A little tricky this one.. being into waves but also big airs I need a fast turning kite but also with a good grunt and decent hangtime / float. I know the Drifter would be the wave choice but I'm not sure about its flying skills. The SB is a little slow on waves, haven't tried the Nomad yet. What do you think?

From the reviews I've seen, the Nomad would be better for both but I would wait for the new bridled C coming out for the 2012/2013 season, the Chaos. They aren't going to offer the Nomad any more. Or you could go with the Drifter in 2 sizes and mix in a third sized Nomad at a discount, or the new Chaos.

It's a tough choice though because I don't think I've seen a kite get so many good reviews in its first year as the Drifter for waves.

It is a tough one.......which do you do more. If your riding waves and want to do a jump its a no brainer(drifter). If you want to jump with hangtime more and maybe do some handle passes pick the switchblade. The Nomad is good at all of it. I have Nomads and have flown the switchblade's and Drifter. If I was buying a new kite I would buy the drifter in all the smaller sizes and lose a little of the power of the switchblade. I ride a directional now more and jump and kiteloop and slide with it, and I would still buy the drifter. Very short throw depower, pretty close to the power of Nomad, really light bar feeling, very quick kite, very light feeling on the kite. If I was gearing for the lighter side of wind I would probably pick the switchblade 11m
All the kites mentioned are really good and you wont go wrong with any them.
J

Hi guys thanks for your replies.. I've tried the Nomad today and I wasn't too impressed. It's not responsive and because of the lack of a center strut it kind of twists, making turning even slower. The IDS safety system is impressive, I take my hat off to Cabrinha but the rope power/depower is a little dated in my view and not too practical. I'd like to see the 2013 range and perhaps try the new Drifter and SB...

Tough one. not sure too about the Nomand to be honnest.
The SW would have more pop, more hang time and would be more stable if you wanna do tricks like rotations etc..
Pb is the SW is maybe too slow if u r into wave riding.....
maybe you need both kites (drifter for waves & a Sw) !!