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hi there, can anyone tell me the differences between the rebels and evos apart from the rebel being 5 line, and is there much difference between the years 2010-13 and the way they perform? (i know full well about the valve delaminating on the 2010s)
not into kite loops or unhooked stuff yet or waves..actually sounds quite boring seeing it written like that, but general riding and intermediate stuff..the wind is generally lighter here, dont think i've ever seen 'nuking'..i have a 15m already due to the wind being on the lighter side, but looking to replace my old 12m.
other brands available to me are cabrinha, SS, fone, wainman, north, airush, core, and naish but the low end is a key factor due to the conditions.
any info will be greatly appreciated
thanks

the rebel sounds like the kite that suits your needs if you don't mind the 5th line

Rebel and Evo 12m2 2013 differences shortly:

- Rebel goes upwind a bit better
- Rebel has a bit lighter bar (Rebel light < Rebel hard = Evo light < Evo hard)
- Evo has more power on kiteloops with hard bar setting
- Evo is better when unhooked
- Rebel feels that it has lighter pull but it just needs a bit speed to get all the power from it and low end is good. With Evo you feel right away how much there is power and it feels gruntier.
- Rebel has higher high end, the difference depends a bit on how powered you like to ride.
- with Rebel you need to time the jump more precisely to get huge airs. With Evo just sent it back and go
- Rebel has a bit better hang time but both have soft landings
- Jump height is close to the same but with Evo it may be a bit easier to get higher due to the timing
- Evo maybe just slightly easier to relaunch but both are easy just by pulling one backline. If you ride with 5th line they can be relauched in very very low winds.
- Rebel depowers with shorter bar throw and with Evo to get the same depower the bar is moved a bit longer
- Rebel keeps about the same bar feel and turning even depowered. When Evo is depowered fully it has a little slack in backlines and the bar needs to be turned just a bit more to initiate turn. However if the wind is steady this is not as visible than in gusty winds. Also I feel that smaller Evos do not have this as visible.
- Both are very predictable and they have good bar feel (some prefer lighter Rebel and some Evo)
- Both are very very stable kites in the air. Evo maybe just a bit more stable. Remember to pump them hard and they feel rock solid in the air.

I have not ridden 2012 Evo to compare it to 2013. The basic bar feel of the 2012 Rebel and 2013 is quite close each other. However I think that the optimal windrange is a bit larger with 2013. I am a ligh rider and do not like to ride overpowered but I have ridden almost in the high end of the Rebel that is given for much heavier kiteboarders.

I hope this helps.

Been riding Rebel since 2007...

just tried EVO 11m 2013 with 4 line setup

Main difference for me, after hopping off 12m Rebel 2013, is upwind ability....no doubt the Rebel benefited from the extra horsepower of 12m vs 11m but no way would the EVO point as high....for me anyway...perhaps its my technique too

But, good strong pull from EVO, higher bar pressure than Rebel and very stable when fully powered. Super easy relaunch.

I want to have another crack at it to make a better comparison; today I watched a guy on 2013 EVO 8m cranking it to windward as hard as anyone but.....wind 25kt + so rather hard to compare in such overpowered conditions as everyone was able to go to windward easily.

Brin wrote: Main difference for me, after hopping off 12m Rebel 2013, is upwind ability....no doubt the Rebel benefited from the extra horsepower of 12m vs 11m but no way would the EVO point as high....for me anyway...perhaps its my technique too

The difference in upwind performance is bigger in lower end of the kites. Rebel goes upwind even you are barely planing. Evo needs to have solid pull and bit more speed to go upwind. In smaller sizes and stronger winds the difference is smaller but still Rebel is the upwind master of these two kites.