Contra Ps4 Review

[Geralyn]

TheCabrinha Contra has always been one of my top two favorite light wind kites. I've been using it on and off for probably a good five years now, bouncing back and forth from the Turbine, and I had some sessions on the Eleveight RS 17 meter. I think there's some really good things about the Contra. With the the latest iteration, there are some things that I don't care for as much, and we'll break down everything you need to know in this review.

Starting with some of the good, one thing that I've always loved about the Contra is, provided you choose the right size--and you need to go by your weight because there's a 13, 15 and a 17 meter when it comes to the three strut light wind kite--you're not going to have a kite that's deceiving. For example, some light wind kites, particularly older ones, would have such heavy bar pressure that they created the illusion of power, but there wasn't any power there so you'd feel lit when you'd just be slogging along, trying to stay upwind, and that's really not the case with the Contra. My weight is right on the line where I could do the 17 or the 15 and, after having tried both for a while, I do find that I like the 15 a bit more than the 17. It's more fun; it is fast for a light wind kite, though in the grand scheme of things it's actually a really slow kite.

Let's hit a con. It's been a while since I've flown a dedicated light wind 15 meter kite. I have spent a ton of time on a 14m RPX and, man, when I got on that Contra my timing was so off I actually got dropped a ton because I wasn't pulling hard enough and early enough with my front hand to redirect the kite after doing a jump or trying a trick. So that's one thing to keep in mind with a light wind specific kite, is you're going to be out in threshold winds when no one else can ride, but you do need to think two steps ahead because they're really not the fastest kites. On that note, correct me if I'm wrong, I think the leading edge might be a little bit smaller on this version of the Contra, and it might have been that way for a little while now. I believe Cabrinha was thinking about hydrofoiling with the Contra, and that's another critique. I feel like they have so many kites in their range that are foil-specific now that I don't really see the point in taking your light wind specific kite and bridging it towards foil.

For the more active kite flyer, there were things that I did kind of like about that. To give you a little perspective, I tested it and I had some friends test it. Some of my friends who liked the older Contra really missed the slow stability and truck-like pull of the older Contra, and I get that. It made learning tricks easier with tons of power, tons of grunt, just a really reliable light wind kite. This new one is super pivoty. I think I got some shots of this, and you can see I'm doing kite loop transitions and the kite just pivots right around and shoots across the window, so there really was a lot of benefit to this and I did appreciate that aspect of the kite, albeit I did miss some of that slow, grunty stability that the previous generation had, so I'm kind of torn on this one. It's actually more of a pro and a con, and I think the average kiteboarder is going to appreciate this, but if you're somebody who's a little more old school, maybe you're looking to boot up or something like that, I kind of liked the older Contra a bit more where I would size up to a 17 if I was going to try some super light wind freestyle.

Moving on to kite loops, I feel pretty good doing kite loops on the Contra. Now, I'm not talking about kite loops where you have to catch yourself. I don't know if I would ever try a kite loop where I have to catch myself with a Contra. It is pretty fast; I feel like it was really getting around on some of those jumps, but typically with a kite like this you'd stick to back roll hand drags, hand drag base tricks, darkslides, small kite loop transitions where you're maybe jumping 10 feet off the water... that's where you want to be with the Contra, and it's going to perform really well for that.

It's probably one of the most versatile light wind kites out there, similar to the RS that I was talking about. You get so much performance in the threshold winds. This is a kite that I feel good taking out in super light wind wave conditions because it is fast for a big kite, particularly the 15, and especially now that it's a bit more pivotal. I'm going to give that a plus because I think that's going to benefit riders in the waves with that more light, pivotal feel. Take that with a grain of salt when I say "light" and "fast" though; this is a big, heavy kite and if you're used to flying a 12 meter or a 10 meter, it's going to feel like a tank to you. But once you get used to it, you'll be pretty pleased with the results and how much progression you can make getting out there and trying new tricks, trying different grabs, jumping.

On the note of that smaller leading edge and the fact that it is a bit more pivotal, I found this to be a benefit for jumping with a Contra. Typically the Contra isn't a kite that you would think of as the king of jumping because you want a fast kite to flick it up and get that height, but with the Contra it's a really good, lofty feel. For a lot of you riders who are doing hooked-in sent jumps, you're going to get a fair amount of loft from the Contra. If you're a freestyler or anybody who's just getting out there and really wanting to send it and go hard, it's going to make that threshold, super light wind session really fun for you. In all these clips that I got, I was actually borderline underpowered, just barely able to make it work. It's kind of funny- I went out two days prior and I got these ripping shots and I was so stoked and I was powered up on the Contra and... I dropped my GoPro; they're gone. I came back out two days later and filmed this in much lighter wind, but it's probably a more fair assessment of the Contra anyway.

In summary, what you can expect is moderate bar pressure, moderately fast. Get ready to think two steps ahead. It's going to hit that fine point for pretty much all disciplines. I think its biggest weakness, honestly, is hydrofoiling, which is funny because they did add that pivotal design, I think to stoke out some of the hydrofoilers. Ultimately, this kite still pulls downwind a bit more than I would want from a hydrofoil kite. But for getting by in the waves it's killer. In the light winds for freestyle, for freeride, for kiteloop-based tricks, I'm super stoked on the Contra when using the right size in the right conditions.

So if you're looking for a light wind, twintip kite, whether you're in footstraps or boots, I think it's still a really killer choice. I'm probably going to keep this one as long as I can until Cabrinha takes it back, and if you've got any questions on the Contra or how it compares to the other light wind kites, let me know. I just got a fresh Juice from Duotone in the RV here, so I'm going to go out and test the new one to see if I feel any differences and do a fresh comparison. It's been a few years since I've compared these kites. If you want to see any comparisons or you want me to try any gear, let me know. We're going to go hard with reviews this year, so hit me with your questions, leave them in the comments. If you found the video helpful, hit that subscribe button, hit the thumbs up button, and I will catch you later.

All boards have the same set up: Bombers, 60 degrees front, 55 back, and are tuned the same way (by me, with a file). The bases are in the tightest holes: the front is in the middle hole pattern, and the rear base is as far forward as possible (attached). In other words, tight stance.

I took 2 runs on the VSR and then switched to the Contra. I wanted to feel the comparison. I am very comfortable on the VSR, and the first two runs felt great. On the Contra I rode the same slopes, slopes I know very well. I was pushing the board, letting it turn without much push, doing longer turns across the hill, shorter turns across the hill, and short turns down the fall line.

Since you have ridden the Nirvana style of board for so long, these do require an adjustment since weighting is different. Moving bindings by one hole can make quite a difference for sure so any adjustment can be tried as worst case you just move it back. I've had one guy who adjusted his front foot angle more forwards and that was the trick for him to get it to where he liked it. No doubt it is just getting the body to weight the board when you need it. These do not need the forward/back weighting of a Nirvana so the way it effectively does a turn is different. The theory is that a softer tail will allow you to keep your weight neutral more at the end of the turn so the nose stays more planted as you do not have to get your weight back to a stiffer tail.

Do they do everything better? Of course not but they do have a great ability to grip especially when you start to go over varied snow surfaces. They feel more efficient and that is what gives the grip. The pop comes from mid board which I like as it is safe and will not launch you off the tail which can be fun or also hazardous. Turn initiation at slower speeds is not their strong point but they are stable at higher speeds for their particular sidecut size.

I have similar experience. First run on the contra AT (165 23cm waist 10m sc)

Didn't take it easy nor did i over estimate my ability. Tote road of Sugarloaf.

"Headwall" of tote road feel great; hold a incredible edge where i was struggling on my familiar setup.

it's on the section where one just cruise around that i end up in the tree.

I do tend to put lots of pressure on the front of the board. still wasn't quite sure how it happen.

on my heel when i was transition to toe; it pitch me (that's my guess).

i was riding it like i do my nirvanas, initiating the turn by pushing on the tongue of my front foot. that doesn't work (for me). instead, i initiated the turn by putting the board on edge. with the 11 sidecut, it moves into the turn easily.

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