Rider: 88kg,Level (intermediate)
Style: Freeriding, Surf, Wake, Freestyle
Weather: 16 knots
Build Quality: 10/10
Satisfaction: 10/10
Disclosure: I don't work for any kite boarding shop
Kite used 10.5 Nash Bolt

My Comments:
A mate of mine let me try out his new 2012 144cm Cabrinha chopstick .I was surprised what a good board it is.
I found it to be very easy to pop ,riding upwind was no problem even though it has rounded edges.
True to it's name it handled the chop with ease no spray,( I think because of the upturned ends).
The board is very light and easy to do tricks and jumping was a breeze.The landing felt soft as it has a v running through the middle of the board and the foot pads were comfortable.
It would be hard to find a better new board in this price bracket.The colors look great .
I would love to try one of the smaller chopstick boards in stronger winds.

Do they come as a pair? how about a pic.

Rider: 67kg, Level (intermediate)
Style: Freeriding (mostly just doing jumps)
Weather: 17-27 knots
Kite: 9m Slingshot Rev2
Build Quality: 7/10
Satisfaction: 7.5/10
Disclosure: none. I own gear from three different brands, none of which are Cabrinha.

My Comments:
I grabbed a demo Chopstick 139cm from SHQ a couple of months ago and took it for a spin. I probably spent 1¼ hours on it in mostly strong-ish, gusty wind. By far the best feature of this board (in my opinion) was its INCREDIBLE COMFORT. I was absolutely hammering across the choppy water as I was powered for just about the whole session. At no point was there any jarring sensation, just a smooth glide across the water. Very impressed!

I copped a fair amount of spray, but I'll put that down to the type of choppy water on the day and the overly wide stance (which I would have made narrower if I had a screwdriver with me). Maybe I couldn't comfortably put enough weight on the back foot because my front leg was stretched too far forwards??? I'm a bit skeptical about the 'flick tips', I didn't really notice any benefit from them, as the water spray was still being deflected off the corner of the board (where the rounded flick tips start).

Upwind ability was good, noticeably better upwind angle than a 2010 Custom or 2012 Caliber. At no time was it a struggle to get upwind (i.e. no need for frantic kite sining, which would have been the case on a Custom or similar board).

The Chopstick is priced very affordably, and unfortunately it shows in the perceived quality. There is plenty of colour in the graphics, but there is no shine to the board. The fins are crappy black-painted plastic, and show scratches easily. This is in stark contrast to the new 2012 Caliber, which in my opinion looks awesome, with a nice shiny finish and quality fins and pads/straps (sync bindings). I guess in the end you get what you pay for. Actual quality, on the other hand, I'm not sure about. It could be that this board is 'indestructible', too bad it doesn't look like it.

I would recommend this board to beginners, as well as intermediate riders who just want a simple freeride board for choppy conditions and basic cruising, boosting about.


Pros: very comfortable in choppy water, very affordable, basic freeriding performance.

Cons: poor perceived quality, not exactly a freestyle machine…but that's not what it's designed for anyway

Rider: 99kg,Level (beginner,intermediate,)
Style: Freeriding, Surf, Wake, Freestyle
Weather: 28-35 knots
Build Quality: 10/10
Satisfaction: 10/10
Disclosure: Been kiting 10mths,fly switchblades, underground styx/crypt boards

My comments:
2012 144cm chopstick - 8m 2011 switchblade

Been in the market for a smaller board, have tried custom, and other underground boards, took this board out in probably the ideal conditions it was made for yesterday, plenty of swell/chop/waves at woodies, had the place to myself,
jumped straight on and felt comfortable, headed up wind no problems, the upturned ends certainly helped when heading out through the waves/chop, easy to jump/land. For my level of experience and where i want to kite (on the ocean) this board seems to do what is was designed for. Graphics look great and the pricing is very good also. Will be getting the 139cm
This board will be a lot of fun for a lot of different level riders

few pics of 2012 Cabrinha chopstick at woodies

Here's some more pics taken last night in the remains of the
southerly, 9M C4 experienced rider who does not normally ride
Cab stuff (or Ozone). His own words - fantastic board, it really
does handle chop extremely well.



Bad attempt at motion blur (bad light and new lens excuse)


These 3 images were taken just now, of a plain unstrapped deck
you can see the tucked rail in the mid section.


Detailed image showing the V bottom


Zis is a part of ze cat!


More details about these boards including the amazing price can be found here
http://www.kitepower.com.au/cabrinha-chopstick.html