Hi all,
posting a few lines to share my experience with my new Rebel 2012.
I'm an intermediate kiteboarder, a lot into "old school" and not at all into freestyle, to be clear what i like and what i was looking for is huge air, hang time, etc. etc.
I've been testing the Rebel over a week spent in Dakhla, unfortunately with little wind, and i've had the chance to spend quite some hours with the 12M (not enough wind for my brand new 9M!). I was coming from a set of Wainmans which i've had for 2 years before they were stolen: i had the opportunity to have the kites re-imbursed from insurance and after a bit of research i've chosen the Rebels. Only kites i've spent some serious time are the Wainmans, so much that i'll say is relative to my experience.
Here's my take:
OVERALL
Like it a lot, wouldn't go back. I've used and had more fun with the 12M over one week than i've had in the 2 years before with my old 12M (wainman boss).
WHAT I LIKED
- Above all, i really did notice an incredible difference in hang time. Whereas before i could throw some big jumps but very seldom managed to get a true "zeppelin" feel, it was now immediate and since jump 1 to just float away. I was really amazed, if you keep the bar sheeted in you just don't go down. I managed to instantly land more rotations, transitions, etc. than i've ever done before and since this is what i like, i was obviously very happy and i can definitely say that my performance was very much improved by the kite, which in all honesty i never thought could be true if you're not a super-pro (which i'm light years from being).
- For sure the kite is screaming "top quality" in every inch, loads of details that you immediately notice tells you there's good build quality running behind.
- Uber-stable and, even if the conditions were far from extreme, i had the impression it could handle gusts very well. For sure lots of wind-range, i could be out with my 12M whenever someone else was, and i've handled a full afternoon overpowered without any problems. No b****it about "i was out with my 12M and everyone else was with 15m bla bla". I would say it definitely is a kite that pulls, but in the ballpark of the best ones around.
- Bar, liked a lot the pressure, which is quite the same that i had (average i would call), and definitely loved to finally have a stopper ball, which is invaluable for some big air tricks.
- For freestyle wake-guys can't speak as that is not my thing, but i can tell you that next to me for the whole week of vacation i always have had a 20-year old guy with the same 12M Rebel 2012 that was throwing some impressive powered un-hooked tricks. So, it definitely can handle that stuff. And yes, i was going around at night answering "uh yeah...i'm the one with the pink rebel 2012 you might have seen me..."
- Overall feel: i found it as fast as the Wainmans, which is good for me, had no problems downlooping in light winds, in general i immediately had very good connection with the guy.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
- Now i understand all the bla-bla Wainmans has placed around the "keep it simple". In one day of very light wind i had more problems than what i've had in the 2 years before...specifically there are two things which i believe can be a potential serious problem. I'm here to report them as well as to get any advice from someone that knows the kite better than me 1- One is the fifth line: besides adding pure mathematical complexity in case of line tangles etc., in light wind situation when missing some jumps the kite DID stall a few times, Zeppeling. Now, if it Zeppelins and falls "the wrong" way, wrapping the 5th around the kite, according to what instructors in the north center and other people were saying, the best thing to do is release chicken loop, swim to kite and go on-shore. There simply is no way i could find to revert it back to launch position with the 5th line keeping the kite stuck on water and potentially cutting through it. Again, it had happened twice in a single day, never happened in the last two years, problem was solved by drifting away to shore in side-on wind and having someone flipping the kite over 5th line, but i wonder what would have happened if i was on this kite last Summer when i was kiting all alone in side-shore wind 500m off the coast at sunset in the middle of the ocean...really didn't like this, maybe i'm missing something as this is a potentially big problem. Again, it was very light wind situation and i missed the trick, but the solution can't be the "in light wind you shouldn't miss your jump" i was told. 2- Second issue was the bar: again in light wind situation, missed the trick, did a splash, and here i go finding myself with the front lines tangling with the 5th line which has somehow twisted around the bar underwater and inside the depower hole, leaving me with the bar stuck at full power, unable to release security, unable to depower the kite. Now, this was quite big: i managed to solve it using brutal force, releasing tension from the lines by holding them with one hand and untangling with the other, doing some twists underwater etc., but this was obviously only possible because it was light wind. I couldnt help but thinking what would have happened in a powered situation, with the lines getting more and more stuck and the total inability to release or depower. Thinking back now, this really is scaring me. Why has this happened? Well, simply because there is too much stuff going through that bar hole. Again, never happened to me before.
- Aside from these huge security issues i've had, speaking of minor stuff i totally HATE the look of the bar...why on earth can't they use some bright, big color to identify left-right??? Seriously, the left is identified by some very light red stripes placed in the middle of the dull grey and good luck holding on the right side right after a big crash to avoid a loop in a split-second...10-0 for the Wainmans here.
So that's my take, if anyone has suggestions for the security problems i've had i'm more than happy to learn.
As said, aside the problems mentioned above i liked a lot the kite, unfortunately couldn't test the 9M which is my preferred and go-to size.
Hope this helps.
Vanni