New set: XR/GTS or Rebel/Dice

[Havre]

Thanks for your insights!

Actually, I pulled a trigger on North. 13-11 Reach's and 10-8-6 Orbit's + boards +accessories. Could not get a good price on Core and Duotone seller was not responsive. So back to North after 5 years Very excited to start new season with new toys.

Cool. Had it all lined up with 3xOrbits myself before SA shut down. Could I ask where you got them from?

Local guys. Very aggressive guys in terms of riding and pushing new products into the market (marketing, PR, pricing, etc.). Last summer they took over with North most of the best riders and schools.

Btw, its eastern EU

I love Eastern Europe. Most beautiful girls in the world and if you combine that with aggressive North deals you got a winning combination!

[Kerplow]

Cool. Had it all lined up with 3xOrbits myself before SA shut down. Could I ask where you got them from?

Local guys. Very aggressive guys in terms of riding and pushing new products into the market (marketing, PR, pricing, etc.). Last summer they took over with North most of the best riders and schools.

Btw, its eastern EU

I love Eastern Europe. Most beautiful girls in the world and if you combine that with aggressive North deals you got a winning combination!

Correct and correct

[flipper231]

Well, the XR is more playful than the Rebel, more like an Evo but closer to the Rebel in jumping. For the GTS, this is the allaround kite for unhook. Don’t forget to test in freestyle mode on the front bridle.

I ride Nexus, Dices before and in freestyle mode on the front bridle they are very similar kites, the Nexus having a better low end. I am a 200 pounder and I ride the Nexus 12 when a friend who is 135-140lbs rides her Dice 13m.

XR7, Core is now using a lighter material on their big kites for the LE and struts and just on the struts for smaller kites. Kind of an SLS (10% weight reduction for that lighter material) without the higher price. XR has the CIT on front bridal but I never tried it.

For info I owned: old Rebels (2008, 2009, 2010), XR3, XR6, Evo 2016 and 2020, GTS3, Nexus 1, Nexus2, switchblades 2012 and 2013, Dice 2016 and 2017. I tried Evo 2019, Dice 2018, 2019, Rebel 2019 and 2020, GTS4-5-6

Thanks for your insights!

Actually, I pulled a trigger on North. 13-11 Reach's and 10-8-6 Orbit's + boards +accessories. Could not get a good price on Core and Duotone seller was not responsive. So back to North after 5 years Very excited to start new season with new toys.

Well not back to the North you know but the logo you know... Lovely choices the Search was in my book but I am a heavier guy and the local dealer was not recommending it for high wind (even the NKB site mentions using the smaller sizes for foiling so in less wind than me on my TT for sure). Congrats, tell us how they compare to the Dice... cheers...Oh the orbit, ride it loaded.....

[CaptainCore]

Another suggestion to look at the Nexus rather than the GTS for an alternative or complementary kite to the XR's

[Abaltasis]

Lovely choices the Search was in my book but I am a heavier guy and the local dealer was not recommending it for high wind (even the NKB site mentions using the smaller sizes for foiling so in less wind than me on my TT for sure).

Hello.
What do you mean by that statement?
they dont recommend it for heavy riders for high wind? Jacobs is about 210+lbs i think and is doing good with his 10meter in nuking conditions.

as a heavier rider, i am allways 2 numbers up from everyone else on the beach, with 240lbs.
Got Dices for some years now and i go up to 35+knots with 10meter.
As i am doing research for next kite i havent found anything about this info you are telling.
What the dealer told about the north kites and heavier guys exactly? Do they think it will have any problems with deforming shape in high winds? Because i had that problem with Ocean rodeo Razor and duotone evo some years back.
I got to test an Orbit in a low wind day, so i didnt get a chance to test it properly.

[dracop]

If you are going to use the below advice of a Duotone bar with a Core kite, leave the Y splitter on the lowest red mark on the Click bar (just above the stopper bar). The Core bar needs a little bit of room on the lines and does not like a normal low V split, it wants a couple meters on the split between the two center lines or it will not function well in high wind and in Quick Release situations.

Overall the bigger Rebels are slower but better supported for a heavyweight rider. In strong winds the XR will warp more than the Rebel whereas the frame of the Rebel will flex to deal with it. I tested an XR6 9m and a 2020 Rebel 9m in 55 kts in Cape Town with loops, the Rebel will continue to perform long after the XR6 starts deforming. WITHOUT the extreme pressure of a 250lb rider in 55kts, the XR6 held up great until about 45kts. The extra support for the wingtip on the Rebels helps it hold up but causes it to be slower.

Overall I think SLS and eventually Aluula will do more to help the Dice/GTS than it will improve the Rebel/XR6 - the C kite derivatives would benefit more from the stronger/lighter material than the wide wind range Rebel/XR6.

Personally J like the Rebels better although getting a proper megaloop out of a Rebel is extremely difficult (not impossible) compared to the XR6 as the extra wingtip support line interferes with the ability to drive the kite below the horizon. For extremely light wind / kites bigger than 12/13m, the XR6 may be better due to the better response time.

I could go with Duotone again, but I have doubts on Rebels. I demoed 2019 13m and 11m rebels and I hated them - very slow, like tractor and not fun at all. Although, my friend let me test his 2017 or 2018 North Rebel 12m (the one without pulleys) and it was amazing - fast, responsive and does what rebel suppose to do.

Did you guys have tested the new 2021 rebel? Is it similar to 2019 year or is it much more lively, responsive, like old North's? I know, that they "officially" say that new Rebel is more agile and responsive, but I still worried about them having those pulleys.

The big Rebels are very different than the smaller ones. For the use case you mentioned, you'll need to demo those to get a better idea on their qualities. But yes, the big Rebels are slow and tractorish. It's why my big kites are Rebels . I suspect the Rebel you tested was a 5-line 2017. The 2018+ are 4 lines and have a completely different feel than the old 5-lines. I didn't like my 2019 8m, but that's because it stalled in loops and I don't like pain. Pure boosting was fun though. I haven't tried the 2021, but the 2020 is different than the 2019. In reality, they aren't pulleys as the slider just sits against the stopper all the time. While my old Evo bridles were quite worn from movement, my Rebels don't have much wear. For the small kites, I don't think they really need to be any quicker for boosting.

Overall, they're extremely similar kites. The XR probably has better feel and slightly quicker turning, while the Rebel has slightly more hangtime (although, in the smaller kites this equates to about 0.05s). If you love the XR, then go with the XR. Don't wait for next year to get the XR7. Get the XR6 now. I think the bars are interchangeable, so if you want to stick with the Dice and go XR, then the Duotone bar should work on the Core. If I'm wrong, someone will correct me very quickly... If you're looking to get into looping, these aren't the best kites to start with, but I'd definitely pick the XR over the Rebel for learning loops (pre-2020 anyway).

As for GTS/Dice, I don't have any experience with the GTS and don't unhook, so I'm no help whatsoever.




Lets see how long it takes for someone to pop in something about Eleveight/Naish/theirfavouritebrand that wasn't asked about.