Do people hate cabrinha?

[530N52]

It seems like all the major brands kites are getting so good now that there is something for everyone in each manufactures line. Haven't tried a Carbrina in years, so I could be wrong.

In waveriding so much boils down to skills. Some killer wave kiters have recently moved to new brands. They seem to progressing just as fast and ripping just as hard.

Course racing may be a different story...

[nikalaitzian]

I hate Cab kites...ok I said it

To me, they just fly nasty...high bar pressure, horrible feedback and they turn slow!

I also cannot understand how Cab can sell their kites at a premium price, yet they do not use Teijin for their canopies!!!??!!!

You can buy a Switch kite that is better made, with a Teijin canopy for half the price

I hate them too...they look and feel like lorrys when they fly..not to mention the ricepaper effect on their canopy....sucks

[SBBeachbum]

Can you please open up your statistics to corroborate your statement on durability? Thank you.

Just observation on kite beaches. On Boracay right now the oldest kites are few Cabrinhas (don't know years) and one North 2007-2008. ?

Ahh great. One older North kite and a few Cabs, of which you dont know the years manufactured, that you saw in one location are for sure a great support for your argument of superior durability.

Chicken loop, depower rope can be made by yourself or any kite doctor available — for such extreme cases. I replace depower rope and 5th line every year, but they aren't changing in North case and very simple to find alternative solution. Same with canopy. What else??

I think, that 3 years is reasonable "guaranteed" support time, lifetime of kite is 2 years + 1 for old season sales.

Hell, people make their own kites but this was not the point. Maybe some guys just dont want to buy the replacment part from the manufacturer and be done with it.

[Kamikuza]

Seems like it doesn't take much more than one bad experience to put any of us off a particular brand for a time, at least...

A Best kite exploded and the others I've seen all leak. Naish sigma kites don't relaunch well. North has leaky bladders too. Switchblades have monstrous bar pressure. Blade have crap QRs. Ozone has an ugly bar. Below the bar trim is too hard to use. Cam cleats don't work. Delta kites like to tumble backwards through the wind-window and snare wingtips and explode...
Yup, those are some of my irrational prejudices that I can think of now

Nah...not true I'm afraid! I would buy a kite from any of the top brands apart from Best because they're a kook brand, and Cabrinha cos they're just plain shit

[Gioro_T]

BwA'HWahHAwhwa !!!

I'm loving this discussion, because for a long time I've been trying to figure out why I'm not drawn to this brand.

Firstly, I wish to clarify a very important thing and have you guys acknowledge the improper use of the term "hate". "Hate" is an internet cliche that is thrown around vaguely and doesn't mean anything, really.
What would help this discussion is if you told us what you ASSOCIATE the Cabrinha brand with.

So here, when I first started my lessons (on C kites) in 2007 or so I was introduced to a Cabrinha bow kite by this snob of a person (and I kid you not: this guy should have his face in the dictionary beside the entry for "snob"). He says "Dude, these are BOW kites - they are super safe; Pfft, forget about C kites - bloody death traps, they are !! Look, if you're in trouble just push the bar away here and the kite will just fall to the ground, like a onion peel".
And I'm thinking "Onion peel, eh ? This false sense of security will get you fa-aaar, buddy !"
... and plus, that logo this the flaming C reminded me of something tacky, like rednecks with pick-up trucks and stickers with flames on them. Bwa'HwaHwa !! Hillbillies, I tell ya !!

So, anyway, this brand struck me as kinda like the BMW of kites. A bit later I realized it is also boring, so I re-nick-named it as the Volvo of kites. Quality product and keeps their value well -yes- that's the story of a good friend of mine with his '07 12 Omega - abused the shit of that kite while he was learning (true, the lines were worn, but the kite was all right) and still sold it for $600 [he bought it discounted for 1,000]) I, instead, bought 2 LF kites for about !,200 and have them to this day.

Just yersterday I had a whole session on a '11 9m SB; nothing to write home about, really. The slow-turning surprised me. But, hey, it's a good kite, nevertheless ... just not something I would buy.

And like someone from Montreal said in an earlier post (comparing it to driving a Camry), I also associate these kites with something ordinary that any newb, or anyone else not specialized in any discipline, would posses.
"M'eh, a Cabrinha ...". I mean, what do you expect, that I walk up to the owner and ask questions about it ?

Hmm, in conclusion the problem I have with Cabrinha is that they are almost 'too good' at everything. And since I'm an underdog kind of person, it would be undesirable for me to have one.



PS: I see sometimes people applying stickers on their cars with the 'C' logo ... come on, that is SO-OOO tacky ! (reminds me of those rednecks that put huge Nike logos in their back window of their cars) Stop being brand whores !!

[knotwindy]

hate 'em, no but
what i hear about them time and time again is
the bars are over-engineered and complex
and the kites underperform for the money

just sayin'

flew the Drifter the other day and it was the best Cab i've ever tried by a mile

[geopeck]

I don't hate Cabrinha but some small things definitely color my impression of the brand, like using an inflation valve which isn't compatible with other kites. It seems like an across the board inconvenience when a cabrinha rider can't borrow your pump and you can't borrow a cabrinha rider's pump- I've even seen Cab riders locked out of a session because they forgot their pump. Cabrinha keeps at it because they feel like they have this great idea while not realizing it doesn't always work out in the real world. (they may have changed by now, I haven't seen any recent cabs)

LF also thinks they have a great idea with their maxflo inflation system, but they're considerate enough to make that double as the dump valve and put in a standard 9mm inflate valve. A much better way to do it.

There are several other brands that irk me just a bit over not being willing to meet some generally accepted standards - bars with different length lines, QRs that are not push away, lack of color coding on the bar, a certain snowkite company whose depower strap is red and power strap is also red...

[Kamikuza]

I don't hate Cabrinha but some small things definitely color my impression of the brand, like using an inflation valve which isn't compatible with other kites. It seems like an across the board inconvenience when a cabrinha rider can't borrow your pump and you can't borrow a cabrinha rider's pump- I've even seen Cab riders locked out of a session because they forgot their pump. Cabrinha keeps at it because they feel like they have this great idea while not realizing it doesn't always work out in the real world. (they may have changed by now, I haven't seen any recent cabs)

LF also thinks they have a great idea with their maxflo inflation system, but they're considerate enough to make that double as the dump valve and put in a standard 9mm inflate valve. A much better way to do it.

There are several other brands that irk me just a bit over not being willing to meet some generally accepted standards - bars with different length lines, QRs that are not push away, lack of color coding on the bar, a certain snowkite company whose depower strap is red and power strap is also red...

Uh? There's an adapter for the valve actually attached to the kite, right next to the valve... at least, they were in 2010 and 2011. Pretty hard to lose it

Yeah big valves work, and work well. Everyone I know who's used both systems love them... them that don't use Cab/LF kites - have electric pumps

THAT'S a standard the industry should be pushing!
Agree with your other points too... and hate 'weak' colour coding on bars - totally contrasting colours in BULK please... neat-o little red diamonds on an all-black bar isn't easy to see when you're spinning the bar around, undoing multiple rotations!

[dyyylan]

Lack of color coding on the bar? One side is black, the other side is red. What more do you want a giant sign that says THE BAR IS THE WRONG WAY MAKE SURE YOU TURN IT THE OTHER WAY YOU FUCKING KOOK

[alexeyga]

dyyylan,
It sounds like you've never had to un-spaghetti your lines, because when this happens, 2 white lines + 1 red + 1 blue is a hell of a lot easier to untangle than 4 same-color ones. Nevermind self landing/launching in water. And i've personally been once in a "i'm so fu$ked!!!" situation where being able to distinguish back lines from front lines has saved my butt!

As a side note a credit should be given to Cabrinha as a company. Being a part of a bigger corporation they have the budget to develop things things that small guys can't afford to. That big valve was a move in the right direction. I though it was stupid until getting a kite with a similar one and it's a blast to pump up!!! The 2012 bar - even though it seems rather over-engineered, has some good amount of sense to it - at least the safety part of it. Though Gin's interpretation of the same concept looks a lot more robust and cleaner.

Nonetheless, Cabs are the last kites (and boards) i'd recommend to anybody. Like i've said, for the same money and less there are much better and fun kites out there - just take the time to look outside of the Wall-Mart bubble!