Cabrinha Switchblade Review

[Jeff Ruoss]

We have been giving lessons on the Switchblades here at Playa Copal in Costa Rica. It is excelent to be able to just teach the student to let go of the bar and the kite stops pulling. It works so well our students actually park the kite overhead and swim upwind to retreive their board with little effort. For most it eliminates the need for a board leash.

Relaunching takes two steps. Steer the bar either all left or right and when the kite rolls onto its wingtip sheet out(push the bar away) about 5 inchs.

Inversions are not an issue with this kite and they are holding up well. We have one 12 that has been in our student/rental prgoram that has some insane hours on it some thing like 150 and it is still fine. Those are some tough hours too. The winds here are relentless.

Nicole a local Costa Rican has been struggling to stay upwind for two years. We got her out on a BOW kite and in 20 minutes she was blazing upwind. She owns a Switchblade 7.0 which gets her riding from about 13 to 28 mph. Her husband Stefan was also struggling to stay upwind and got it on the first tack. He is about 40 lbs heavier and uses the 12 Switchblade from 12 to 30 mph. The 7 and 12 kites cover the entire wind range for these two.



These kites are not just for beginners either. Our shop rider Kent Graninger does unhokeed mobius's and everything else and the kite is super stable through the whole move. Two Pro riders were just here Cameron Dietrich and Jon Modica. They were pulling awesome tricks and pushing it harder then I have seen riders train before. With there being no cosquence when making a mistake by just letting go of the bar allows them to really push their limits.

Below is a picture of Kent Graninger(blue 9 kite) and Professional Windsurfer Tyson Poor(yellow 12 kite). Kent was out pulling sick sent handle passes at 20 feet off the water and unhooked mobias's as well. This was Tyson's first day of kiteboarding.. he got 20 minutes of beach instruction and riding upwind on his third tack. They also weigh the same at 170 lbs.



Another Happy Customer



Jeff Ruoss
Kite Wind Surf LLC
Ph. - (510)522-9463
Email - jeff@kitewindsurf.com
Website - Kite Wind Surf

Jeff Ruoss
Kite Wind Surf, S.A.
The Kitehouse
Playa Copal
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Ph. - (506) 676-1076
Email - jeff@kitewindsurf.com
Website - Kite Wind Surf

[santateresa]

this is stefan..what jeff says is absolutely true. i was doing the copal walk of shame (to get back up wind) about 50% of the time before i got on the switchblade. i haven't had to do it once since i got my new cabrinha. my level improved in the first 15 minutes (sailing upwind consistently) and has continued at a record pace ever since. within a week or so i was starting to hit the upbutton with vigor! and new comers to copal have started to ask me for the local beta now... (as if i were a seasoned rider). i've feel comfortable on the switchblade 12 in 25+ knots with gusts and have been out on the 7 in 30-35 knots. last season, on the old technology, i would have never thought it was possible. the only thing i'm more happy about that my progress has been the pleasure of watching nicole get it going on too! thanks again Jeff for everything! sincereely, sc

[santateresa]

Since I got the switchblade 7.0 in december, my kitesurfing has improved 100%. In the past with the old kites it was really hard to hold on in the gusts and to stay upwind. I was walking back up the beach a lot and I was getting blown off my board pretty badly in the strong gusts. Now it's a different story, I'm kitesurfing and I'm having lots of fun with my switchblade 7.0. I feel confident, safe and very comfortable in 20-28 knots even with the famous Copal gusts. Also my back really appreciates the fact that I just pack my 7.0 and walk to the beach, instead of carrying three kites and a really big board, plus when I get there... there's no question in my mind as to which kite I'm going to ride. Thanks Cabrinha for such a cool kite and thanks Jeff for bring such great new technology into my life. Pura vida, Nicole