all a great holiday, just remember you are still in Africa and watch out for the fat russian tourists. (or Aim for them if they are in the water!!)

Pics on:
Tim Harper Facebook.

I’ve been looking for sites that may have the current wind reports/statistics and forecasts for hurghada because of my upcoming trip there in August, and found a lot of links broken or confusing.

So here’s a breakdown of the only useful ones that I’ve found so far:

The usual suspects:

http://www.windfinder.com/forecast/hurghada

http://www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?sc=13

(This one has an ‘adjusted’ forecast by colona watersports, not sure what that means as their station seems to be down.)

Very detailed report from the airport:

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/HEGN/2009/7/22/DailyHistory.html

The only webcam I can find is here, and not at the magawish hotel where we are staying:

http://tommy-friedl.de/eng/webcam_e.php

I’ll add some more when and if I find any and report back if there’s any that the locals point us in the direction of when we are there.

IFS Pro Footpads

@ R1000 for the pair they are pretty pricey, but that’s what you pay for imported goods down here in SA.

I wore them around the house for the first few days I had them and they were pretty comfy, the fit is absolutely perfect and the cushioning is spot on, not too hard, and firm in all the spots you need it to be. When you are wearing them around the house just make sure you take them off after a few beers, they can be kinda slippery on the tiles!!

I attached them on my board and had the first session on them last sunday, and they truly come into their own on the water, they actually felt as secure as wakeboarding bindings, not sure if it was the cushioning in the heel or the tightness around the top of my foot. My one foot went a bit numb after a bit but I managed to adjust the strap while riding, probably the easiest footstraps I’ve ever had to adjust.

So the only downside (Apart from the price) is the fact that you can easily get stones / sand in between the pad and the board, so I might stick them down with some silicone sealant. I don’t want to superglue them down because I will want to upgrade my board next season, brand new Nobile 132cm coming up!! Watch this space for a review on that…

Another Pic:

We are staying at the Magawish hotel in hurghada, in a room that is practically on the beach! The wind looks seriously sweet for that time of year so here’s hoping that we get a good run, I’ve heard that it can blow 14days straight around that time, all of it perfect for 7m or 9m kites.  (Did I mention the clear blue water that is nice and WARM!!)

I’ll keep this blog updated with pics and hopefully some vids (If Coopz buys the camera), so watch this space!

Staying at: http://www.magawish.com/

Magawish Hotel Location on google maps.

There’s a massive amount of flatwater, or at least thats what it looks like from the photo’s and from google earth, so I’ve got a few moves to work on: Flat 3, F16 and any other starter moves I may get in!!

Egyptian Embassy in Pretoria seemed very helpful, although they weren’t too impressed with the courier company I used to get the passports and visa applications there from Cape Town, they arrived at 3pm when they only accept applications 9-11am!

I was looking at doing a Diving course either there or here in SA before I go, but it seems to be about the same price:

bubbleblowers in Cape Town, 4 day Padi open water certification: R3200

colona 300 euro for the same.

Any suggestions? Leave them in the comments.