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Riding Epic and luv the Screamer 10Ltd. Each year was different, and next Ltd coming in few months will be something new again.
A bit more accesible to anyone, keeping the boost, more floaty, great hang time and super easy to relaunch.
The new QR set gives more throw and so more depower( but this is a kite that want to go big!! So you want to keep it powered) and you can completely kill it if you want, nice system.



About the color...I really like it in black, it goes with the style of the kite!!
At the end, as on the pict, this is a 4G Ltd, you don t see it but it makes you look good!!!

The worse the conditions get the better the Rebels shine. I own Naish, Blade and North and BIG Flysurfers. The Rebels pull all the way across the window and keep pulling at the edge of the window. I also love the power on the upstroke. When you weigh more than a popcorn fart, you need the juice. The Loaded 5th line is a huge Plus to turning and Depower.

I am glad the Rebels don't come in black. Black is depressing and looks like a piece of mold flying through the air.

Still don't understand why a modern kite needs a loaded fifth line, with the better bladders and LE's that can be pumped hard now? The Fuse is the same kite as the Rebel, no? Magazine reviewers seem to believe they are.
And how could the crazy puke-alicious color combination choices that North has used for the last 5 years, possibly be better than basic black? Their kites remind me of snowboarding gear and clothes from the late 80's. Mountain biking went through the same color dyslexia for some time back then too.
I will admit that all the North kite models fly well though, which is the most important thing.
I guess people have different tastes, that is for sure.

Doesn't the loaded 5th line keep the LE small? I've been on 5 line kites since day one, I would never go to a 4 line on safety alone.

The Rebel is a sick kite and the D2 canopy is the best material available at the movement which keeps the kite super stiff. If you're looking to buy new check out the 2013 Trust Bar from North too it's just amazing.

As for colours I personally think that the 2012 Rebel is a really nice looking kite (not too keen on the 2013) , there are a lot of Epic kites on our beach, I think they look terrible but each to their own!

As with all purchases try before you buy, if money is no object though go North.

Okay thanks for the extra info on the screamer, might have to check them out next time I update my quiver.

Yeh you can't go wrong with the rebel as it is a damn nice machine (and the fifth does make a difference in feel, bar throw etc - from my personal experience on it), it just depends on what you are after and where you want to take your riding. Have you mentioned this? Would help giving advice? Look my brother has the my 2012 rebel now as that is where he is at with his riding, but it didn't suite where i was going otherwise I'd still be on it. So you need to really outline where you are at and where you want to go.

As for colours, farq me, seriously grown men talking about the bloody colour of the kites, that is how my five year old daughter chooses her purchases.

f*** the colour how does she fly. "well that screamer is bloody awesome, I like it better than the rebel, but black, no farqin way, I'm going the rebel', seriously that's how ridiculous you sound.

JamesVegas wrote:Doesn't the loaded 5th line keep the LE small? I've been on 5 line kites since day one, I would never go to a 4 line on safety alone.

Overly small leading edges suck no matter how many lines you use, squishy kites are not good.
Kites fly perfectly great with properly sized leading edge tubes, big enough is good, too small is not.
The Rebel does not really need the 5th line, the Fuse proves that (like I said in my last post).
Some good kites would have been better with properly sized tubes, Best Nemesis for instance.
Four line kites are perfectly safe and much safer in the waves than a five line kite.
You never spent time getting to know a four line kite?...try it you might like it!

JamesVegas wrote:The Rebel is a sick kite and the D2 canopy is the best material available at the movement which keeps the kite super stiff.

The D2 material is from the same company that makes canopy material for everybody else. Really James, look into it, North has an exclusive on a name, just like Sears has an exclusive on the Michelin tires they sell. Discount Tire and Sam's Club also have an exclusive on their Michelin made tires.

JamesVegas wrote:As with all purchases try before you buy, if money is no object though go North.

So you are insinuating that the most expensive kite brands are better because of the prices they charge the consumer?
There are a few kite brands/models I would not fly, even if they were free, because they fly like shit, price is not a factor.
There are other kites I am willing to pay more for (Wainman, Epic, Ozone, RRD, Airush, North).
It has everything to do with how they fly and nothing to do with what are the most popular brands, most expensive brands or largest kite companies.

JamesVegas wrote:If you're looking to buy new check out the 2013 Trust Bar.

Have you seen the price of that thing!!!

Agreed that you don't want or need a tiny leading edge but the Rebel doesn't fall into this category.

True the D2 is being made by the company that's true but it's a different material, look closely at the patterning and you'll see an extra thread running through it. It is withought a doubt stiffer (therefore better IMO). Try ripping D2 and then tell me it's the same. That alone makes the Rebel the winner for me.

I'm not saying that it always follows that paying more gets you more but in a lot of cases I've found this to be true. I'm not rubbishing Epic BTW, my mate sells them and I think they're great kites.

The new Trust Bar is expensive but I believe it to be the best and safest on the market, the North bar is the reason I bought North when I started kiting and for me it sets the standard for all others, just my opinion.

Oldnbroken wrote:snip...I don't really care what color a kite is, as long as it is not pink or safety orange. Not sure why anyone would have a problem with a black kite, nice and simple.

Just one word gives you the answer - Sun (and we have 330 days sunny days per year here where I live). Black absorbs it far more than any bright color which reflects it. Simple as that mate...


Cheers
Caesar

I remember in 2011 being told that North had the rights to D2 for two years.

This year I hear a few companies talking up a new canopy material....not called D2 but sounds very similar with the double ripstop thread.

JamesVegas wrote:Agreed that you don't want or need a tiny leading edge but the Rebel doesn't fall into this category.

why wouldn't you want a tiny LE? Given everything else the same, I would think there are only advantages of having a thin LE unless you for some reason want more drag?

If having a kite that "flies perfectly well" like OldB is saying is his goal then you might as well buy 8 year old technology. They also fly perfectly well, they are just not as good as the current kites.

I'm looking for performance, and you definitely get that from slimmer LE. Obviously there are tradeoffs. Nobody that I know of flies best here so I have no idea how that kite flies.

Talking about 4 lines as if there is a huge difference between 4 line bridled kite and 5th line, seems weird to me. A bridle does a lot of the same for a LE that a 5th line. Stabilizes the LE...yeah ok, it does a few other things to like change tow points, but that is besides the point. A 5 line kite is no more complex than a 4 line kite with bridle IMO