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What did you prefer about the Rebel?

I'm not sure why some folks question 12-15kn on a 12m? I am 165 lbs and 12m serves me well as a light wind kite. Sure, I take a flat light wind board on super light days and switch to my 135x40cm twin tip once it picks up a bit. 12m kites with good low end do the trick for lighter folks. For me it is not much good to have 15 or 17m kite as I want to get off them very quickly.

Now to the Eleveight RS 12m. I had a chance to do some low end testing against my 12m Core XR5. I went back to and forth several times over an hour long session. XR5 definitely has more grunt, more bar pressure and turns slower. The RS felt "light" in comparison and was more responsive. I had a hard time feeling where the kite was as the bar feel is extremely light. Initially I thought the RS did not have much low end but I had to stand corrected, it just did not feel so hard pulling on my hands but definitely got me going, despite the marginal conditions. After switching back to the RS maybe the 3rd time, I came to the conclusion that RS really does have low end without the heavy feel. Nice thing. I will write more about jumping performance once I have it out in more steady and windier conditions.

As I had a hard time with feeling where the kite is for jumping and slider rolls, I was curious to see what the "more bar pressure" wing tip setting will do to the kite. Switched it and went out one more time. Only had time for a couple of tacks then the wind died, but it was enough to get a wow out of me as I suddenly had the connection to the kite that I was missing before. Promising. More to come.

john251 wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 19, 2018 5:49 pm

What did you prefer about the Rebel?

I ultimately decided to go with the Rebel because of the tricks it enabled me to pull off...nothing more, nothing less. I always try and evaluate a kite by simply going out and attempting as many tricks as possible and let this be the basis for how much I like it. If the kite allows me to hit something that I haven't been able to pull off before, or at least get closer, then I know its a winner. Overall (to me), the rebel has this locked feeling that feels a bit safer when doing advanced rotations and board-offs. The choice wasn't easy though and the RS was definitely a close second.

Been riding the RS since August and have nothing bad to say about them. They loop well, boost high, are great for foiling and I am very happy with the quality. resale has not been proven, I am anxiously awaiting the 2019 gear. I would highly recommend these kites.

Just had a browse through the closed Eleveight group on Facebook. 2019 colour schemes are so sweet! Less than a month to go, those of you who are waiting to see the 2019 selection..

they will have a new teijin material, techno force X4 and new teijin dacron, the best quality in the market.

Product booklet for 2019 kites (leaked perhaps?). Looking good for year 2. Love my 5-strut XR5 and have always been a fan of Core's approach but I think I've got to add Eleveight to the quiver pretty soon. Had a handful of opportunities to ride the 3-strut RS and it's one of the best all-round kites out there. 2019 bar looks good too..

https://www.mysticpointwatersports.com/ ... ook_ld.pdf

https://youtu.be/oc4Nw94Ik70

foilkite90 wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 20, 2018 12:03 pm

they will have a new teijin material, techno force X4 and new teijin dacron, the best quality in the market.

In a few years we'll have Octatex or something like that, lol. Getting a bit ridiculous imo.

RS 2019 just arrived 1 week ago for a friend. I didn't kited but the finishing looks first class. I agree the x4 ripstop it's a bit ridiculous. Of course they have maybe x20 ripstop there and they're are just holding to launch it as new thing. But x4 material is a bit heavier than x2. So maybe this doesn't go far. Anyway the material looks super resistant. I'm waiting for the ws versions to arrive.

X4 ripstop is interesting. I remember the Naish guys (last year with their 4x ripstop) saying it was that much stiffer that it allowed them to reduce the amount of heavy duty fabrics (battens etc) in the trailing edge as the canopy supported its own profile better. Sounds like a good thing to me!