Cabrinha Crossbow (2012)

I got a chance to demo the 2012 Cab Crossbow 16m yesterday during a demo event here. Flew it in pretty steady 15 - 20 mph winds and knee high surf. I weigh 230+ lbs and normally do downwinders in surf. I normally fly an 08 Best Bularoo 16. The Crossbow is a high aspect ratio kite, in the air it looked to be considerably bigger than my Bularoo although area wise they are the same. Sort of reminded me of what my North Rhinos looked like.

I've never been a fan of the Cabrinha bar set up and the 2011 is no exception. They cleaned up the chicken loop and rigging, that's an improvement over their earlier bars, but the bar ends are huge with tons of padding. If you tend you get hit with the bar you'll probably love this new one, but I thought it was bulky and ugly.

First thing I noticed was how much slower the kite turns than what I'm used to, a lot slower. I'd say it turned even slower than my Waroo 20m. That was disappointing. I pulled a couple jumps and found the Crossbow to deliver very smooth and very floaty jumps.

The depower strap's range was pretty tiny, which surprised me, but the long throw of the center line seemed to make up for it. I should note that a couple other guys flew the kite, some as light as 170 lbs, with no problems in the same wind that I (230 lbs) did. We all flew the kite fully depowered. This kite had no shortage of power for any of us.

Upwind ability of the kite is at least as good or better than my Bularoo, but I don't go upwind much any more so it's harder to judge. I also noticed that the kite had a more pronounced tendency to want to drop towards the horizon than my Bularoo. I had to keep more pressure on the bar to keep it where I wanted it.

Overall, I'd say this kite was obviously not designed for wave riding. If you want a stable kite with tons of power, good upwind ability, and very good lift/float for jumps, give this kite a try. For wave riding I'd give this kite a thumbs down, just too slow to turn and just not as predictable as I'd like. Although I didn't like the bar, if you do a ton a tricks and worry about the bar hitting you, the new Cabrinha bar is probably what you're looking for.