Apollo and Fireball - Customer Chats

One of our good customers recently took the time to review his Fireball/Apollo 14m setup and give us his first impressions. 

First Impressions with 2017 Cabrinha Apollo 14M and Fireball

by Shawn Ewing

I've been kiting for 16 years. My first session with the 2017 Cabrinha Apollo 14M and the 2017 Cabrinha Fireball Control Bar w/ Trimlite was amazing. My friends and I spent the weekend at Sherman Island Beach Park in the California Delta. The usual strong winds at Sherman didn't happen. I'm glad I brought my light-wind insurance policy: the Apollo 14. My quiver consists of a 2015 Cabrinha Velocity 9 and a 2016 Cabrinha Velocity 11. My first session was in winds ranging from 8-20 MPH on a Slingshot Hover Glide Foil and a twin-tip.

The first thing I noticed after pumping up the Apollo -- it is a very high aspect ratio kite. The leading edge is the size of giant anaconda snake, but pumping up with my new WMFG Tall Pump was quick and easy. I launched in about 10 MPH of wind and rode the foil first. Cabrinha's Overdrive 1X Adjustable Bar w/Trimlite and Fireball is the best control system I've ever used, and the build quality is the highest in the industry. This is my second year of learning to ride a foilboard. I still can't gybe or tack, but frankly, I don't care. With this kite/board/control system combination I was able to ride the foilboard toeside and carve wide turns on my preferred port tack stance (right foot forward). Controlling the power in the Apollo is as easy as it gets and when you are learning to ride a foilboard, that's exactly what you want.

Besides the ease of controlling the power, the other two features of the Apollo that stand out for me are: huge wind range and great for marginal/gusty wind conditions. Safety is another bigconcern of mine. I like having the inflated bladders for a self-rescue compared to using a Ram Air kite. This is a great kite for foilboarding, hooked-in riding and big, lofty jumping. If you've ridden past years Crossbow and/or Velocity kites, the Apollo is an improvement on those kites with similar flying characteristics.

In the afternoon, the winds picked up to 15-20 MPH. I kept flying the Apollo 14M and switched to my twin tip board. Again, the power is very smooth. Riding toeside isamazing with the Fireball. I use a Dakine Fusion seat harness and really like the close, low pull the Fireball system. I also think the Fireball is safer than a traditional chicken loop. The other day, I launched a 9M Velocity in strong, gusty winds and just after the kite launched I looked down to see the loop half way out of the spreader bar hook. Luckily I was able to correct it on the beach. With the Fireball system, that just wouldn't happen.

I've used this same combo for three other sessions in San Francisco Bay and it works great. Foilboard / Apollo 14M earlier in the day when the winds are light (8-16 MPH),and then switching to a twin tip after the winds pickup. One of the more surprising aspects of this kite is the ability to handle the big size (I weight 170lbs) when the wind goes from 10 to 20 MPH. It has a huge wind range. That's really important for safety in places where you launch in 10 MPH and then in the middle of your session the wind goes to 20. You want to be able to trim the power to get back to the beach and switch boards and/or kites.

Why did I purchase the 14M Apollo? In June I visited the Bahamas and brought my foilboard and 11M Velocity. I got skunked with 8-10MPH winds 4 days of the trip. If I

had the 14M, I would have been riding. If you plan a vacation to the tropics this winter, you should get a low wind insurance policy: the Apollo 14M. Don't get skunked.