Hi

Been riding cabrinha switchblades kites for the majority of my career and they have served me well. However, the promise of lighter bar pressure and a faster turning kite sounds tempting. Thought the F one bandit looked intriguing, but not being able try before I buy I was hoping for some honest input concerning bar pressure, turning speed, stability (in flight and stationary at 12 o'clock).

Cheers

i've been riding a 2011 10m switchblade since i started kiting , 18 months now ... and my good friend who i kite with just got the bandit 5 , will be testing it out this weekend ... i'll let you know how it feels in comparison (Y)

Hi

That would be greatly appreciated

Cheers

The feeling of the SB and the B5 is quite different.
I find the B5 more responsive and more lively and IMHO a lot more fun.

The bar pressure on the B5 is a bit liter than the SB.
Stability is about the same, both are very stable.
I am 78 Kg and with a 134/40 TT i start going upwind with B5 9m at around 15K and used it at around 35K no problemo.

Because the two are different in feeling you will probably need an hour or two to get used to the B5, but i think that once you go B5 you will be happy with your choice.

Spend a day or two flying the Bandit 5, it will take that to get used to the bandit feel and timing. is truly a awesome kite and my personal favorite. I used to be a switchblade rider and threw it all away when I tried the Bandit.







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F-one, Airush, Blade & Lessons
http://www.air-pirate.com
http://www.air-pirate.com/product/2012-f-one-bandit-5

Hello,
I also fly Cabrinha Switchblades but recently tried a Bandit 5 at a demo day and really liked it - a seed has been sown - I was wondering if anyone had anything to add about the safety system which is why I went for Cabrinha in the first place as it's so good. How does the Bandit system compare??

I like the cabrinha switchblade but do find them to be on the slow side (wakestyle kite) and also find that they have really high bar pressure. On the other hand the security system works ok and they do handle high and gusty wind very good They are also amongst the best jumper on the market.

As for F-One, they still use that old velcro release system. They also dont have any one line flagging option. I do prefer the Cabrinha IDS security system. Bandit lover seem to like the system but for me that old velcro release system seems outdated.

Given the choice between a Switchblade and a B5, I would take the B5 any day. They are way faster, they build some good power when working the kite, they are stable and can handle some really strong wind. Bar pressure is "a lot lighter" on the B5 than on the switchblade. Older bandits like the B1 and B2 had really high bar pressure but this is a thing from the past.

For jumping both are good jumper but the switchblade has more hangtime than the B5. The switchblade is also easier to relaunch, B5 can be a pain to relaunch until you get the hang of it (I dont).

Both are good kites but totally different. It all depends in what you are looking for. I really love my Ts, but could live with a B5 anytime. Sorry for the SB but I cannot afford tendinitis no more. A lot of people who rides Cabrinha for years wind up with tendinitis. Maybe they will lower the bar pressure at some point. I heard that the new SB 2013 are really lighter on the bar, also they are suppose to be faster (will see )

Love the B5.
Relaunch is as easy as pie. You just need to let the kite drift and not try to resist the pull.

Regarding the Fone QR - it works great, and that's probably why they haven't changed it to much.
Have been flying Bandits for a while now and never got the QR release on me unintentionally, on the other hand when i needed it, it worked effortlessly.

Bandit 5 for sure, my 9m goes off.
Demo one, it did take me a few sessions to get used to the b5 from the b4, but worth it.
The F-one safety is good works well. The air light bar is great to use.

If you are comparing these two kites, you would need to drop at least one full kite size on the Switchblade before making a comparison. A bandit 9 might even have less power than a Switchblade 8. This obviously has an impact on the turning speed as well. A more even comparison from Cabrinha would be either the Drifter (if you are Surf bound) or the Vector (if you like a bit of everything). The Vector is light in the bar, much quicker turning than a Switchblade, and a snap to relaunch, however the power is less.

The 2013 Switchblade (fully redesigned) took a few runs to get dialed in. My timing was way off because the kite is turning much faster and the kite is way lighter in the bar. You will have to wait 4 more week to get one of these bad boys. The game is definitely changing again.

As for the bar and lines... It just depends if you want a nice tidy system where the front/rear lines spin independently of the landing line and from the leash AND there are no clunky bar floats, or if you want a bunch of bare lines running through the bar fitting and a clam cleat with a long tail that whips back and forth when you trim the kite...