Rebels 2 years evo 1,wave ride only,prefer rebel for waves handle gusts better than evo,both great wave kites,best qr there is passes afnor standard no accidental releases will not jam all independant tests prove this,you can hold a rebel in a storm on fifth complete depower,local big air guys on rebels,fifth can rip kite in surf never happened to me,small price to pay after what happened to you mr moon never seen a north kite death loop., droped kite in big surf many times pulled under, qr no problem even with massive wave pressure also getting to kite pulling fifth no problem,this can be a problem on many four line kites hope this helps Tony

Actually in your case it did flip over, just in the wrong way... even Rebel can do that in low wind. In my case after pulling safety the leading edge was stuck in water and kite surface was a fully inflated downwind sail :-/.

I only ride waves in a strong and gusty spot (Guincho), sometimes with huge waves.
I've been riding 5th line since 2007.
First on Rebels and since 2009 on Evos, never had any issues with the 5th line.
I don't drop my kite that much but when it happened never had 5th line tangles.
Since I already have a 5th element bar I’m considering buying the quad bar this year, but It’s only a question of simplicity.
In 2009 my option was 5th because the North 4 line system wasn’t safe enough.
I heard that now the system is similar to Cabrinha IDS, can someone give us some feedback about it?
Ride Safe
Vasco

Btw once I had a spiral episode with the Bandit on land, after take off the bridle was tangled on a wingtip.
I pulled the QR and the kite started doing spirals, I had to completely release the kite.

I think that may be a feature of some of the Cabrinha kites. In this video of the Nomad, which has a flatter leading edge and less of a bow shape, you can see he has to walk toward the kite to make it drop on its back and at 0:30 seconds, he pulls the IDS line in a bit just before the leading edge lands and as the kite lands, he releases the line to make it fall on its back.



The same thing can happen with my Nobile 555. It can get stuck nose down and its best to pull that bit of line in if you can and release it as it lands on the water as it may be impossible to swim fast enough at the kite to make it fall on its back.

I have Xbows so dont have that problem with the IDS.

I think the Rebel 5th line is safer, but maybe a bit more of a risk to the kite than the kiter, so as long as you are prepared to let the kite go early enough, if I wanted ultimate safety I would choose the Rebel. The IDS gives me other advantages though and with the kites I am using, I prefer the IDS.

so many systems... so many faults

Somehow I'm still not convinced to go for either kites.. So many people are putting me off North / Rebel: main reason being a 5 line system:
When you crash a 5 line like a Rebel, things can get real messy, especially in waves or if you invert. Of course you have the advantage of 100% depower but you also need pay for this in other situations?

Others are putting me off Cabrinha for the IDS complicated mechanics of the QR, or for the dubious quality of canopy, or poor performance (still not sure if a switchblade is fast enough for waves).

I wonder if I should just stick to what I know: 4 lines?

Maybe give Wainman a go.. I will improve my safety clipping the leash to the front and buying myself a releasable bar too!

Have a look at a couple of the mag reviews of the 2012 Rebel (instead of a couple of people hiding behind forum names who could be anyone) and you'll see that most of them rated the kite very highly and the 5th line safety was rated best safety of the lot.

Most of the people who complain about the problems with the 5th line either have experience with old 5th line C kite from years ago or are using a 4 line kite and haven't actually tried a modern 5th line kite. I switched across this year after riding bows for years and have no regrets. I feel safer on my 5th line kite than all the bridled kites I've used.

A safe guard against 5th line tangles or wraps...
http://ride.slingshotsports.com/s.nl/it.A/id.360/.f

I'm gonna order one today... the other day my 5th line wrapped around my kite after falling straight out of the sky... I was in the lee of the wind... not a good place to be with a kite.

Just out of curiosity does anyone have a similar home made solution they would care to share?

I know your thread started off with a question between IDS Vs North 5th, but as you are still debating this, I'd be interested to know what views there are of the Slingshot Rally quick-release. Other threads suggest the Rally is a good 4-line wave kite and has a short bridle with no pulleys. The QR flags out to a single line so should be safe. I currently ride Rebels and think the 5th line is a balance ie very safe when you need it but a bit of a risk in waves, hence my interest in the Rally. Any views on this?

What does that wave grenade do?

It releases the 5th line at the bar. When you activate the grenade the 5th line releases from the bar and dangles from the kite allowing you to relaunch and get back to shore and re-connect the 5th.