RaRo
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2 reviews van de Rebel 07
de 1e (korte) onderstaand, de 2e (zeer uitgebreide) zie link.
I had a ride on a 12 Rebel, here is a short list of first impressions. My personal opinions only:
Pros:
1. Well built (as usual)
2. Good lift
3. Good hangtime
4. Turns fast
5. Depowers well
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Cons:
1. A little bit unstable in the air, the bar moves in your hands slightly.
2. Heavy to turn, medium bar pressure for sheeting but stiff to turn allthough the kite turns fast.
3. Trim loop to small for unhooked stuff (but that is easy changed)
4. Strange flimsy new lines (probably good, but I don't like them)
5. No single inflatation
Dwight Fisher @ Gokitesurf.com (north seller):
Review based on 12m Rebel.
The Rebel is North's first flat kite. Some of you might be wondering why North is releasing a flat kite "now", and if this flat kite is for you. Despite what some may think, North has been building flat kites a very long time. The first generation flat kites just didn't appeal to most at North, so they withheld release of theirs. This made perfect sense with the Vegas being such a worthy flat kite competitor. North just kept working hard until they had something they could be proud to call a North flat kite. This kite underwent the longest development cycle I can recall at North. The Rebel even had bridles at one time during its development! Eventually it evolved into a bridle free kite. Some of North's competitors still think it’s impossible to get true 100% depower without bridles. Once they try the Rebel, their faces will be red. It really does depower the same as many bridled flat kites, and “more than some”. It wasn't easy, and that certainly contributed to the long development cycle.
I'm personally thrilled North was able to evolve this design into a 5 liner. I have become a 5th line cripple. I love the ability to self-land with the 5th. I feel safer launching knowing that a blown launch can be saved by using the 5th line. I also love the ability to let go of the bar during blown unhooked tricks and know the 5th line is going to keep the kite attached to me, and I'll have no line tangles to deal with. It inspires a person to do more tricks.
With this kite you have true safety. It depowers completely just taking your hands off the bar, like any bridled flat kite, and it depowers if you need to pop the Iron Heart release. The danger North really wanted to avoid was producing a kite that takes a step backwards in safety, as the bridled flat kites do. What I mean by that is, the return to oh-shit releases, suicide leashes or leashes people won't use because they prevent free spinning.
Now for the riding report. The kite has more range than the Vegas, low end and high end. The low end feels different than the Vegas. The Rebel pull is softer and smoother. You could ride in the micro hook (fixed) all day long in comfort. The low end is claimed to be 2 meters bigger than labeled in larger sizes, with smaller sizes being more true to size in power. The crossover point for this extra power is around 9-10 meters. This has been proven in careful testing by the team. I haven't been interesting in testing this myself. I'll take their word for it. It feels like good low end to me. I'm still planning to stick with the same size I rode with the Vegas for now. But that could change.
Jumping is great. It really rips you off the water when you whip it like a C kite. No need to jump it like other flat kites. Although you can jump it like a flat kite. Timing is slightly different than Vegas. Adapting is fairly easy and quick. The jump height and hang beat the Vegas. This kite goes huge. Check the Rebel video on this web site.
Bar feel is more like R6 than V6. It has been awhile since I rode a Rhino, so how accurate that is depends.... I'm talking about the feel for the kite while spinning. Force to pull the bar down is a little lighter than the Vegas. Turning speed is slightly faster than Vegas.
Relaunch we've tested a few times. By no means is this the final word on the subject. Done 5th line style (pull some 5th line tension in combination with one rear line) it seems to be faster. The kite slides faster to the side and goes up quicker. I think because of the swept leading edge. Done flat kite style (pulling one rear line only) it works too. Although this method seems to be more dependant on wind strength to work easy.
Tumbling is interesting. We've tumbled the kite many times and each time the kites does some weird shuck and jive and shakes the line free. I think the swept leading edge makes the kite roll towards a tip while it tumbles. This makes the 5th slip over the round tip each time. It leaves you with twisted fronts and backs, as any kite (even 4 line) would. Unless you like flying a kite with twisted fronts and backs, you're going to ride back to land and untwist it. I had heard during development of this kite the 5th line wasn't a problem anymore. Now I know why. At least so far. Who knows what crazy things can happen next. At least we don't have to worry about death spirals from tangled bridles and released flat kites with no leashes blowing down our beaches anymore. I just hope more flat kite companies get serious about making leashes people will use.
Detail improvements are everywhere. It has the anti line catching straps on each rib end, as do most flat kites now. The Rebel's straps are especially clever in design, as they slide free to allow a higher tension (so they work better) without messing up the canopy. The Cam Battens are now unbreakable. When you see them you'll know why. The bar comes with new color coded line. This new line is very stiff and allows very quick rigging. Less tangles in high wind too. The cleat has been redesigned with large teeth that grip strong. There is a new free sliding stopper than is amazing. We've been using home made copies of it all summer. This stopper holds the bar wherever you position it, without any locking screws or moving parts, and it slips when needed. All you have to do when riding is push up on the bar and the stopper slides up the rope. The stopper holds strong enough to ride fixed against the stopper, (edging hard) yet you can push the bar and make it slide up the rope with little effort. It's really cool. The micro loop is an all new design. The cable is gone. The new loop should last much longer. The bar length is slightly longer. Somewhere between the 05 and 06 length.
Important rear line pigtail connection info:
The kite is shipped from the factory with the pigtail on the forward of the two connection points. This is the "Team" setting. I recommend you do not change it. These connections are not labeled with a rabbit for turning speed, because they have less effect on turning speed, and more effect on bar feel. Think of these connections point this way, front-C kite bar feel, rear-flat kite bar feel. For example, a GK Sonic rider might like the rear pigtail connection. While a Vegas 06 rider will prefer the front connection. Depower is the same with either connection. So try the front connection first. If you don't like it, then try the rear.
Terminology: North is calling the Rebel a “Flat” kite. It is technically not a Bow or SLE.
Bow kite refers to designs based on the Bruno patent where the key design feature is the swept deeply cut trailing edge. This feature is a clever way of controlling angle of attack over a wide area of the kites span. Compare the arc (C shape) formed at the front of the kite with the back of the kite. A good design will have arcs that match front and back. If they don’t match, this is an indication of widely varying angles of attack over the kite’s span. You want consistency on this angle of attack, otherwise parts of the kite are operating optimum for one air (wind) speed, while another area is operating best for different air (wind) speed. The consequence of this is less performance, and possible canopy flapping. Cabrinha kites avoid these pitfalls by following the Bow patent.
SLE kites don’t follow the deeply cut swept trailing edge of the Bruno patent. These kites are all bridle supported at the leading edge, same as the Bows. With some of these kites the trailing edge and leading edge don’t have matching arcs. The result is lost potential, and in some cases flapping canopies. Check some other flat kites in flight.
Flat kite is a broad term used to describe non C kites. The Rebel best fits this category. It does not follow the Bruno swept trailing edge. Yet North was still able to create a trailing edge arc that matches the leading edge. Check this out when you see a Rebel fly. It took a lot of work, but North has managed what some of their competitors might think is impossible. The Rebel is a beautiful kite in the air.
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