Guys,

Just wondering what everyones thoughts are on these two kites? I am coming off 07 rebels (10m and 14m) and looking at either these two.

Now, for a 95kg rider i am hoping that i can get away with a 9m 12m set up, i really cannot be bothered with bigger kites anymore they are just too slow. How does the power of the rebel 09 12m compare with the rhino 08 12m? I know that i can get away with the rhino 12m in terms of power i was just wondering how the new rebel stacks up against it.

Alot of ppl are saying that the new rebel has a good amount of power compared to previous years.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

9m 08 Rhino on closeout special at $1599
or 09 9m Rebel at $1899.

Now factor in resale value at the end of season when you want to upgrade.

I'd go for the 09 Rebel.

Yeah agreed, the 09 Rebel appears to have some more power but the 08 Rhino still has more, jumps and hangs longer too. Not as good freeride as the Rebel though and loops much slower.

haven't tried the 09 rebel yet but i have a 12 m 08 rebel and it gets my 90kg butt going in about 12kts. I've found that in the past couple of years, i've dropped from a 16m bow to a 14m hybrid to a 12m hybrid. I've attributed these to 3 factors: my skill has improved, i've got a better board, and kite design has come a long way.

When I was in the Cocos I had the 09 12m rebel out in 14 knots after being on my 14m 08 Rebel and was staying up wind and jumping on the 12m

I'm 103kg and I was riding a 135 x-ride, not sure if that helps but the kite does have good power and moves fast enough to generate power quickly.

hey cRAZY Canuk

Saw on kiteforum that you posted that the rebels have a nasty habit of folding in the middle?

Now i had this happen to me while demo-ing, but it was because i didnt pump it up enough. Are you seeing this happening alot?

I've seen it happen 5 times, which is 5 times to many.

One thing I'll point out is everytime I've seen it happen some one relatively new to the sport has been flying the kite or they didn't have the clips closed or didn't have it pumped up enough. Which isn't an excuse because I've seen all the other one pumps flowen with there clips open, under preasure and by noobies and not fold. It's the only bad thing you can put up against this kite that I've found.

Love my 08 Rebels but I'm keen to see this years Evos (among other things)

Hi,
Because of the conditions where i ride (15knot lulls, 35 gusts in the same session are frequent) this is a very important poitn for me: having a super steady kite.
I had my Rebel 2009 6m out in very agressive conditions. In one of the sessions it was so bad that a Waroo 5m was shredding in the air and dropping and a Vegas 07 blew.
The Rebel 09 6m was stiff like a rock.
See you!

I rode the rebel 09 in 15knots peaking to about 17knots. I weight 88kgs. It had enough power to keep me plaining at 15knots but not able to do much except go up and back. but when it went to around 16.5/ 17 knots I was powered up enough to have some fun. I found at 17knots plus the kite turned into a beast. Cant wait to try it in 18 knot plus solid winds. Forecast is for 20 knots this afternoon cant wait.
From memory my old 15 mtre 05 slingshot wasnt worth getting out until the wind was
16/17 knots minimuim. I reckon (my opinion) the rebel 09 has around 5% more low end power in light winds than my old slingy which was a great C kite. Gave a few mates a ride on the o9 last week and they loved it.

Had my first session on my 12m 09 rebel yesterday, wind was ranging between 15 and 23 knots. I'm on a 128 underground flx 07 and weigh 70 kgs. Kite was pumped up hard, clips closed and flew very nicely - without a hitch. Although I weigh a lot less, my board does require a lot of power to get going. That being said, I was getting upwind, getting good pop and decent jumps even at 15 knots. It's a sweet kite.

Hi guys had the rebel 09 12mtr out recently in what started out a light 10 knts but got nice at around 18knts then it really started to pick up to 24knts plus, with an out going tide of around 5knts. Over all the Rebel performed very well, a big improvment at the bottom end on last years and supper dependable just felt nice to ride, jumped big and good hang time, but most of all just felt easy and smooth to ride . Even when it really got a bit strong for a 12 it was still lots of fun.
HAVE FUN
George

Select to expand quote

omega said...

Guys,

Just wondering what everyones thoughts are on these two kites? I am coming off 07 rebels (10m and 14m) and looking at either these two.

Now, for a 95kg rider i am hoping that i can get away with a 9m 12m set up, i really cannot be bothered with bigger kites anymore they are just too slow. How does the power of the rebel 09 12m compare with the rhino 08 12m? I know that i can get away with the rhino 12m in terms of power i was just wondering how the new rebel stacks up against it.

Alot of ppl are saying that the new rebel has a good amount of power compared to previous years.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I've purchased a 9m '09 rebel and haven't had much luck. I'm pumping it up to 7-8 psi and it's folding/collapsing repeatedly in 25 kts (every session I've used it) when I pumped it upto over 8psi, the lazy-pump connector tubes popped off once the kite hit the water.

I also have a 12m '07 rebel which I've used for the last 18 months... it's an awesome kite, I love the rebels, but I don't think the '09 9m is suitable for the heavier rider (I do wonder if the missing centre strut weakens the kite).

North have heard it happen to 2 other customers who were both 16 stone in weight. It seems to happen to the heavier rider (i'm 14 stone plus harness, impact vest, helmet, etc) and north have asked if I want to swap it for a 9m Evo?

We're going to investigate it further with my local north dealer (i.e. adjust the trimming, try 08 & 09 bar/lines, lighter rider, etc) and see if we can figure out what the problm is.

I'll keep everyone updated with the progress: kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2351729

Hi Guys,

We have a couple of riders at our local who have the 9m 09 Rebels and I havent seen or heard any issues with the kites where we are. I'm pretty keen to keep an eye on this issue though. Most of the riders who have been on them have been 70-80 kilos with the exception of one of our instructors who would be 100+kg.

We have 12m, 10m and 7m, 09 Rebels in Demo stock at the moment if anyone is keen to have a ride and check them out. To date, we have had nothing but positive comments on them. Most people comment on the power, huge jumps and easy fun ride.

Pretty impressed with the bar and lines too. Nice!

Good winds,

I took the plunge and scored myself a 12m rebel and i have nothing but positive comments about it, and thats for a 95kg rider on a 136cm board.

I love the grunt this kite has, and its low end blows the old 07s i used to have out of the water. Not being one for light wind kiting anyway, i have still found this kite outperforming guys on bigger kites who weigh around 20kgs less.

I would like to see if anything comes out about an issue with the 9m (as im thinking of getting one to add to the quiver), i think that people just are not pumping this up hard enough and locking all the clips on the lazy pump. I did have this happen with a 10m, but i hadnt pumped it up nearly enough (was in a rush and had a faulty pump) and i didnt lock any clips down.

Anyway, for any bigger riders out there who hate riding large slow kites try out the rebel 12m.

Doesn't sound like many of you guys have even tried an 08 RHINO. Pitty, they rock hard.

Saw a guy on the new rino on the weekend at bamera there were riders riding everything from 15m to 8m the rino was only 8 or 9m and it was jumping bigger than anything else and just hanging up there they just look like they are super grunty. havent riden one but would like to they look sweet