Kiteboarding Forums

Looking at Slingshot Rev 2 vs. Cabrina Revolver for surfing a directional. Any comments as to preferances, speed of kite, depower range, bar pressure and which is the best overall kite. Obviously one needs to try before one buys.

Hi Dirk ,

 

Whilst this may sound a bit biased as I am the importer the REV2 is an awesome wave kite , not that i have ridden the Switchblade but I strongly suggest you take them both for a test and then choose . We have a9m and 7m for demo at the Slingshot shop in Big Bay .

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Regards
Gavin Spowart

Cyclone Extreme Products
25 Hunter street Durban
27 31 3686864
083 4638025

Slingshot CT
shop 38 Seaside Village
Big Bay , Blouberg
Cape Town
021 5543418
www.cyclonekiteboarding.com

Hi Dirk

Well you should give the rebel or Vegas a test as well to.

BR Olaf

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North Kiteboarding
Shop 22 the Paddocks
Millnerton
7441
Tell + 27 21 555 2602
Fax + 27 21 555 2601

I knew North would confound the issue. Probably should try that too, but I want to hear from riders who are not sellers (no offence Gavin and Olaf)!

I tried the 7m Rev for a day in 20+ on a 5'5 directional. Very nice kite. Fast turning. Fast through the window with a nice power spike if not depowered (so good for jumps). Stable in gusty conditions too.

My only gripe was sometimes the bar would stick if turned hard (like when going into a bottom/top turn) and then i couldn't depower the kite. Maybe something that could be sorted by waxing the depower line? Or just depower before going into the turn.

Haven't tried the Revolver, but have flown the Switchblade 8m a few times. A bit slower through the window, but still great for jumps and enough control&depower for waves. I prefer the Switchblade bar over any manufacturer's - no wear on the sleaved depower line. And it's simple. Think the Revolver is probably just a beafed up Switchblade? Can't imagine it has more depower.

Of course i still prefer my F-One Bandit 7.5m  ;-)

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Cheers

Andre

Hi

Cool no  offence taken! ☺

 Wave riding is a preference thing and most and you should try a couple of Kites to get an idée.

For Andre F-one Bandit we have got the EVO so there is a mountain of Kites out there.

Olaf 

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North Kiteboarding
Shop 22 the Paddocks
Millnerton
7441
Tell + 27 21 555 2602
Fax + 27 21 555 2601

Hey Dirk

The Bandit DOS should be with us next week and availbale to demo in Cape Town at the Slingshot shop - Original Delta shape - killer in the waves - I have had the 8m and 5.5 her in Durban - huge wind range and lots of depower - these are the only 2 kites I have flown on the coats with my surfboard for the last 6 weeks -

Don't worry Andre I will get ayou a demo soon - I think you are going to like the 5.5m for the waves ! Thought I would never use it - but it is the bus in the waves -

If you want to check out the DOS waveriding - checkout www.banditdos.com - there is a 20 min video on there called ADDIKT - watch it and you will see some of the best waveriding footage yo have seen.

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bruce chrystal
ocean2air kitesurfing
www.ocean2air.co.za

I can give you some feedback for the revolver. I tried out the 7m end of last summer and found it great for wave riding, but thats about it.

Pros :

•  kite was quick and responsive

•  bar pressure was light, almost too light for me

•  when I parked the kite at 2 o'clock it stayed there while I could do whatever I wished on the wave, it did not stall or fall forward or backwards

•  rides upwind really well

•  water relaunched really quick and easy

Cons :

•  no good for jumping, I could not get as high as I would like to and it brough me down really fast and hard (no floaty bow feeling)

•  no low end power/grunt (very similar to the Convert HD)

I prefer the switchblade which is more of an all rounder for me and it addresses all the cons I listed of the revolver.

If you're going to be spending good money on a wave riding kite I would definitely recommend you try and demo both of them.
In the end it boils down to personal preference and you are the one that must be satisfied with the kite you are going to be flying.

DOS? Don't we have windows now? Seriously, problem is I don't have much time to try out many kites (I am not terminally ill - I just work too hard and have too many family committments), so I want to hear want guys like Andre have to say, i.e. users not pushers. Demos are also fine, but it takes me about a season to find the quirks of the kite and the things I do and don't like. I have used the Naish Helix (my father's!) - it's got light bar pressure, quick in the air, good depower, but too #$%^ing ugly (so who cares, I suppose). Naishs always feel a bit spongy to me. My xbows are a bit heavy on the arm (I don't mind that) and a bit slow for me (I probably don't use them properly), but so easy to kite with. I liked my Fuels for years, but my kiting jumped forward when I upgraded (2005s to 2008s, not brand). I might give the Fone and the North a go, but then what about Best, Airrush, Flexifoil....etc...etc? So I kinda want to stick to the 2 brands I know and like - Slingshot and Cabrina (and from whom I have had outstanding service), unless there is a compelling reason to look elsewhere. Hope to hear more from the guys who are not selling.

Hi Dirk,

I am probably a bit biased in my choices (simply because if it works why worry about changing it - this sport is filled with too much hype anyway) - this has worked for me (might not for you as the previous posters said - its a personal thing) there just is NO such thing as a "best anystyle kite" anymore. They all have their pros and cons depending on the rider, conditions, amount of beer consumed etc etc

My 2 cents - I also ride the sunset/dolphin/big bay strip most sessions, looking for waves as I generally suck at freestyle and I played around with most of the manufacturers kites the last  two seasons. I must confess to being a Fuel addict. The 2007 7 Fuel is a kite I still havent grown out of with 2 seasons of riding. It responds predictably and gives great positive bar feedback. Built like a Tiger tank with smooth turns through the window and still allowing you to turn when depowered. No inverting and generally a no fuss ride which allows you to concentrate on klapping the lip rather than bothering with the kite too much. The rev would come close to this (in fact ordering a 5 for the summer as the 5 fuel is a bit punchy and skittish.) The rev feels Fuel like but just a bit quicker. Same confident feeling (preferably in the smaller sizes - 9,7,5) Easy kite to fly, no backwards flying inverting 500000psi setup crap - flys perfectly out of the bag. Simple bar with no hype type features looking for benefits. Only gripe is the chicken loop rope which can snap quite easily.

I tried the revolver but it felt a bit gutless size for size with the Rev. Beautifully constructed bar but hated the dangly depower thingy's (could probably get used to this). Kite never quite had the "spark" for me. Flew ok, turned ok, depowered fine but too on/off 4 me  - much better than the Sblade for waveriding I thought - probably suck at freestyle (but I cant comment here)..

Hate to sound cliche'd but you really need to rack em all up at your local and test in the same conditions. From what I have heard (not tried) the Airush Generator is up there as well so add that into the mix to.

Good luck!

Dave