The more I spend strapped to these babies the more I fall in love. I’ve been out on the 9m & 11m 2011 Switchblade for about 20 hours in a wide range of conditions and have nothing but good to say. Before I continue, I’m a 62kg female with no financial ties to Switchblade, so you’re only getting the truth
from me!You’ve probably all heard it’s the “premier wakestyle kite worldwide” … “shining as an excellent all round freeride and freestyle kite” but in reality does it live up to these bold statements?
I have to say, I think it does! From the moment I opened it up I could see the Cabrinha Switchblade has been well thought out. It comes in an awesome bag, there are hazard warnings all over the place to make sure you don’t screw up and the over all presentation shines quality. The graphics on the kites don’t scream for attention but they sure do look good, and it is unlikely they will offend anyone. So over all appearance is a hit.
First things first, inflation. The Switchblade’s have a universal inflation system with a one-way valve. Meaning no faffing around with multiple sections or rushing to get the valve cap on before all your pumping effort escapes. Sometimes it’s the simple things.
In the air kudos goes for the Switchblade’s super light bar pressure and wickedly easy handling. But all of this is outshone by its flying performance. They seem to have managed t
o get just the right combination of turning speed and power efficiency to make it an epic ride. But the major standout for me is when it comes to jumping. The hang-time is mental; in fact it should probably be called a paraglider instead of a kite. The super light bar pressure means you can really send the kite aggressively up to 12 o'clock, pull the bar down, and just float around. It's awesome.It loops like a much smaller sized kite and it jumps like no other kite I’ve ever flown. Given that it is incredibly stable and predictable in the air landing jumps, rolls etc is just that much easier. This, for lack of a better description, results in a pretty awesome kite.
Another massive bonus with this Cabrinha’s is their wind range. Apparently the efficiency of this kite actually led to the creation of the “two kite quiver” (where two kites will handle the needs of most riders). Only needing two kites definitely helps out the finances . I’ve been out in occasions where other riders have been putting up 12-14m kites and I’ve been buzzing about on a 9m (I am small…but I’m not that small!). This also goes the other way; I have been out on the 11m, when others have been on 9-10m kites. I’ve had the 11m out in some mentally gusty conditions, the sort of gusts where it actually felt like I was trying to ride on a fat mans anal gases…proper gusty. Anyway, the Switchblade seemed to swallow the gusts whole, making a painfully gusty wind condition a lot more manageable.
As far as safety goes I’m not sure they come with more depower than this kite. The Switchblade’s have a crazy on demand depower ability. You can fully depower the kite at anytime by simply throwing the bar or in Cabrinha’s words “placing the bar into the Override mode”. A neat trick with this kite: when you need a quick break, pop the kite down to the side of the wind, throw the bar and it will just sit there like a little puppy (or should I say big puppy…) until you’re ready to power up and head back out. So no need to land your kite for a rest. The depower system give you the confidence to pull new tricks and then they go wrong you don’t end up suffering the extreme consequences of a powered kite. I love this ability (it’s also pretty handy if the wind picks up and you’re suddenly over powered!).
Finally, I have to mention the bar! It has a wicked recoil system. Cabrinha have added a simple spring to the bar, which without sacrificing the high end wind range or the kite’s ability to handle gusty conditions makes the depower controls easily accessible. It basically stops the bar sliding out of reach so everything sits neatly in reach and you can also un-spin the bar without having to hold onto it. Uber cool.
To sum up, I love the Switchblade and I highly recommend. The end!
By S2AS Team Rider Vanessa Procter
For more info cal S2AS on
01303 268269 Kent
01202 738448 Poole
01273 746836 Brighton