Whoa. Lots to address here:
Don-
Westozzy is not the first to describe the Rebel as mushy. I personally disagree with him, but it may be a semantic thing. What I look for in a kite is positive bar feedback, where bar pressure increases as you sheet in. This is much more prominent in 5-line kites than 4, but what Westozzy may be referring to is the way the kite feels as it turns, which some describe as feeling more like a flat kite than a "C" kite. While I think the Rebel feels very direct, I understand what he means and especially since he's not the first to say that by a longshot I would definitely not say that he is wrong, and to discount his opinion, which seems pretty accurate and informed all around, and through experience as opposed to marketing, I think is a mistake.
JGTR-
That is incorrect info on the 5th line, though I can't blame you for the assumptions, especially considering a misprint on the 2013 Evo... When flown on the 5th Element bar, all of our 4-line kites (Evo, Fuse, Dyno, Neo, and Dice) should have a little slack in the 5th line above the "Y". The 5th line is NOT loaded. It is only for safety and relaunch assistance. I know the 2013 Evo has "loaded 5th line" printed on the LE (and maybe on the bag too) but this was an error in printing. It was supposed to say "4 or 5 line compatible". Also, just to correct a technicality, I believe all 2013 and earlier Evos are considered delta shaped, not bow shaped.
Heinzbush-
I'd be interested in hearing the results of that test. I have not personally tested self rescue/dropping to the safety on the Dice, though I watched a local rider hit the release and it worked as well as all our other 4-line kites, depowering completely and ending up nose-down facing into the wind as you would expect.
Tony-
Thanks for linking to that. Still waiting for more feedback from people to verify what I experienced on the 5-line setup.
Marlboroughman-
Funny that you don't buy North because we have a patent on the 5th line yet you buy Naish... Naish owns the patent on the push-away release. And they only own it because another brand which had it first screwed up the paperwork in filing, and Naish used that loophole to get the patent for themselves, only after some expensive litigation. Plus there's the fact that it's a patent for a safety device, which some would argue should be shared openly in an effort to make the entire sport safer.
-Dan