Скачать или смотреть The Cabrinha Contra Vs the Slingshot Turbine- Versus Ep14

The Cabrinha Contra Vs The Slingshot Turbine. They're both built with the same purpose and rider in mind but they do have some pretty distinct differences.

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Let’s start with the Contra.
With its three strut construction, this kite is incredibly lightweight allowing it to fly in extremely light winds for its size. For a large kite, it has surprisingly fast turing speed, particularly the 15m. The bar pressure is moderate yet, not overbearing and the relaunch is consistent reliable.

What about the Turbine
On the other hand, the the Turbine, while not as lightweight as the Contra, it does have a more durable heavy duty construction and more low end. Meaning it will have more power pound for pound in less wind in the kites respective wind range. More on that later.

The Slingshot Turbine has a lot of power.
The trade off here is that with the lightweight construction, the Contra will actually work in less wind and you can sign the kite with less effort. Something to consider if you love pushing the bottom end of those lightwind days. However, as far as park and go when your not pushing the extreme bottom end of light winds, the Turbine will have more power.

An important note is that the Turbine does have more low-end but you will get overpowered faster on the Turbine as well. I’ve pushed the 17 Contra into 20 something knots before, and while I’m not advocating that, I find around 18 knots the Turbine will start to pull a bit to hard making it difficult to ride upwind or jump. I find that to be a fair trade off for the low end

What about bar pressure?
Regarding bar pressure, the Slingshot Turbine has a bit more than the Contra and this can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your preference. Heavy bar pressure on lightwind days can create a sense or perceived power and it’s actually kind of satisfying when you don’t have enough Juice. As for the Contra, I wouldn't say it has more moderate bar pressure. Definitely not as much as the Turbine. To this, I would say to each their own, I actually prefer heavy bar pressure but I do often opt for the Contra.

Relaunch
Something else to consider would be the Relaunch.I mentioned that the Cabrinha Contra has a reliable relaunch and this is particularly important for light wind kites. It can get difficult especially during those spring thermals where there is actually less wind on the surface of the water than say 15 meters up in the sky. Its kind a weird phenomenon I’ve noticed on our local beaches here. I’m sure some of you have experienced this. As long as your kites in the sky you can ride but if you drop it, game over. Back to the Turbine. I would say, the Contra relaunches better but it’s only noticeable on the absolute bottom end.

There was some debate at the shop regarding what kite has a better relaunch. So to that end, it’s fairly marginal between these two. If anyone one else watching has any input on the relaunch I’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments.

The Turbine does have a more heavy duty construction while, the Contra uses less material in contrast to the rest of the Cabrinha line up. What this means is the Contra is going to stay in the sky when the wind gets lighter. Now, don’t let this scare you. While it is a lighter construction this kite can still take a beating. I’ve really put this kite through the ringer for the last three years and running and I’m yet to have any problems.

Jumping
A fun point to touch on is how well each of these kites jump. The Turbine is actually going to jump a little better and have more hang time. A large part of this is simply the shape of the canopy. The Turbine has a higher aspect ratio making for a lofty powerful kite. This is an instance where I find the Contra to be a bit more well rounded meaning any freestylers out there looking to unhook in marginal winds will enjoy the Contra but if you love big air, the Turbines just a bit better. That’s not to say, the Contra isn’t good at jumping because it’s still an all around performance kite.

When it comes to deciding between these two kites just ask yourself what you want to do with it. And what trades offs we covered are most important to you. For me, I like the Contra for the wind range and how playful and well rounded it is for a light wind kite. the but I can certainly respect that the Turbine has some pretty strong advantages for riders looking to rock upwind and get the most airtime possible.

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