North Rebel (2011)

I am a big boy (100 to 110kg depending on how much beer i consume) and for the past 3 years have been living off a 2008 14m rebel and a 16m 2007 rebel. The past season up here in Cairns has seen me using the 16m and a north phantom board for most of the time (i also have a 152 underground). The 16m, although being slower has had more grunt tnan the 14m to keep me planing and as such the 14 has seen little use. Usually if the wind picks up i just switch to the underground board and if the wind gets over 20 knts consistently then i will blow up the 14 and hang on through to 30knts. OK preable over, one day i was powered on my 14m with the phantom but only just surviving the lulls, i was offered the use of a mates 2011 11m rebel and thought yeah right. Well you could not knock the grin off my doubting face, i switched to the underground board and was totally gob smacked by the speed and power of this little wasp at the end of my lines. The next day started blowing and i could not get that desire out of my head, although i could not afford it, I rang the local kite shop and bought one, picked it up an hour later and hit the water with a feeling of stoke that i have not felt for a while. Since then i have continued to be amazed at the power of this little kite. One light day saw me pump up the 16m and with the phantom board i alternated between losing and gaining ground, after 40 minutes i thought i would pump up the 11m just to see what would happen....to my surprise i could acheive the same result with the 11m. When this kite is moving it is generating power and that is all i have to say...when the wind is 15knts i am heaps powered and having a blast...i can steer it with one hand and don't need a shoulder massage after 3 hours on the water. I love this kite and with 2 boards have both sub 15knts and above covered.

Well I have not really put together a good review for my new 2011 11m North Rebel yet as I have had 2 flies and both have been insane extreme conditions which makes it only half a review. However I will try and give a quick speel until my actual review gets up, which might be monday as there are some smoother north winds potentially.

I flew the kite first at Kent reserve in what could be said was 5 - 30 knots with lulls and gusts that would have upset any kite.

The first thing on this kite was that it is slightly different to the 2010. Now I love the 2010 kite as it is Rebel perfection - it is exactly what Rebel is all about. My immediate feeling on the 2011 is that it is full on more power, in fact it was so windy that I took the steering lines out 1 knot and that immediately gave it a more Rebel on and off feel, however these conditions were extreme off the land and it was hard to judge.

Impressions on flying, smoother power stroke than the 2009 and 2010, which seems hard to imagine as the 2010 was pretty good, but the 2010 worked its power stroke from beeing able to quickly release the feel of power from the kite, the 2011 does it by keeping some easilly controlled power in the stroke.

It amost feels like as a rebel rider you think, ah they have put that bit of residual power back into it like the 2009, which took a bit of getting used to, but that's not the case, its more like the curve of power is there but its so smooth in and out of power that it just feels different. So Rebel riders don't panic, they have not gone away from the best formulae its putting some more power in the Rebel (which is quite powerful enough) with control. This does lead to more hang time - seriously very good, and a very smooth feel on waves or just freeriding.

The bar pressure is lighter but a smidge again, and it does turn easier, to me it does not need any more work here or you will loose the direct feel. Its as close to light bar pressure and light turning as you would want before it would be non direct in the feel, another important Rebel trait.

Short bar throw is still there, I think maybe with the factory setting it is a longer throw and not 100% depowered - more like the feel that some people like in a kite, for me I slipped the sterring knots out one (under the floats) and it was just like the 2010 in throw.

the next session was just crazy 25-30 knots solid pumping wind, and boy can this kite hold power, it was so steady in these conditions that it outbmatches anything else I have flown or seen for steadiness in a kite. sure I started to feel a bit over done, but the kite was not over done, just my 68kg on a directional / surboard.

You do notice the slightly softer feel of the kite - the 2010 was quite direct and harder on feel, this does have a slightly softer smoother bar line, which means that you need an hour to forget the 2010 on first flight, then its hard to remember that anyting was different.

I have to say that the 2010 and 2011 are so good that it gets hard to compare too much in benefits, but I have a feeling that the 2011 with the ability to change the feel by letting the steering lines in or out a knot will make the Rebel appeal to those outside the rebel camp. the Rebel camp will be stoked with the refinements.

I really have to update after a normal wind session as currently I have this 'wow this kite is totally full of power' in my head. I really need to fly it in more average winds.

The new Rebel 2011 has a new material which feels really nice, strong. I've been with my 14m version in Egypt and Tunisia, riding in winds up to 20+ kts + gusts. The kite is very stable, reliable with a pull that builds up, it doesn't "kick". It's a very forgiving kite to novice mistakes, I can hang on the bar and it won't die on me. It pulled me out of low-speed situations heaps of times and really stabilises the turns, making transitions easy. It has lots of power and I managed to downwind in very low-wind conditions where everyone else was struggling to keep their kites in the air. I also kite-looped it a couple of times in low-wind and it's OK but 14m is 14m, it's slow to react and hop around. This is a very good kite, but I don't think it's usable for tricks.

Tip deflator valve - I always end up trying to deflate from the wrong tip, and it's not easy to inflate in the wind since you have to hold your kite and access the wingtip. Deflator is best suited to central strut but I guess North prefers to fold the kite tip-to-tip instead to regular tip-to-central-strut way. Since it has cam battens they could provide detail instructions on how to fold it properly.

The rebel has a 100% depower on the bar which is good as you just throw the bar away and it stops pulling. On the other hand it's not that good as the kite will fall from the sky and you must always keep your backlines tight. Which is not as simple after a failed water-start. For the novice it's better if there is some power in the kite as it will be more stable at 12 and wait for you to recover for longer before falling into the water. But that's just a minor issue.

The water relaunch isn't that good. There is no auto-relaunch. Probably becouse of 100% depower you need to pull on one end of the bar for the kite to climb to window and launch. Other than that the only time I wasn't able to relaunch was in 0 wind when the wind just died on me :P.

The 5 lines are OK but I dislike how the safety (the 5th) and the front lines are intertwined. They are not-rotatable and are hard to sort out. 5 lines are OK but the 5 lines version from North could use some more engineering.

All in all a good kite I could recommend to novice and freeriders without a problem. It's the best kite I've ever ridden and I'm happy I bought it :-).

At a Glance

The Rebel is one of the most popular kites on the planet, it has a huge number of dedicated followers. The kite is aimed as a do it all machine, happy in the waves, boosting big airs, freestyle you name it the kite can do it. This year there are a few changes that are worthy of note. The centre strut “floats”, to allow the canopy profile to be shaped, as it should be rather than having to conform to the shape of the centre strut. The loaded 5th line design is back, this allows for increased depower with a shorted throw of the bar, perhaps the biggest change is the techno force canopy material. This super durable woven fibre cloth feels really tough when you unroll the kite for the first time. It is much more resistant to tearing than standard rip stop and should ensure you kite lasts even longer. The Rebel keeps the 5th line set up and there is no bridle on the kite at all.

The Bar

The 5th Element system from North has been at the top of it’s game for what seems like an eternity now. This year is no exception, the Trust bar features everything you need and nothing you don’t, making it one of the simplest, best put together systems on the market. The Iron Heart III is as solid as ever, easy to activate and very simple to put back together. The above the bar depower uses a simple cleat design as before and is really functional and there is also a sliding stopper should you need it.

On The Water

The Rebel 2011 has a certain urgency about it when you first launch it. It is eager to get to the edge of the window and delivers a smooth solid pull. Hitting the water in light winds the kite has a decent bottom end to it, whipping it around the window generates heaps of power and once up and riding you can relax the power strokes and let the kite do the work. The bar pressure is just about right to offer plenty of feedback without being too heavy on your arms. The turning speed is very quick and you can really get the kite to move through the air at quite a pace when you engage it This makes it ideal for waveriding on those days when you are looking to generate some extra power from the kite. Last year we found you had to really fly the Rebel off the front lines to stop it stalling during the bottom turn. This year it flies a lot better and you don’t have to think so much when you are waveriding with it. Boosting and upwind ability ore excellent and kitelooping is also a meaty affair. The kite is fast enough to get back to the top of the window yet it still delivers a solid pull. Last year the racers were riding the Rebel and that looks to be the case again this year. As you would expect at speed the kite is very stable and the short depower throw at the bar make the kite a dream to ride in gusty conditions.

For
Awesome construction, especially the techno fibre cloth. Fantastic all round performance with a 5th line, waves, big air, speed and freestyle are all achievable with the Rebel,

Against
If you don’t like 5th line set-ups then sadly there is no option for a 4-line set up with this kite. You’d be more suited to the Fuse.

Overall
The most popular kite on the market just got a little bit better, improved speed and flying characteristics means you can worry less about the kite and concentrate on your riding.