2007 North Rebel 12m Review

Fassn8 · Post by **Fassn8** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 8:42 pm

I've had a chance to fly this kite 3 times now at 3rd ave. Here are my first impressions.

Disclaimer: I don't ride for anyone other than myself and pay for all my gear. That said, if you want to sponsor me or hook me up with some gear I'm open ;-). I weigh about 170 pounds and this is my second season kiting.

SCALE: 1-5 (5 being the best)

BUILD QUALITY: 5
I'm very impressed with the quality of this kite.

EASE OF USE: 4
I find this kite to be very "friendly". The Rebel is easy to relaunch, set up, and the 5th element bar is awesome. Most of my experience has been on bow kites and I think that the Rebel requires a slightly more experienced pilot as it's not quite as forgiving as some of the Bows out there. In my opinion this is a good trade off for the performance you gain with respect ot turning speed and jumping (see below).

DE-POWER AND RANGE: 5
Yesterday I rode my 12m Rebel with a North Dragon 134x43 and had a great session in 14mph to 20mph wind. Plenty of power. Today it was super gusty at 3rd ave ranging from 20-34mph and most guys were out on 9's but I wanted to test the upper range of this kite so I took out my Slingshot misfit 127 and hit the water. I was definitely powered up. Ok, so I was over powered, but the kite handled very well. Depower strap works like a charm and there is tons of depower just by sheeting out the bar. Even though I was overpowered today, I still had a great session and never felt out of control. Would have like to have had a 9m just to try more jumps and tricks.

UPWIND PERFORMANCE: 5
Simply put, this kite screams up wind!

TURNING SPEED: 5
Compared to my Bow kite, I think the Rebel turns much faster. I'm able to quickly and easily put the kite where I want in the window. This is especially noticeable when jumping. The Rebel has two settings on the leading edge to attach the rear lines. I've tried both and prefer the outer/back attachment points as the kite turns faster. I guess you give up some power in this setting, but I didn't notice that.

BAR PRESSURE: 3
In my opinion this kite still has a significant amount of bar pressure. Not as much as some of the pulley bars I've tried, but it still pulls pretty heavily. I personally don't mind it, but I know a lot of riders are "anti-bar pressure" so I'm giving the Rebel a 3 here.

JUMPING: 5
Remember this is only my second season, but I find this kite to be VERY easy to jump. Controlling my landings is also very easy. The hang time is great and I love jumping this kite!

See ya on the water!

bobbyboom · Post by **bobbyboom** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 11:02 pm

Sweet review. I've been riding my 10m and 14m Rebel's now for about a week and I agree with everything you said. This kite turns so fast it took some time getting used to. The 14m turns like a fast 12m, no joke. I was riding 06 Vegas' before and love that kite. The noticable difference to me is turning speed and hang time on the jumps.

When the wind is there and I'm powerd the jumps are to the moon and then I switch into paraglider mode where I feel i float in the air for such a noticably long time. Real sweet for sure.

One thing I would like to add is the new 5th element bar is a nice step up from last years 06 bar (which I really liked). The "Free sliding stopper" is such a nice addition as you can adjust it on the fly depending on the wind. This in combination with the Vario Cleat depower and the micro loop is simply sweet. Also the vario cleat is noticably higher than last years bar. I know this gives more depower, but took some time getting used to. The sliding stopper really helps out as I didn't know how to use it at first.

The only "funky" thing I've noticed about the kite is that when I depower it a lot it has a tendancy to want to "fall out" of the window. Nothing to complain about too much as I just sheet in a bit and bingo, it's on, but I did notice on my last two sessions that this happend a couple times. I'm still getting used to the kite, but it's so sweet. I really, REALLY dig this kite and am very happy about it overall.

-Bobby

zgur · Post by **zgur** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:08 am

Glad to see people stoked on the Rebel. It's a really good kite. I've ridden the 14 and 9m for about 3 months now. A few key points:
Bar pressure - you can rig the kite to reduce bar pressure and make it fly like a C. Basically, you need to shorten the steering lines. It takes some range away, but works really well.

Throw, distance of vario cleat - this can be adjusted to suite your riding style. I shorten mine, to match the length of my arms, and so that I don't have to ride in the "butt down/pooping" position.

The 9m is a phenomenal wave kite.

Good wind + waves, Zeev.

mike_s · Post by **mike_s** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:08 am

has anyone ever purchased a kite they don't like :roll: I say my first 2 line wipi wasn't great, but hey, I think I even raved about that!!

michael · Post by **michael** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:59 am

I read your review, and wonder:

1) what was the kite(s) you used before you bought 2007 Rebel 12m?

2) if you bought the kite without demoing it, what made you buy that particular brand?

3) if you demoed it, what impressed you the most that you decided to buy it?

Your review is great. If I want to spend $1,500, there definitely must be a good reason.

Bulldog · Post by **Bulldog** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:33 pm

Also, is there anything you did in your first session on your new kite that you couldn't do your last session on your old one?

There are plenty of things people were doing last year on their 06 Vegas' that I still can't do, so I figure I'm not done growing into those kites yet. Does the Rebel make kiteloops easier? How about toeside frontrolls?

If I demo a kite this year that makes it easier to jibe on a directional without falling on my ass, I'll buy it...

mike_s · Post by **mike_s** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 4:49 pm

If I demo a kite this year that makes it easier to jibe on a directional without falling on my ass, I'll buy it...

sign me up for that kite too!!!!!

michael · Post by **michael** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 5:38 pm

Are you guys implying that 2007 models didn't introduce any significant improvements over 2006 models? Probably the difference isn't as huge as 2006 over 2005, is it?

I can't compare much (because I started only last year), but once I tried a bow, I couldn't go back to a C. Currently I don't even know what I wish could be improved that is really important (I don't count things like making a bigger bag, as someone mentioned in one review).

At least it's nice to see what improvements other people contemplate - jibing on a directional! I am not there yet, and it will take probably several seasons before I outgrow my 06' kite.

2007 Rebel 12 is fantastic, almost everything is 5 (just the bag probably needs to be a little bigger, no biggie). But I think I wouldn't sell 2006 kite as quick as I sold 2005 once I try it, would I?

mike_s · Post by **mike_s** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:49 pm

not really implying anything (just sat in an airport bored!!!)

guess my point is everything is always quicker, faster, better built. Kinda like to hear when something innovative comes along like this kite that's gonner help me jibe my directional more successfully when I got a big ass wall of white water about to mow me down!

not knockin though glad you're stoked with the kite...that's what its all about.

zgur · Post by **zgur** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:01 pm

Bulldog/mike_s: the rebel enables u to jibe w/out getting yanked off the board. Try it. It will be on the coast for the next few days.

Let's hear it for the best spRING of all times!!!

Get some, Z.

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