2009 was bad for sure you need to pump the kite up rock hard to stop the invert. All the new kites are not like that. I have the 2011 11m,14m rebel no issue

I've had RPM's, Air Rush, Vagas Cab's, Fuels, Rebels and Dynos

RPM and Vegas are nice kites to start freestyle. I think one of the guys here pointed out fuels are full on but they will get the job done for sure. If your aggressive and want to push hard to progress get a set of fuels. If you want to ease into it get more of a transition kite. C4 is also another nice kite for freestye.... man there is a bunch of great kites these days.

Or you can look at some of the hybrid kites half freestyle half wave and free ride.

man its hard to your next kites.

I will say one thing as you have north you could buy a Vagas and use your bar. Nothing has really changed in the north bars. Or you can buy another and have a spare (that's what I do)

Cab SB? Not the right kite for the job at all. Free ride, old school, wave ok....

First and foremost I would start looking at what your local shop sells, and if you travel a lot do they carry them where you frequent. This way you can have problems taken care or buy spares easily.

With that said if your want to unhook and do loops then go to a full blown C or a hybrid like the RPM, Park. If you want waves more go with the deltas, Wainman's (my pick for best all around kite and I fly fuels), or Bandits.

Hey all, thanks for all the quality advice and replies, we have a lot of good experience and food for thought here.

I've done a bit of demo'ing, and a bit of web research.

Yesterday we had 12-15knots and low gusts at one of my local spots. My local distributor has been good for advice and up for letting me cut loose for as long as I need with there demo gear.

Yesterday I took out a 12m Airrush Lithium. Technology has obviously come on the last few years, while I haven't been actively searching the market. First thing that struck me was the extra touches. Nice bag design. Good bar design with comfortable grip. Very easy 'MORE' and 'LESS' depower controls. Good simple bridle. The bar is extendable to change the aspect ratio as you want. Kite looked well stitched and materials of good quality. One pump system and convenient inflate/deflate. I took it out and had a good ride. Its a very respectable kite, but all it does is park and ride, its very forgiving, you can pop a few jumps, and I find it very trustworthy. It holds it position in the window flawlessly. But its clearly a good novice kite. No punch.

Today the wind was up to 17+ and very gusty up to 25. I thought, right, we're on! I took out the Slingshot Rally in 9m and was very impressed. The bar and lines are nothing too special. Kite design appears to a good standard. The flying was versatile! I found that if I wanted to park and ride, it would do it for me. Due to the gusts I had to work it quite a bit today. However, I think with normal clean wind you can wave ride on that all day fairly relaxed. The aspect ratio is pretty tight, and I found it quite responsive on the turns. If I pulled on the bar the kite would definitely react. It would react with a bit of swoop and punch, but at the same time it was fairly predicable with it and you could feel where the kite was, giving confidence that you had the power and it wasn't running away from you. The power generated was good for me, poked it into the window just a touch and I was away.
I found it only somewhat forgiving, which could be considered a good thing. If you relaxed your body position or edge a bit to much, or got lazy with the bar the kite would give you a nudge. Not a big enough nudge to face plant you or mess your ride up, but a well timed kick up the ass. It would just rip you a bit to remind you it had to be actively ridden a bit. I would think this observation was aggravated slightly by the gusty conditions, but it was helpful from a development perspective, capable of a relaxing ride, but not that relaxed.
I popped a few jumps. Hang time not brilliant, but workable. Again, not a lot of forgiveness on jumps, sheet in/out at slightly the wrong moment and it will drop you like a stone. However I'm sure this is something that a bit of time getting used to the kite would iron out.

I came back in pretty happy with the Slingy, but then tried an AIRUSH VARIAL X 9m. Just as I was happy with one kite, this one really got me thinking.

First thing I noticed is it just cruised through the gusty conditions. It made the wind feel almost clean on a gusty day. It had a 5 strut design and well finished gear design like the LITHIUM the day before hand. I put in a few power strokes and started throwing it around. It was adequately responsive for me, comfortable in fact. Not as punchy or reactive as the RALLY, but more than did the job and was certainly more forgiving and stable. It had noticeably more punch than the LITHIUM. It was a very enjoyable ride, you could park it and wave ride all day, almost go to sleep, and if you want to throw it around, it will respond pretty well. However it came into its own with hang time! The slightest pop and sheet in and you were away! So easy to jump, and when your up there its calm and controlled, you can just glide back to the water. Its responsive enough to put a bit of a loop in. I opened it up at one stage and wrenched the bar in that similar manner to the RALLY and the VARIAL shot me out of the water and kept me floating, I was away.

I've been told AIRUSH are an aussie brand with a UK distributor in Kent which is pretty good. Spares will not be the fastest coming but they are average compared to a lot of brands and a decent amount of stock is pre-ordered. Apparently the brand is looking to go big time fairly shortly and is already fairly dominant in the southern hemisphere!?!?

I came back in having enjoyed my recent experimenting but feeling that there plenty more out there worth a spin before I part with my hard earned! The RALLY could be good for me!?!?

I'm lined up for a go on the F1 Bandit, Slingy RPM, Ozone Edge, Cab Switchblade, and maybe a North Evo/Vegas/'12 Rebel.

Cheers for the input guys, any further comments are appreciated.

i dont think the low end from the rpm 12m is less like other kites . i am quite heavy (90kg) and i use them with 15 knots in choppy water,going upwind and enough power to unhook.
thats my opinion