I posted recently about the characteristics I was looking for in a kite board as I wanted to replace the Cabrinha Custom I have. Too much rocker on the Custom for me. Nice board but just too much rocker. A poster here recommended I try the new 2013 Cabrinha Tronic.
Well I did and it is THE board I was looking for. I rode the 136. I weigh 200 lbs.(90 kgs for my European brethren). Rode it today in 15 kts (17 mph) on an 11M kite and here is my review.
Water was moderately choppy for the first 45 minutes of my session and it cut through like butter. The board barely moved up and down as I eased through the chop. That was the first thing I noticed. I have a massively destroyed left knee from many years of competitive soccer and I feel every bump in the water. Today I barely felt anything. Carving is amazing. Cabrinha touts it as a good wave riding board. I don't normally ride waves but I have surfed my whole life so I can say with confidence this board would actually carve waves nicely. The pop is even more amazing. It holds the edge going upwind with no feeling of it slipping away and the best part is how super soft the landings are. If anyone here has ridden heavy rocker boards they know what I am talking about when holding an edge. My Custom would (at times) feel like it was about to spin out from underneath me. Not the Tronic. They dialed this one in.
Literally no downside to this board in my opinion...but...it meets the characteristics I was looking for so it may not be for everyone. Cabrinha touts it as their bridge board between the Custom and the X Caliber. Basically it has a lot less rocker than the Custom but more rocker than the X Caliber. In my opinion Cabrinha nailed the perfect amount of rocker in a medium flex board with the Tronic.
It is a light board too. I was surprised at how light it is. And it has nice thin rails which I personally like. The bottom of the board has a very different 3D channel design I haven't seen before on other boards. In the next couple of days I'm going to remove the 45mm fins that come with the board and ride it finless on some butter smooth water and will report back on how well it handles.
That was a downside to my Custom. When I pulled the fins off it was like roller skating in a bath tub greased with butter. It was all over the place.
I give the Tronic 5 stars for a great all around board. Can't wait to ride it in 25 kt + winds.
Here is a summary of what I liked about the Tronic:
- Light weight
- Perfect amount of rocker (I would say it is above medium rocker)
- Great pop
- Cut through moderate chop like butter
- Holds edge going upwind very well
- Fast
- Carves great
- Great pop
- Nice thin rails (purely aesthetic for me)
- The pads are nice too. Very comfortable and grippy on your feet
- Soft landings
- Medium flex
Hope my review is helpful.