Dane’s Review: 2007 Cabrinha Omega HD
Kite Tested: 2007 Cabrinha Omega HD
?Board Used: 2007 North Jaime Pro, North Pacific Directional
?Dates: May - August, 2007
?Location: The Columbia River Gorge (numerous locations)
?Conditions: Anywhere from 12-35 mph, waves, swell riding, bump and jump, small chop
Rider: Dane
?Gender: Male
?Height: 5?5?
?Weight: 135 lbs
?Skill: Intermediate - Advanced
I’ve been riding the 2007 Cabrinha Omega HD non-stop for the entire summer, and I have finally found the time to put my experience to words.
Areas of Use: I have used the Omega in just about all the conditions available in the Gorge, in nuking winds and light winds and everything in between. I have been in big swell at the White Salmon Bridge and bump and jump at the Spit. I’ve ridden small chop at Lyle and flatwater slicks at the Kiddie Pool. I have spent time at Rufus in huge 35 mph conditions, lit up on my 7 meter kite and freaked out of my mind. Through all of this, the Omega has proven its all-terrain versatility and continues to excel.
Each size Omega covers a huge range, so that matter what the wind is doing I can take out either of my kites and “make it work” in just about any conditions. Simply by adjusting the trim strap, I can ride my 9 meter kite completely depowered and go out in 7 meter conditions, or ride my 7 meter powered up and go out in 9 meter conditions.
The SLE shape of the Omega gives it more grunt than a true bow kite, which is nice in underpowered conditions. When everyone else on the beach is rigging 12 and 14 meter kites, I can go out on a directional board with my 9 meter kite and still have a great time. When it’s greatly underpowered the Omega does handle sluggishly, but it works very well in normal and overpowered conditions.
Handling: The Omega is an extremely forgiving kite that reacts predictably in gusts and lulls, and is tuned to offer as much depower as possible. This is welcome in the Gorge, where we consider 15-30mph conditions to be “unbelievably consistent.” Cabrinha ships the kite rigged in the 2:1 pulley setting, which gives you twice the depower range as you would in a system without pulleys.
You can also convert your bar and kite to the 1:1 setting which bypasses the pulleys. While this limits the range of depower allowed by the kite it greatly reduces bar pressure, which is often preferred by more experienced riders who don’t need as much feedback to know where the kite is located in the window. When rigged in the 2:1 configuration, I’ve found that riding toeside or heading downwind can be somewhat challenging on the Omega, as it easily kills the power in the kite.
Relaunch: The Omega relaunches very well, and I’ve found the trick to making this kite relaunch easily is simply to have patience. All you need to do is pull on an outside line and wait for the kite to do the rest. You may need to pull in a lot of line, up to six feet, but if you just pull on one control line the kite will eventually right itself and relaunch. It’s tough to have patience when you’re bobbing in six-foot swell and your board is already 30 feet upwind of you, but in the case of the Omega patience is all that is asked of you.
Durability: This is where the Cabrinha Omega really shines. Since May I have been out on the water 3-4 days a week on average, which means I’ve probably ridden at least 50 days so far this summer. I have a two kite quiver, a 7m and a 9m Omega, so needless to say these kites have seen a lot of use. Even so, I have had absolutely no problems with the construction of these kites. Zippo. No frayed lines, no shredded kite bars, no torn seams, no blown panels, no busted bladders, no leaking valves.
I did have one experience out on the water where my leading edge was leaking, but after I got back to the beach I realized I had accidentally cross-threaded the main valve on my kite. I left the kite inflated all night after reseating the valve cover, and even after eight hours it didn’t lose any pressure.
PowerDrive 2N1 Bar: Cabrinha has one of the cleanest and most streamlined bar systems on the market. For all their effectiveness and popularity I don’t particularly enjoy the added complexity of five-line systems, and I’m glad to see Cabrinha sticking with four-line simplicity. The bridle on the kite is incredibly clean and nearly impossible to tangle, and the single-point one-way valve inflation system makes it easy to rig quickly and get out on the water.
Update: Read Dane’s follow-up review on the Omega in the 1:1 configuration
