AT A GLANCE

The Nomad from Cabrinha is a totally new kite for 2010. It fills that gap that was previously empty for a high performance freestyle kite for pro riders. Cabrinha spent the best part of a year listening to their pro riders and creating a kite that fulfilled their wants and needs. It is about as close to a C-kite as Cabrinha dared to take it, yet it retains all the great features of a hybrid. It benefits from easy retaunch and a simple bridle set up. As standard the kite comes with the IDS safety system.

THE BAR

The bar this year from Cabrinha is an improvement on last years excellent design. It is simple, functional and has everything just about where you would want it. Arguably the neatest system on the market every aspect of the design has been well thought out. New for this year the IDS system is fitted inside the depower protective tube; this tidies up the set up even more. The trim straps are neatly placed above the bar and are easy to reach and the quick release is simple and functional.

IN THE AIR

Ever since Cabrinha launched the Crossbow in 2005 they have been missing a kite like this from their range. The Switchblade was used by the likes of Andre Phillip for his wakestyle riding and the Crossbow was a freeride machine that in recent years has had a hint of race applied to it. The Nomad bridges that gap and it is a stunning kite. The turning speed is rapid and when powered up the Nomad will put a smile on your face like no other. The kite launches you into the air with some impressive force and leaves you hanging there. Whip it into a loop and it turns in a wide arc around its wingtip generating heaps of power. The bar feedback is excellent and the rider knows where the kite is all the time. There is no heavy bar pressure often found on some of the other kites in the range. The Nomad is light and extremeLy responsive. The responsive behaviour also lends the kite really well to wave riding, you can flick it around the window whilst you are tearing waves to shreds and it behaves immaculately. Upwind the kite performs well, flying far enough forward in the window to get you there quickly, but retaining a good amount of pull at the same time.

FOR
A true high performance kite from Cabrinha, if you like hardcore freestyle then think of it as a return to form from the brand. And if you enjoy shredding waves you won’t be disappointed.

AGAINST
It depends on your riding style as to whether you will enjoy this kite or not. If you enjoy the way the Switchblade lies in a solid, locked in and predictable manner, be prepared for a different beast altogether. We loved it!

OVERALL
Fast, responsive handling with pinpoint precIsion the kite flies fairly far forward in the window, which allows it to fly upwind. The kiteloops are excellent and it realty filLs a gap that had previously been empty in the Cabrinha range.

What we were impressed by:
- Ability to adjust between light and lighter bar settings
- Increased response and direct feel in light bar setting
- Reduced bar pressure but good constant feel in lighter bar setting
- Nice upwind ability
- Stable like a rock structure in the air
- Fast and on axis turning for kite loops
- Does not over sheet and stays floating with minimal effort in light winds
- Excellent lift and hang for jumps

Not too impressed by:
- Limited low end power

We recommend this kite for a intermediate to advanced rider looking to do freestyle-unhooked tricks, kite loops and ride waves. Once there is enough wind for your size of the Nomad, you will be very pleased with its performance.

Tips
* Any size of the Nomad runs smaller or pulls less than the other models of this lineup in similar conditions
* Have another kite as part of the quiver to cover wind conditions where your Nomad may not perform at its best

I spent about 3 hours on the 11m Nomad yesterday at Magnetic Island on the Naish 5'5" fish, in sub-20knot conditions that I would normally ride with my SB3 12m. Used the "Light / Wave" settings and middle knot on the rear line pigtails, hardly any depower pulled on. I'm 78kg wet.

First hour marginal 13-15knots with 10 knot lulls.
Second hour 17-20knots and pretty steady.
Last hour 14-17knots.

First impression - this kite won't replace the SB 12m. The bottom end is pretty poor for an 11m. In the first hour I was working the kite right up til about 15-16knots, even on the surfboard. Other guys on 12m SB3's, 12m Nemi HP's and 12m Rebels and surfboards were getting upwind way faster. Normally I'd also be "park and ride and rip upwind" on the 12m in that sort of wind. Anyway, that's not really a criticism, as Cab have said all along the kite is less powerful than the SB's and not made for low end grunt. Others have noted the low end is probably not as good as the SB 10m, and I'd agree there.

However, once the wind kicked in to closer to 20 knots and I could park and ride, the kite really started to shine. Very smooth in the air, the bar feels great, and the depower throw is pretty short. Still had to be a bit careful not to kill the kite power with the edge - it definitely likes to fly fast. Turning is excellent - on par with a 9m crossbow IDS maybe? You can really throw it around the sky, and it suits ripping waves with the strapped surfboard a lot better than the sb3 12m. Not sure what the top end will be, but I had no depower pulled on at 20 knots.....I can imagine it will go well into the high 20's and probably handle better and better the more wind it gets. Gust control should be great with the combination of edge and bar throw.

Stability was good, no overfly tendencies. I did put it in the water once, in about 15 knots, and it didn't even look like relaunching by pulling a steering line. Swam hard at it for a few meters to get it on its back, and then it came up OK, but then had a long-ish body drag to get board back. If you were in bigger surf, I'm not sure you would want to be frikking around like that. But that was evidently in light winds, I gather it may be quicker in 20 knots plus. Time will tell.

The kite fits well into my quiver of 12m and 8m SB3's, but it certainly won't replace the 12m until the wind is above 16 knots or so for the surfboard, and maybe 20knots for the TT.

Still keen to try a 2010 kite that will give the power of the sb 12m, but faster turning.