Duotone Rebel 2019

[lindseym]

Good info. Helpful. Thanks. And please do follow up on the 2018/2019 Rebel comparison. I’m sure many are curious.

When my friend gets back from Hood River we plan on doing some testing with his new quiver of Duotones Rebels and my quiver 2018 Rebels . From his testing he did say that they are pretty similar but he did notice that it seems to fly a little faster up to the zenith when you are sending the kite for a boost. This is probably how some additional lift is created. I will report once he gets back here (Tampa) and we finally get some wind.

[eenzwemvijver]

Had my 11 m2 duotone out for 2 sessions now and i can already tell you that there is a difference with the 2018 North Rebel .
The duotone feels more alive and is a bit faster than last years model .
It feels to me that the low end is a bit better too .

even smoother than last year , yes this is for me the best kite i ever had ( naild a double front roll for the first time
i can't wait to try the 9 m ( normally if the forecast is right this might happen on tuesday )

[SolarSet]

Who would believe that changing logo can improve kite performance that much
No seriously I'm serious if there are any differences of just a placebo of buying new gear

[lindseym]

Had my 11 m2 duotone out for 2 sessions now and i can already tell you that there is a difference with the 2018 North Rebel .
The duotone feels more alive and is a bit faster than last years model .
It feels to me that the low end is a bit better too .

even smoother than last year , yes this is for me the best kite i ever had ( naild a double front roll for the first time
i can't wait to try the 9 m ( normally if the forecast is right this might happen on tuesday )

Very cool. Thanks for the info. Yes, I am definitely looking forward to testing mine and will report as well. Gotta love those double Fronts !!

[Peert]

The duotone feels more alive and is a bit faster than last years model .

It feels to me that the low end is a bit better too

Even smoother than last year.

Reading this I am wondering a couple of things;

What is smoother? I mean a smoother kite...what does it do differently?

More alive and faster .. Do you mean it turns faster? To me that is suggested by more alive.

If you claim faster forward flying in a straight line... please explain how can you tell? I would think it depends on how you sheet the bar, the waves/chop and upwind angle you try to sail at... I can tell when flying a kite an Edge is in this respect different than a Reo.. but I have never been able to distinguish in forward flying between two kites with similar design goals but of subsequent model years...

[Teabageppo]

What did the 5th line do that made Rebels so good? I've never tried either variation of them, but I keep hearing guys lament the loss of the 5th line....
I always thought it was just a safety measure for added depower? Did it make the kite jump better somehow?

Anyway.....no real interest in either one, more curiosity than anything.

Not sure if you are just trolling for a response... but hey

Fifth line was loaded, meaning no pulleys were used at all. Created a definite rebel feel. As spaceracer rightly pointed out they are now no better tha. Plenty of other 4 line free ride jumping kites out there, it’s just a run of the mill option now. We hated the 2018, tested the 10 and 13 on quite a few occasions. Can’t see how the 2019 could be any better. But we will see I suppose.

But hey you kiddies enjoy your new toys beauty is the eye of the beholder and indeed the spender I suppose.

[davesails7]

Do the 2018-2019s fly on any 4-line bar or do north kites still fly better on a bar with a high V?

[POACHER]

What did the 5th line do that made Rebels so good? I've never tried either variation of them, but I keep hearing guys lament the loss of the 5th line....
I always thought it was just a safety measure for added depower? Did it make the kite jump better somehow?

Anyway.....no real interest in either one, more curiosity than anything.

Not sure if you are just trolling for a response... but hey

Fifth line was loaded, meaning no pulleys were used at all. Created a definite rebel feel. As spaceracer rightly pointed out they are now no better tha. Plenty of other 4 line free ride jumping kites out there, it’s just a run of the mill option now. We hated the 2018, tested the 10 and 13 on quite a few occasions. Can’t see how the 2019 could be any better. But we will see I suppose.

But hey you kiddies enjoy your new toys beauty is the eye of the beholder and indeed the spender I suppose.

Not trolling at all! I was just curious as I looked at Rebels to purchase this spring. And funny you should reply, I ended up buying 2018 Evos.....you were the ONE person that said you didn't like the new EVO. Most other reviews were glowing, so without the chance to demo, I bought a quiver. Two months later - I don't have a quiver of Evos. I actually very much agree with your thoughts on them. Very vague feel at the bar, totally gutless on the low end and very slow turning in the bigger sizes. Now they do jump great, have light bar pressure, and would be an excellent beginner kite. It just wasn't what I was expecting. The no low end was a deal breaker for me as our local winds are very up and down. The lulls will kill you. That kite somewhere where it nukes steady, it's probably pretty good.

P.S. I won't own a high Y kite ever again. Sucks for self landing, drift launching and just having more junk on your lines......pass.

[eenzwemvijver]

Tested the 9 m and in my First flight i broke my woo record ( now 12.9 m ) , so the Duotone rebel still jump Good
My brother and me are both very shure there are Some differences in the 2019 Rebel compare to the 2018 model .
Kite is for sure a bit faster in flying and turning speed what give’s me the feel of a more playfull kite !
Hé still is very Stable and jumps very good like last years model !
Low end is improved a bit
Feels more Fun to fly overal and always with a lot of control in gusty winds ( tested iT beside a Core XR5 witch was also a Nice kite but more rough in feel )
That i meen with smooth .
The kite give’s You a lot of confidense witch result in trying and learning new things !
I am just a hobby Kiter with no committment to Any brand etc , but my nature is that i like to test and compare a lot .
There are a lot of Good kite’s and at the end is personel preference , but i am shure the Rebel is a kite that Can give a lot of kiters out there a big smile on there face

[Teabageppo]

What did the 5th line do that made Rebels so good? I've never tried either variation of them, but I keep hearing guys lament the loss of the 5th line....
I always thought it was just a safety measure for added depower? Did it make the kite jump better somehow?

Anyway.....no real interest in either one, more curiosity than anything.

Not sure if you are just trolling for a response... but hey

Fifth line was loaded, meaning no pulleys were used at all. Created a definite rebel feel. As spaceracer rightly pointed out they are now no better tha. Plenty of other 4 line free ride jumping kites out there, it’s just a run of the mill option now. We hated the 2018, tested the 10 and 13 on quite a few occasions. Can’t see how the 2019 could be any better. But we will see I suppose.

But hey you kiddies enjoy your new toys beauty is the eye of the beholder and indeed the spender I suppose.

Not trolling at all! I was just curious as I looked at Rebels to purchase this spring. And funny you should reply, I ended up buying 2018 Evos.....you were the ONE person that said you didn't like the new EVO. Most other reviews were glowing, so without the chance to demo, I bought a quiver. Two months later - I don't have a quiver of Evos. I actually very much agree with your thoughts on them. Very vague feel at the bar, totally gutless on the low end and very slow turning in the bigger sizes. Now they do jump great, have light bar pressure, and would be an excellent beginner kite. It just wasn't what I was expecting. The no low end was a deal breaker for me as our local winds are very up and down. The lulls will kill you. That kite somewhere where it nukes steady, it's probably pretty good.

P.S. I won't own a high Y kite ever again. Sucks for self landing, drift launching and just having more junk on your lines......pass.

I ride with 5 other crew, between us we use dices, rebel, evos and neos. Not affiliated with north, no kickbacks, its just the kites we prefer. We also ride with a couple of others who use north kites.
between us we have 18/16/14/10 and 8 years kiting experience.

So believe by 2015 north had their lineup totally dialled, 2016/2017 a fantastic years, especially for the evo where they had really maximised the performance.

Alas north obviously have to adapt to what sells and tuned the evo into an allrounder that sits more along the wave riding spectrum, not freeride, freestyle. Probably not a bad foiling kite either now. They just changed its target use.

The rebel...well in my opinion is one major cluster f***...I've said enough about it. How you would take a no bridled, highly direct kite with a loaded fifth ...and throw the baby out with the bath water. Yeh it goes big vertically, but control the air and the overall feel is relatively shithouse. Relatively that is.

Having flown North kites for a number of years etc what I can tell you it does take a couple of generations when a big change occurs to maximise (get the best out the design features). So ya never know...

Each to their own man. But yeh as far as the evos are concerned...."told ya so'...lol

They can't please everyone I suppose. Plus we are getting a little old in the tooth now so I wouldn't listen too hard to what I have to say to be honest.

ps High Y kites are no harder to self land than any other, like everything just takes technique. I'm yet to fly a non high Y I've liked, except maybe the ozone edge. Don't like my kites flying off the front lines without connection to the back and that's what I feel on all low Y kites now.