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Rebel or Evo for 2018

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seaspray
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Rebel or Evo for 2018

Postby seaspray » Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:06 am

I'm ready to replace my 2011 slingshot Rallys with a new quiver.... :)

I enjoy learning and am increasingly loving my kiting - especially jumping, transition jumps, backrolls etc ... I'm unlikely to pursue unhooked tricks (the body is a bit slower to mend nowadays ...) but I'd like to learn more...

I really like the look of North kites - but am struggling to decide between Rebels and Evo's. I know the Rebel is the jumping specialist, but I'm just left wondering whether the Evo would offer a less 'specialist' feel yet still impress me with high boost and hangtime

I know there's a similarly titled thread viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2398765 but that seems to be comparing the Dice with Evo before it went a bit off-piste..

Clearly, there's no definitive answer, but North seem to be promoting the Evo as the all rounder. Compared with the Rebels will I still feel that great floaty feeling with an Evo... As a competent intermediate, would I notice much difference and are there any downsides (there must be trade-offs) that the Rebel would impose?

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Re: Rebel or Evo for 2018

Postby lindseym » Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:28 am

When you say, "I'd like to learn more" can you elaborate a bit ? Also, tell me about where you ride...do you ever ride waves ?
For me, it's 100% Rebel but I really liked this year's Evo. Both have a similar feel but the hangtime with the Rebel is impressive. I was even riding in light wind this weekend and was shocked with the float I was getting. Ultimately though, it all goes back to rider preference. You want to demo as much as possible and let that be the basis for your decision.

seaspray
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Re: Rebel or Evo for 2018

Postby seaspray » Tue Feb 13, 2018 4:36 pm

lindseym wrote:
Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:28 am
When you say, "I'd like to learn more" can you elaborate a bit ?
I mean that I want to improve my jumping abilities - high floaty stuff but I don't want a kite that is a one-trick pony. I'm more freeride than freestyle - and want to learn old-school tricks (back-rolls, board-off etc) but I'm unlikely to be handle passing any time soon... I suppose a question is whether the Evo will give me a better hangtime/boost that my 2011 Rallys. Or is the Rebel _only_ good for jumping and less so for general blasting. Water relaunch will be inportant as will general ease of use too.

I don;t ride waves at all and atm have no real ambition in that area. I prefer flat water... which is where most of my kiting is done with occasional visits to the south and East coasts of the UK (no waves there).

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Re: Rebel or Evo for 2018

Postby Burn45 » Tue Feb 13, 2018 7:13 pm

Hi,
I rode the 2014-2015-2017 Rebels and 2017 Evo... did'nt have the chance yet for the 2018, wich these two kites had big changes. But, I would say that the main difference between those kites is the much better looping ability of the Evo. Of coors you can loop the Rebel, but it's not his strong side.

If you like to freeride like 80% of kiters, jump, rip upwind, hooked in freestyle, big hangtime, gusty conditions... than go with Rebels

If you like to drive your kite and loop it than go with Evo.

The Rebel is a bit more park and ride your board and the Evo needs a bit more that you move and play with the kite.

For sure, you can't go wrong with one or the other.

Sorry for my english. Hope this helps.

Bruno :cheers:

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lindseym
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Re: Rebel or Evo for 2018

Postby lindseym » Wed Feb 14, 2018 1:27 am

seaspray wrote:
Tue Feb 13, 2018 4:36 pm
lindseym wrote:
Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:28 am
When you say, "I'd like to learn more" can you elaborate a bit ?
I mean that I want to improve my jumping abilities - high floaty stuff but I don't want a kite that is a one-trick pony. I'm more freeride than freestyle - and want to learn old-school tricks (back-rolls, board-off etc) but I'm unlikely to be handle passing any time soon... I suppose a question is whether the Evo will give me a better hangtime/boost that my 2011 Rallys. Or is the Rebel _only_ good for jumping and less so for general blasting. Water relaunch will be inportant as will general ease of use too.

I don;t ride waves at all and atm have no real ambition in that area. I prefer flat water... which is where most of my kiting is done with occasional visits to the south and East coasts of the UK (no waves there).
I'd personally think you would be really happy with the Rebel given your goals. There's something about the feel of the Rebel when it is in the air in that it is completely locked into the sky. This gave me a bit more courage to push the limits of my tricks. The Evo is definitely nice too but the Rebel offers some additional benefits that make it very appealing. North has indicated that it has some of the best range in the line up (I believe it) which means you can save some money. My quiver is a 9, 12, 15 and I feel like I could probably just get away with a 9 and 12 but wanted the 15 to do some airstyle stuff. The Evo will definitely give you some amazing boosting, great range too, but will offer a little more agility and playfulness. As mentioned above, it will loop a little better but for suface looping tricks I've never had any issues looping the Rebel. Megaloop is entirely different and the Evo is of course better suited. At any rate, the best thing you can do is get to somewhere that is conducting a demo and fly them back to back. Hope this helps and keep us posted.

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Re: Rebel or Evo for 2018

Postby eenzwemvijver » Fri Feb 16, 2018 3:36 pm

i have a 2018 Evo 12 m and a 2018 rebel 11 m and i am mostly in old scool ( 50 years old and never unhook ) i did ride them back to back quit a few times and i think these kite's are far from the same .
I have also a Evo 2017 9 m so can compare with the 2018 model . I think the Evo 2018 is a lot different than the 2017 version in the positive way . It is faster , more playful but still very stable .
The low end is super even so is the high end . If you use a surfboard the Evo is really good . I find it to be a very around kite , easy to use and fun to ride .
The Rebel on the other hand is a kite i have never had before ( because off th e5th line ) and is a more specific kite . If you like to back - and front roll ( with or without kite loop ) dark slide ect both kite's are good but the rebel has such a precise feel i like a lot .
The Rebel low end is not as good as the Evo's imo , and i mean the rebel needs more wind to enjoy the kite , while the Evo is playful even in the lightest conditions .
BUT ..... Jumping on the Rebel is unbelievable for me . The way it behaves from start to landing is way much better than the Evo ( not that the Evo is bad or something ) .
This kite is really made for this and get you higher and keep you longer in the air and in such a easy controllable way you feel confident to try a lot off things you did not before ! ( in my first perfect powered session i broke my record and jumped 10,9 m )
So i am learning to kite loop ( not mega loop ) and here is the Rebel far more easy than the Evo to ! The rebel does not pull so hard as the Evo and for a beginner this means better control and again more confidence .

i am not a very good kiter , but most off the people around me are not . For the very good kiters out there there will be other way's to judge the kite's i am sure !
For me having RRD , Switchblade 2014 , Best TS 2016 , Bandit 2016 , Naish pivot 2015 , 2016 , 2017 the North kite's are the one's with the biggest windrange off all and have a easy enjoyable feel to have fun , and that is what a hobby is all about !

I will go for Evo's in 12 and maybe even 11 m ( because the rebel11 m is slower than the Evo 12 ) , but below the rebel stool my heart ( have a rebel 9 and 8m coming next week ;-)
Enjoy kiting everybody !!!

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Re: Rebel or Evo for 2018

Postby eenzwemvijver » Fri Feb 16, 2018 5:43 pm

and i did forget , water relaunch is better on the Rebel to !
if you go full in the wind i go faster with the rebel !
Something very nice to is that when you crash you're kite smashes on the water , with the Evo and specialy the Rebel the kite is coming down slowly . In most cases i can recover the kite before he hits the water .
Probably it will be less with the smaller one's
When i have tried the 9 and 8 m i will update on that !

This year i gonna try to do a boardoff and jesus walk , i have the feeling it is possible on the rebel , it give's me the feeling i can evolve ( more than the evo )

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Re: Rebel or Evo for 2018

Postby POACHER » Fri Feb 16, 2018 10:30 pm

Thanks for your input.

Not to hijack this but you mentioned you had Pivots too. I'm halfway thinking of going to Evos from my Pivots this year. Any comparisons there you can make specifically?

Thx.

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Re: Rebel or Evo for 2018

Postby iriejohn » Sat Feb 17, 2018 9:11 am

seaspray wrote:
I don;t ride waves at all and atm have no real ambition in that area. I prefer flat water... which is where most of my kiting is done with occasional visits to the south and East coasts of the UK (no waves there).
If you see no waves on the UK South coast you must be a summer only kiteboarder or you're looking for flat water only locations ...

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Re: Rebel or Evo for 2018

Postby geron » Sat Feb 17, 2018 3:02 pm

Hello, I agree with all that has been posted and especially with what eenzwemvijver said.

I think it comes down to your weight and the wind, I have the 11m 2018 rebel and weigh 90kg (and are liking it very much): if you weigh less (or kite in winds that are 17 knots or stronger), you can use a smaller kite that moves faster and the rebel would be grate. I still dont loop but it feels very doable and want to try in the next few sessions.

If I was kiting in lighter winds, then a 12 or 13m Evo might be better for me.


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