I've been flying the Cabrinha Crossbow for just over 3 and a half weeks, and have had the opportunity to test it in our local conditions as well as very steady wind in Kenya over a two-week period.
The kite setup was standard except for a few extra knots which was made on the back lines by Cabrinha Kiteboarding in Cape Town. This setup allows for better low end and makes for slightly faster turning.
Turning Speed
The most striking characteristic about the kite is that the kite turns on a really tight axis - as if the kite turns on it's center rather than on the wingtips. Tight turns must not be confused by turning speed. We found that the 12 Crossbow kite moves slower through the window than your typical 12, but it does turn really tight. The 9 Crossbow kite turned very fast.
Bridle systems usually have slower turning speeds associated with it. In response to this, Cabrinha brought out the 3 point pulley system on the bar which helps speed up turning. It seems to help, but there is still a delay with turning speed. One can easily get used to this delay and it is not necessarily a bad thing at all. The Naish Torch and Best Hellfish have built in delays - nowadays having a delay in a kite can be a good thing for freestyle.
Cruising on the water with the kite is such a pleasure. This is the easiest kite that anyone can ask to fly. It subdues gusts. The feedback on the bar is soft and easy, although the bar pressure required to move the kite is a bit on the heavy side when compared to the 2005 Cabrinhas.
Kite loops are really easy as the kite turns really tight. When you push the bar out while doing kite loops there is almost no downwind pull at all.
Safety and Relaunch
According to press releases, safety was the main brief on this kite. This is also the area where the kite performs the most and is completely different to anything else that precedes it when it comes to Leading Edge Inflatable kites.
Killing the power on the kite simply involves pushing the bar past a reseat able ball. Once the bar travels past this point the kite looses all power, and will slowly drop to the water where it will fall in a relaunch position at the edge of the window.
Relaunhing the kite simply involves pulling on of the side lines towards you. Once the kite takes off, pull the bar towards you and reseat the ball by pulling it towards you. Really simple and it works great.
If you find that for some reason you cannot relaunch the kite by pulling on one of the side lines, you can pull the front lines in and the kite will flip on it's back, just like a 5 line will flip a kite on it's back. This is an additional way of launching your kite should the first method fails, and makes for an almost fail-safe relaunchable kite.
Jumping
Jumping high on the Crossbow requires good timing and strong wind. Once you lift of the water, remember to pull the bar in else you will jump depowered. I have found that the Crossbow is really sensitive to jumping from a low position in the window - if you want to jump high instead of low and far you need to pull the kite from a high position in the window.
I find that the 12 has excellent high wind capabilities, but the kite starts slightly later than your typical 12. You probably start having good fun on the kite in 16 or 17 knots. To jump high, you need to be really powered on this kite. Weighing in at just over 70 kg's, I was able to hold this kite without any stress in 26 knots, and it is in fully powered conditions where the kites jumping abilities comes into it's own.
Upwind Ability
Upwind ability on this kite was good - just to clear out any uncertainty about this topic. I wouldn't say it was better or worse than any other kites upwind abilities. The kite does sit further back in the window like a medium aspect kite, but this really has no affect on upwind performance at all.
Crossbow 9
I managed to fly the 9 Crossbow after spending a good number of days on the 12, and the 9 is a completely different kite. It's still got the safety and gust absorbing abilities of the 12, but where the 12 rides like a 1977 Mercedes Benz Automatic the 9 goes like a Porsche Boxer with airbags and ABS brakes. It's a super fun kite to fly that will satisfy everyone from beginners to the pro kiter. We felt that the 12, unlike the 9, wasn't progressive enough - the 9 is very nippy and allows you to generate power. Flying the 9 is an exhilarating experience.
The 9 is excellent for wave riding - once you've had the 9 on a wave you will know what I mean. It's fast - you can move it through the window at incredible speed and instantly cut the power by pushing the bar out whilst still moving the kite. If for some reason you've got too much power on your bottom turn you can spill the power and sheet back in on your top turn.
Jumping on the 9 is also a lot easier and more fun, requiring less precision than the 12 due to its faster turning speed.
Another thing that was amazing about the 9 is that I was able to stay upwind on the 9 crossbow in just about the same conditions that I could stay upwind in on the 12 Crossbow, or on our equivalent 12 Classic Leading Edge test kite. The range on the 9 is incredible - I would take a guess and say that it could easily be 17 to 30 knots for a 70 kg rider.
Conclusion
The Crossbow is a really easy going kite. It absorbs gusts better than any kite that I have flown, behaves incredibly well and inspires confidence in the rider. Both the 12 and 9 performs great in strong and gusty conditions. I would say that this kite would be an excellent choice for the recreational kiter that needs a safe, gust absorbing, confidence inspiring, easy to fly kite with good performance as well as the more advanced kiter needing a good wave riding kite or a kite that loops quickly.
The Crossbow's safety and abilities to depower the kite whilst keeping the kite in the air puts it well ahead of the classic leading edge kites.
We were surprised at the slight lack of performance in the 12. But given the incredible abilities of the 9 coupled with the safety, relaunch and depower abilities of the entire range of Crossbow kites I must say that the Crossbow range of kites is a huge step forward in kite design. In every day scenarios this kite will make kiting safer and allow you to push harder as you can always kill the power by letting go of the bar, or relaunch the kite if anything happens. A kite well worth buying.
Thanks to Cabrinha Kiteboarding in Cape Town for supplying the demo kites.