North Rebel 5th line - any issues?

[gvironda]

Hi guys
I currently fly EVOs and NEOs, and have flown Rally, Bandit, Obsession.
I tried the Rebel of a friend and was amazed by the hangtime and solidity in the gusts
I am thinking of buying one, but I'm a bit skeptical about the 5th line
Does it create any problem, like wrapping around the kite, or it happens only once in a lifetime, and the rest is only added security?
thanks a lot!
beppe

[piccio]

exactly what you said ,5th line makes kite steady and solid with gust and makes problem when kite falls in surf ,there is no way!
I release everything when I fall in surf and kite wraps .go to beach and start again.
broke a 10 in half years ago.
la rebel quello che ti da nelle prestazioni se lo riprende come rishio di rompere con il 5 cavo,se esci nel piatto o poca onda vai tranquillo ,onde grosse è un problema, ma non tanto nella rottura quanto nella ripartenza in posti pericolosi tipo capo mannu o s .
belle sono la 6 e la7 ,le altre sono troppo lente per surfare
ciao

[sarc]

What Piccio said. I've never relaunched Rebel successfully after releasing Chicken Loop safety. I's always drift back to beach and sort it out there.

My 5th split my kite in half twice and ripped the leading edge out once (caught by wave, all pressure on the 5th)...

And I still prefer it because of absolute safety, great performance, and excellent self-landing. Personally I'll trade safety over anything else. Typical release on 4 line kite does not depower enough for my taste. That's just my opinion. Every time I destroyed the kite I got it fixed for reasonable cost - definitely an 'insurance policy' I'm willing to pay.

BUT

I modded all my 5th line bars so that when release safety the kite will fly upside down everytime unless wind is super light. This way it just hovers over waves (and pebbles/garbage on beach) without damage. That's pretty cool ad saved my kite a few times.

The mod is to move the red stopper ball further away from the bar by ~2m. This allows the back lines to be fully slack on release even on large kites, so kite flies inverted.

Replace the original red leash line with similar but 2m longer... make the rest of leash that goes up to the Y junction 2 m shorter.... done.

[vannibombonato]

Changing my quiver exactly because of the fifth.

In 4 years of kiting i had CL released probably twice, with one ending in a full leash release.
One year with the Rebels i had to CL because of fifth risking to cut my kite at least 10 times, with two times having to full release.

Love how they jump, but i simply can't stand anymore the 5th, and i don't buy at all into it giving yourself "ultimate" safety. To me is one more line to mess with, let alone having fun with a 5 lines spaghetti mess should things go wrong: spent 3 hours on the beach with 2 local kids who do this for a living helping me...

I think there is a reason why almost no one do 5 lines anymore.

[Caesar]

Changing my quiver exactly because of the fifth.

In 4 years of kiting i had CL released probably twice, with one ending in a full leash release.
One year with the Rebels i had to CL because of fifth risking to cut my kite at least 10 times, with two times having to full release.

Love how they jump, but i simply can't stand anymore the 5th, and i don't buy at all into it giving yourself "ultimate" safety. To me is one more line to mess with, let alone having fun with a 5 lines spaghetti mess should things go wrong: spent 3 hours on the beach with 2 local kids who do this for a living helping me...

I think there is a reason why almost no one do 5 lines anymore.

You are spot on!
You asked why all this 5th line BS- there is some whisper North holds a patent on that design and *maybe* they want to make a few more bucks out of it bevore 5 liners are obsolete completely.

North (with the 2013 Fuse) had proven that they can design brilliant and absolute remarkable kites without that 5 line crap.

And now the discussion 4 line kites or 5 line kites will start again...

Cheers
Caesar

[Westozzy]

I have to agree. I rode the fifth line rebels and would be considered more experienced than most and I had my fair shair of tangles, unless of course you don't want to push the envelope and ride around like a nancy.

But there are those that keep plugging their are no probs with five line kites, I'm not one of them.

Give me four lines anyday.

[balugh]

Must say that I like my Rebels and the ability to walk up the 5th to the kite when self landing. Maybe I haven't pushed the envelope as much as others but I just enjoy the kite full stop. That said...I did have a few 5th line issues on my old Vegases. And ther's no such thing as ultimate safety though I've met more rubbish 4 line systems than I have 5 line ones in terms of the amount of margin they give you. It's really a case of personal preference IMHO... My only recommendation is to personally test a new kite's system in benign conditions as I have had some interesting (almost scary) results with some in 10mph winds and knee deep water.

[Caesar]

Must say that I like my Rebels and the ability to walk up the 5th to the kite when self landing. Maybe I haven't pushed the envelope as much as others but I just enjoy the kite full stop. That said...I did have a few 5th line issues on my old Vegases. And ther's no such thing as ultimate safety though I've met more rubbish 4 line systems than I have 5 line ones in terms of the amount of margin they give you. It's really a case of personal preference IMHO... My only recommendation is to personally test a new kite's system in benign conditions as I have had some interesting (almost scary) results with some in 10mph winds and knee deep water.

Hi,

You can walk up 4 liners on their 2 center lines the same way you do with a 5 liner on the 5th line.

Cheers
Caesar

[balugh]

Must say that I like my Rebels and the ability to walk up the 5th to the kite when self landing. Maybe I haven't pushed the envelope as much as others but I just enjoy the kite full stop. That said...I did have a few 5th line issues on my old Vegases. And ther's no such thing as ultimate safety though I've met more rubbish 4 line systems than I have 5 line ones in terms of the amount of margin they give you. It's really a case of personal preference IMHO... My only recommendation is to personally test a new kite's system in benign conditions as I have had some interesting (almost scary) results with some in 10mph winds and knee deep water.

Hi,

You can walk up 4 liners on their 2 center lines the same way you do with a 5 liner on the 5th line.

Cheers
Caesar

Agreed but you're handling 2 lines instead of 1. I'm not saying I never use 4 line kites because I do. I just don't have any more 'issues' with my 5 line Rebel than I've had with 4 line kites. I also accept that every bit of complexity adds to the things that can go wrong. However, the majority of 4 line kites have a bridle....that is, I think, at least or more complex than thy 5th line used on the Rebel. What you get with the Rebel is a direct feeling solid flying kite. Maybe one day I'll have an epiphany with another kite but I haven't yet for my basic free ride and jumping 'style'.... I certainly would not discount a kite because it has a 5th line. As far as I can tell there are always compromises in kite designs. I also appreciate (from posts here and elsewhere) that people have cut their kites in half round a 5th line but I regularly see kites split in half simply from impacting the water or getting bow tied in waves and those have had nothing to do with 4 or 5 lines.

[Westozzy]

Ridden plenty of kites that are far more direct in feel than the fifth line rebel. Got on one again for old times sake the other day and found it really spongy in feel. Each to their own. I don't ride a kite because of its safety then again I rode back in the days when safety was an arguable quantity.

I have had many a time when a kite invert etc may not have caused a kite tear but another bloody swim in.