Cabrinha Domani 960 2027
Reviews / Hydrofoils
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At A Glance
Cabrinha made a significant statement with the launch of its Union foil system last year. The completely redesigned connection system was cleaner, more streamlined and, importantly, provided the foundation for an entirely new family of foils. The Prestige was the first front wing we spent serious time on, and it quickly became something of a favourite.
At around 85kg, I have spent a lot of time riding the 905 Prestige, particularly when I haven’t been testing other equipment and simply wanted to go foiling for myself. Its standout characteristic is glide, but perhaps more importantly, it generates an impressive amount of usable lift for its size. For prone foiling in particular, that meant I could ride a smaller, more manoeuvrable foil than I might ordinarily choose while still having enough lift and glide to link sections and stay on foil.
Since then, Cabrinha has expanded the Union range considerably. The Whippet and Rebound brought more specialised options into the line-up, while the Tweaker tail system added considerably more scope for tuning the rear end of the foil. The Domani is the latest piece of that puzzle, and rather than trying to replace the Prestige, it takes some of the characteristics that made that foil so successful and pushes them in a much more carving-orientated direction.
Visually, the difference is immediately obvious. Put the Domani alongside the Prestige, and there is considerably more curvature through the front wing. The tips sweep upwards, there is more sweep through the leading edge, and the overall shape is much more obviously designed around turning. Where the Prestige has a relatively flat profile that helps generate its remarkable lift and glide, the Domani has a pronounced moustache shape intended to allow the foil to roll and carve far more aggressively.
There are five sizes in the Domani range, from the 1160 through the 960, 830, 700 and 580, and unlike the variable aspect ratios found through the Prestige range, the Domani maintains an aspect ratio of 10 across all five sizes. For this test, I have been riding the 960, comparing it directly with my familiar 905 Prestige.
On The Water
One of the best things about the Prestige is how accessible it feels despite being a high aspect foil. There is no lengthy adjustment period; you get on it, start riding, and it immediately feels intuitive. Happily, Cabrinha hasn’t lost that quality with the Domani. Despite its rather more radical-looking shape, the 960 doesn’t feel strange, twitchy or difficult underneath your feet. From the first session, it simply works.
There is, however, an obvious difference at the bottom end. The Domani needs more power to get onto foil than the Prestige. Whether wing foiling, parawinging or paddling into waves, you need a little more energy to get the 960 moving and flying than you do with the 905 Prestige. Once it releases, though, the character of the foil changes considerably.
The top end is excellent. The faster the Domani goes, the happier it seems to become, and I found myself continuing to accelerate without reaching a point where the foil started feeling uncomfortable or overpowered. Even in some reasonably powerful waves, I never found myself wishing I was on a smaller foil. For a 960, that usable speed range is impressive and makes it particularly interesting for powered-up winging and parawinging.
The big question, of course, is glide. The Prestige has set a very high bar here, and I’m not going to pretend the Domani matches it because it doesn’t. If maximum glide is your priority, the Prestige remains the better choice. What surprised me, however, was just how much glide the Domani retains considering how dramatically its turning performance has improved.
It pumps well too, helped by that aspect ratio of 10, and there is still plenty of efficiency when linking bumps or moving between sections. Compared directly with the Prestige, it will come off foil a little earlier when the energy disappears, but I never felt that its glide or pumping performance was compromised to the point where I particularly missed the Prestige. It remains an efficient foil; it has simply shifted the balance towards a much more dynamic style of riding.
Carving And Waves
This is where the Domani really comes alive. Initially, I rode it with the same 160 stabiliser I had been using with the 905 Prestige so I could make a meaningful comparison between the two. Even with that familiar rear end, the difference in turning was immediately apparent. Put pressure through the board, initiate the turn, and the Domani rolls over and comes around remarkably quickly.
I have ridden it winging, parawinging and prone foiling, and the latter probably highlighted the differences between the Domani and Prestige most clearly. In very small, weak waves, I still prefer the Prestige. Its extra lift and low-speed efficiency simply make those marginal conditions easier, and there were sessions where switching back to the Prestige immediately made sense.
Give the Domani a more powerful wave, however, and the situation changes. I found it surprisingly easy to paddle into larger waves, partly because the foil isn’t trying to lift you prematurely. On the Prestige, a powerful wave can sometimes have the foil generating so much lift before you’ve completed the take-off that you end up effectively performing a flying pop-up. In bigger surf, that can get fairly sketchy.
The Domani feels much more controlled through that initial phase. You can paddle into the wave, get to your feet and then bring the foil up rather than having it try to launch underneath you. Once you’re flying, the benefits of the shape become very apparent. You can pump onto a section, roll hard into a turn and redirect extremely quickly. On a wave, it feels considerably more dynamic than the Prestige.
Things get even more interesting when you start playing with the Tweaker tail. I have also ridden the Domani with the shorter 340 Tweaker fuselage and a small 140 stabiliser, and that combination transforms the foil into an absolute carving machine. I’ll cover the Tweaker separately because it deserves its own review, but it significantly increases the amount of tuning now available within the Union system.
For powered winging and parawinging, that combination of speed and manoeuvrability is equally compelling. Carving swell, linking turns and moving quickly from one piece of energy to another is exactly where the Domani excels. It doesn’t have that slightly endless floating sensation of the Prestige, but it rewards a more active rider with considerably more feedback and excitement.
Overall
The interesting thing about the Domani is that I don’t see it as a replacement for the Prestige. In fact, if you already own a Prestige and love it, convincing you to replace it only a year later would be a difficult proposition. The Prestige remains an exceptional foil, particularly if effortless glide, low-end lift and accessibility are high on your list of priorities.
Instead, I see the Domani as another option within what has quickly become a much broader Union ecosystem. Personally, I could easily see both foils living in my quiver. On smaller, weaker days, I would reach for the 905 or perhaps the larger 1150 Prestige. As the waves become more powerful or the wind increases, I would switch to the 960 Domani. For genuinely big days, I could even see myself adding a smaller Domani to take advantage of that turning performance while retaining the speed and control the design offers.
That’s particularly relevant as we head towards winter. Some of our prone sessions involve paddling into considerably bigger swell, where having a foil trying to generate huge amounts of lift during the take-off isn’t necessarily what you want. The more controlled lift of the Domani, followed by its speed and ability to carve once you’re on the wave, should make it an extremely interesting foil for those conditions.
Cabrinha has also now built considerably more depth into the Union platform. From the initial launch, they have grown to include the Prestige, Whippet, Rebound and now Domani front wings, alongside the Tweaker tail system and different stabiliser options. That means riders can increasingly tune the system around exactly how and where they want to foil rather than being locked into one particular setup.
If ultimate glide is what you are chasing, I’d still point you towards the Prestige. If you are a more advanced rider who likes riding with power, carving hard and being dynamic on the foil, the Domani is arguably the more exciting proposition. You sacrifice a little of the Prestige’s extraordinary low-end lift and glide, but in return you get more speed, a huge top end and vastly improved turning performance.
The 960 has already proved itself across winging, parawinging and prone foiling, and I suspect I’m going to be spending a lot more time on it as the winter swells arrive. The Prestige made foiling feel easier; the Domani takes some of that efficiency and adds a much more aggressive, playful character. For riders who want decent glide but place carving and dynamic wave riding higher up the priority list, the Domani is a very impressive addition to Cabrinha’s rapidly expanding Union foil range.
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By Rou Chater
Rou Chater has spent over twenty years working in watersports media and much of that time travelling the world in search of wind, waves, and stories. The founder and publishing editor of Tonic Magazine and IKSURFMAG, he launched IKSURFMAG in 2006 before embracing the rapidly evolving world of foiling and launching Tonic Magazine in 2019. A passionate waterman, he spends as much time as possible wingfoiling, prone foiling, downwinding, and exploring new ways to fly above the water, while still finding time to kitesurf whenever the conditions call for it. When he’s not behind a keyboard, hosting The Foil Pod and The Kite Pod, or testing the latest equipment, you’ll usually find him chasing wind and swell somewhere around the coast or further afield. He’s also known as the hardest-working journo in the industry!
