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The BWS noise does drift down the line as good as any specific wave kite. But it is slow and not great for fly and follow unless in the small sizes. But yes you were on some serious, well formed surf the BWS is a serious contender. The new one even better as it is very quick but the bar the and profile and bridalling looks suspiciously like a 2012/13 reo....

The old noise jumper okay to, but nothing like a rebel or say an edge. The new ones jump like a reo...lol.

Westozzy wrote:Kite stalls in the critical sections when you need to turn it back, then due to its aspect builds too much speed and pulls you off the wave. For general purpose wave freeriding it would suffice, like any kite you need work within its limitations. But for those who want to move closer in the spectrum to pure wave riding, even with the need for some freeride as well, there are much better kites.

But when one giveth, one taketh . You want serious boost, glide and power then these design needs are counter to wave riding. And hence kites sit all along this spectrum, you just have to find what suits you best.

Agree with all of that, nice kite but not the perfect do everything kite that I often read people on the Forum describe it as.
Found the 2011 8M Rebel I had to be a bit stall-ey...was kind of surprised that it did that, with all the very enthusiastic reviews I've read over the last few years.
Also did not notice the "super direct" feel that the five line no bridle arrangement was supposed to provide.
My bridled C kite is more direct feeling and much quicker turning and boosts as high, but floats a bit less.
My Rebel was very well built, great boost and float, good power, good depower, but not unlike other 5 strut medium/high aspect SLE shaped kites I've had.
Really like the color schemes North has moved to, simple and clean.

Oldnbroken wrote:

Westozzy wrote:Kite stalls in the critical sections when you need to turn it back, then due to its aspect builds too much speed and pulls you off the wave. For general purpose wave freeriding it would suffice, like any kite you need work within its limitations. But for those who want to move closer in the spectrum to pure wave riding, even with the need for some freeride as well, there are much better kites.

But when one giveth, one taketh . You want serious boost, glide and power then these design needs are counter to wave riding. And hence kites sit all along this spectrum, you just have to find what suits you best.

Agree with all of that, nice kite but not the perfect do everything kite that I often read people on the Forum describe it as.
Found the 2011 8M Rebel I had to be a bit stall-ey...was kind of surprised that it did that, with all the very enthusiastic reviews I've read over the last few years.
Also did not notice the "super direct" feel that the five line no bridle arrangement was supposed to provide.
My bridled C kite is more direct feeling and much quicker turning and boosts as high, but floats a bit less.
My Rebel was very well built, great boost and float, good power, good depower, but not unlike other 5 strut medium/high aspect SLE shaped kites I've had.
Really like the color schemes North has moved to, simple and clean.

Agree with you on the direct feel: infact i would go as far to say that the steering felt a little spongy. I only realised this a year later getting back on the rebel for a blast for old times sake.

Also agree it is a fabulous kite all round and their is reason it is a big seller. But it does irk me when north still pushes its wave riding characteristics, some do okay, but my mark was well below acceptable and the main reason I moved on.

Can someone compare rebel to evo (if used both)? I own a 2011 10m evo and although I like it a lot (no great waves here), the high bar pressure, especially when powered up really makes me get tired very fast. I also read that the high end of rebel 10-12m is nearly 30 knots? Not even close to it with evo.

I have flown both quite a lot

EVO has much less depower, significantly less top end, is always pulling, but is slighlty quicker than Rebel and drift better imho
They jump high pretty much similar (Rebel a bit more), but Rebel floats MUCH more than Evo

I was going to buy a quiver of 2014 Rebels.

There are three things that put me off in the end, right at the last minute.

1) I found that my 2012 Rebels lacked the power and low down grunt to ride a twin tip in waves. However I loved the depower and feel of the kite so was unsure of where to go. I know North say that they have improved the bottom end power but it was still unlikely to suit my needs. So I thought EVOs would be the better bet.

2) Pricing from North. To be be blunt, here in the u.k, they are price fixing. They have told dealers, I've been told by two outlets first hand, that there are no deals to be done on kites. This is known as price fixing, North reps if you are reading, you need to tread extremely carefully adopting this approach. The fine is usually 10% of the company's turnover.

3) getting closer to my final decision I noticed a few issues with the quality of the Norths kit. Including the very fast wear of the depower lines on my 2013 Trust Bar, reading about premature wear on fuses on the leading edge. A bad experience with North windsurfing kit, their Shox system. A friend who runs a North school complaint about premature wear on lines and bars.

The long and short is that with all that negative stuff and there general vibe I've decied to avoid North and ended up buying Wainman Rabbits. They do exactly what I wanted and I got a good deal.

Just my opinion but I'm guessing others are feeling the same.

Through the years have always considered the Rebel as a jumping machine, nothing else.
The rebel, since its first addition was always a good jumper and bad everything else.
If you are looking for an allrounder then go for an Evo or even better yet... a Bandit.

CapatainJ wrote:I was going to buy a quiver of 2014 Rebels.

There are three things that put me off in the end, right at the last minute.

1) I found that my 2012 Rebels lacked the power and low down grunt to ride a twin tip in waves. However I loved the depower and feel of the kite so was unsure of where to go. I know North say that they have improved the bottom end power but it was still unlikely to suit my needs. So I thought EVOs would be the better bet.

2) Pricing from North. To be be blunt, here in the u.k, they are price fixing. They have told dealers, I've been told by two outlets first hand, that there are no deals to be done on kites. This is known as price fixing, North reps if you are reading, you need to tread extremely carefully adopting this approach. The fine is usually 10% of the company's turnover.

3) getting closer to my final decision I noticed a few issues with the quality of the Norths kit. Including the very fast wear of the depower lines on my 2013 Trust Bar, reading about premature wear on fuses on the leading edge. A bad experience with North windsurfing kit, their Shox system. A friend who runs a North school complaint about premature wear on lines and bars.

The long and short is that with all that negative stuff and there general vibe I've decied to avoid North and ended up buying Wainman Rabbits. They do exactly what I wanted and I got a good deal.

Just my opinion but I'm guessing others are feeling the same.

1) must be that you had the bar setup wrong. 2012 Rebels are really powerful.

Very much agree with 2) and 3)

sarc wrote:

CapatainJ wrote:I was going to buy a quiver of 2014 Rebels.

There are three things that put me off in the end, right at the last minute.

1) I found that my 2012 Rebels lacked the power and low down grunt to ride a twin tip in waves. However I loved the depower and feel of the kite so was unsure of where to go. I know North say that they have improved the bottom end power but it was still unlikely to suit my needs. So I thought EVOs would be the better bet.

2) Pricing from North. To be be blunt, here in the u.k, they are price fixing. They have told dealers, I've been told by two outlets first hand, that there are no deals to be done on kites. This is known as price fixing, North reps if you are reading, you need to tread extremely carefully adopting this approach. The fine is usually 10% of the company's turnover.

3) getting closer to my final decision I noticed a few issues with the quality of the Norths kit. Including the very fast wear of the depower lines on my 2013 Trust Bar, reading about premature wear on fuses on the leading edge. A bad experience with North windsurfing kit, their Shox system. A friend who runs a North school complaint about premature wear on lines and bars.

The long and short is that with all that negative stuff and there general vibe I've decied to avoid North and ended up buying Wainman Rabbits. They do exactly what I wanted and I got a good deal.

Just my opinion but I'm guessing others are feeling the same.

1) must be that you had the bar setup wrong. 2012 Rebels are really powerful.

Very much agree with 2) and 3)

I had them set to perfection, they don't drift with that much power, or not as much as say an EVO.

I don't believe I've ever heard anyone say the Rebel has weak bottom end... I think it's a great kite for just about anything - other than (hardcore) freestyle or unhooked wakestyle riding.