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Cabrinha News

Caliber & Sync:

Designs for the Evolving Kiteboarder When the Cabrinha development team got together in Hong Kong last August to pour over feedback from last year’s designs, it became clear to all that there was a missing board in the lineup. Both dealers and riders commented that the sport was developing a new kind of kiteboarder: One that needed a board with more pop and performed
better in lighter wind, as well as capable of more of an aggressive freestyle application. Riders demanded a full on freestyle board that blurs the line between wakestyle “pop” type tricks and “sent” maneuvers like kite loops. The team centered in on creating a board that suited that rider.
Inside the Design Loft

Ian Ponting, the board’s designer, shares his process: “The original design brief was to take this new riding style and adjust the Imperial to fit it. In the design process, we started working with these different bottom shapes and where we were putting the shapes weren’t working properly. As the 09 development progressed, we had an “ah ha” moment where we moved the center concaves to the tip and that opened up the doors for widening the tips of the board without
sacrificing control. It evolved so much it became it’s own entity: The Caliber.”

The Sync Backless Bindings have also been a big story this year from Cabrinha. Ian Ponting says, “The performance level of kiteboarding has evolved past the limitations of a standard footstrap. Riders are going faster, higher, and landing with massive force that a regular
footstrap becomes a performance barrier. We started to really look at the demands that kitesurfing really has on the foot and created a design to enhance performance.”

On the Water

Jesse Richman, 15 year-old Hawaii native and Cabrinha rider, quickly adopted the board and has been tearing it up on the KPWT, with top finishes at every event. His intense training in the off season and singular focus have paid off as he’s currently leading the tour. Richman’s take on the Caliber? “I have been riding the 127 and after I got used to it, it really is the best board I have ever had. The board has a feel of being on a track, so it is totally different then any other boards I have tried so far. I can pop bigger because of the stiff feeling and have no problem landing anything from powered wake style tricks to huge lofty big airs and kite loops.”
Not everyone is a professional kiteboarder competing in the tour, but Richman touts the Caliber as a super all around board. He says, “Everywhere I go, from the nice, flat water of Greece to the choppy lakes in Italy, this board truly shines.”
Richman is also stoked on Sync. “Really, I can ride bindings without actually riding them using Sync. I can still boost some huge board offs and have the feeling of not having to think at all about my feet coming out of the straps. I can’t imagine riding without them now.”