North rebels
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wingnut
- Medium Poster
- Posts: 60
- Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2005 3:40 am
- Local Beach: Squampton, Acadia, Jericho, Spanish Banks, Ambleside Septic farm.
- Favorite Beaches: Cabarete, La Ventana (Baja Sur), Uppers, Nitinat.
- Style: wave freestyle strapless
- Gear: North Rebels 7,9,12, Naish, Dakine, Taaroa, Airush Ultra 6,9,12,15
- Brand Affiliation: Soulfoodgodwax
- Location: Flying along silently behind you. Watch out !
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 0
Re: North rebels
I have used my 2011 7m Rebel since new mostly for strapless surfboard riding in lots of different conditions and places from Canada to Mexico. I love those North kites. The one thing it does well is to fly fast and point high. I could always point higher than most other kites on the water.Having recently started foiling though I find it a bit punchy with a more direct and powerful kind of feel to it. For foiling I think that a softer feel would help. I recently used a new 7m Airush Wave and was quite impressed with its good bar feel and drifting capability. It turned quickly and made more power when worked hard than I expected. Another kite I quite like was a North Mono 9m that I used in fairly light winds this summer to learn to foil. This kite drifted well and could generate lots of power when needed. Also its light weight and single strut made it easy to keep in the air in marginal conditions. Its great to see that there are some new wave or foiling specific kites being developed in the market and I am really looking forward to the Airush Ultra in the larger sizes when it becomes available.
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phlow
- Frequent Poster
- Posts: 384
- Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2003 6:22 pm
- Weight: 216lbs
- Local Beach: Leeside, Beasley, Sandestin
- Favorite Beaches: Long Beach, Provo, Turks and Caicos
Sandy Spit, BVI's
Loblolly Bay, Anegada
Coco Plum, Exuma - Style: Foil, Freeride, Surf
- Gear: Duotone Neo / Mono, Nobile NHP, Jimmy Lewis Surf and SUP, Kanaha Shapes Much Macho, Moses Hydrofoils
- Brand Affiliation: None
- Location: Destin, FL
- Has thanked: 55 times
- Been thanked: 14 times
- Contact:
Re: North rebels
I am North Loyal for 15 years, have been on Rebels since they came out: 2007/2010/2013 / 2015.
They kites DO work well for foiling. You will get used to how they fly forward. But they are built heavier and need more air to keep them alive. I used to use my 2015 Rebel 14 down to 7 knots, but did more self rescues in my first year of foiling than in the the prior 14 combined due to dropping the kite and wrapping the 5th line in light flukey winds.
Up until 2018, Rebel is a dedicated 5 line kite. 5 lines suck for light wind foiling. I went to 4 line NEO's and never looked back.
They kites DO work well for foiling. You will get used to how they fly forward. But they are built heavier and need more air to keep them alive. I used to use my 2015 Rebel 14 down to 7 knots, but did more self rescues in my first year of foiling than in the the prior 14 combined due to dropping the kite and wrapping the 5th line in light flukey winds.
Up until 2018, Rebel is a dedicated 5 line kite. 5 lines suck for light wind foiling. I went to 4 line NEO's and never looked back.