sweet kite do yourself a favour and get to try one ...you will not be disappointed ,turns much quicker this year in the 12mtr ,and still jumps nice and high ,hang time is normal and the colour seems to grow on you
had my 14 out twice now, coming from a 11 month old 2010 reb. huge difference, i love this kite... go's bigger, points better, pulls better thru loops, turns better... almost enough to make me forget about all those valves i've changed...
thanks mr north!
bought a 2011 12 m rebel, im very begginer and as far as i can say : the bag looks great uhahuauha
I normally ride core Xrs and have had a core gt in the past. I flew a 10m rebel about two weeks ago. Has a lot of grunt for it's size and is super fast similar to the gt although definitely smoother. Has heaps of lift although a bit heavier on the bar than a am used to with my xr's, though not as heavy as the gt. Great kite!!
Tried the new 9m Rebel 2011 for 2 sessions about 3 hours total in 18 to 23 knots winds. Second session perfect 18 to 23knots side onshore, - 1-3 ft surf beach break in Perth.
I own the 2010 Rebels 6m,7,9m & 11m and LOVE them for wave riding and a bit of olds school kite loops and stuff .... thrashed them over last 12 months....
Well the 2011 rebel is incrediably better at every thing by 10 - 15 %, smoother turning, just as goos up wind, incrediably more stable in air, does not back stall at all, super easy to unhook, self landings a breeze in 20 knots plus, a very very smooth predictable kite. Very nice on wave hooked and unhooked, just ride and forget kite.
Only thing I didn't like at first was less bar pressure at first go, but forgot this grip after 15 minutes and didn't notice it again.
What can I say, I couldn't imagine a kite as good as this model. Man .... new kiters just don't understand how good they have it these days. I started in 2000 kiting on airblast 9m, what a wild crazy kite that was..... 
So they feel 10-15% better than your thrashed 2010's ???? So maybe 10-15% worse than your 2010's when they were new......?????
Rider: 90kg, intermediate
Style: Surf & Freestyle
Weather: 18-23 knots
Disclosure: North sponsor Seabreeze.com.au
My Comments:
Courtest of Phil @ WA Surf, I had a 8m & 10m North Rebel for use in our recent Exmouth trip.
We had around 18-23 knots, and I put up the 10m Rebel. This kite rocks.
I'm more into waves, but due to the lack of swell, dusted off the twin tip, and had some wicked fun. Downlooping was quick and didn't yank like heck. Had good drift when not powered up.
Probably sounds corny, but it actually did extend hang time, was smooth through the window, and was a fast turner. Jumps were smooth & easy, kite was responsive. When I stuffed a few jumps and landed under the kite, was pleased to see that the kite stayed upright and drifted back with the wind (some kites nose dive/invert/gets ugly).
Relaunch was excellent. A gentle tug of the line and around she came and up she went.
Great build quality, colours are fresh & exciting .. was good to see it in the air. I thought they were a bit gaudy at first, but it's a fun kite and looks great in the sky.
Some photos of the bits & pieces:
The North Bag:
The North Rebel 10m:
Control Bar: 5th line, depower cleat
The Bar
Depower cleat & bar stopper. Pull the ball down to rest bar against it, then pull the top tag up to slide the stopper up the lines.
Quality looking safety, easy reload, and line unswiveller:
View of rubber band which I'm guessing helps with relaunch.
Another view of the rubber band - see how it tensions the back line
Handy dump valve & one pump clips
According to this video there is not much of a difference between Rebel 2010 & 2011;
So they have basically bought out 2 rebels, 1 with 5 lines and 1 with 4 and both kites are the same as last years rebel, interesting........
from what I heard about the difference to last years rebel.. This 2011 has much better all round performance. Best thing is to demo one and see for yourself. Forget conflicting BS on forums. Get your hands on one and give it (or let it give you) a hiding..
Once you have I'm sure you will want one like me. Cant wait to order my 7 and 10.
Hey T-one,
It's obvious he hasn't tried them both as they may look similar but apart from looks, there's very little similarity between 2010 and 2011.
The 2011 is a far superiour kite in every aspect of flying as was seen by the feedback at the Exmouth Expo.
You need to fly one to feel the difference, they are chalk and cheese. Grab a demo!
DM
Errrrr....didn't say I had tried them smart ass's...simply responding to the post where Mr North in the video says they are pretty much the same as last year and both feel like rebels. So, AKSonline says they are completely different, yet Mr North says they are the same....not sure you have a clue what your on about mate but I guess you sell North????
I tried the 10m 2011 Rebel in Exmouth last week (and am usually riding a 10m 2010 Rebel)...it is all pretty subjective right? Nevertheless, from the "feel" I would prefer the 2011 one to the 2010, the 2011 appears to be holding its power better/easier in turns/drifts a bit less than the 2010 model (but that might just be me not flying it properly ). A bit less bar pressure on the 2011 to the 2010 maybe...both great kites but am thinking of upgrading
I ride what I feel like paying my hard earned cash for mate and like to try and weed out the true reviews from the pimps bullsh1t, for the sake of the general kite buying public.
yes they are similar just just like coke and coke zero but to the real people that can fly they are two differant kites if you rode last years you would have noticed it hang time the diff
Maybe what everyone likes has changed but last years rebel spent a lot of time on the beach at the Ex Expo with everyone saying it was good but they preferred other kites but this year many absolutely loved it. It seems to be similar but better at everything. From what I remember wasn't last years a 4 strut and this years a 5.
so far in extreme wind, waiting for my 7m
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Review/North-Rebel-2011-11m/
its very nice to fly, really really smooth and insanely steady
Dazza
- Its interpretation and individuality I appreciate, but my impressions are that there is indeed a difference, and also the kite can be adjusted to suit riders who seem to prefer residual power in their power stroke - heavier riders - wake style moves.
Hey Paul1 keep bagging Rebels. The less people out there on superior equipment the better. More waves for us crew that are on the good gear. I struggled around for a couple of years before I finally bit the bullet and got what all the guys that were ripping MR were on, a Rebel. As for the same as last years “If it aint broke why fix it”.
PS. I paid for a new set of 2011 rebels this arvo, hey Paul1, I put my money where my mouth is.
The 2011 rebel 7m is pure joy on my surfboard....................................................... Scabrough WA tonight was filthhhhhhhhhhh. 18 to 25 knots.
I had the chance to demo the new Rebel
10m 2011 Rebel
Rider: Weight,Level : 85kg Intermediate / Advanced
Style: Freeriding
Weather: 24-28 knots
Build Quality: 9/10
Satisfaction: 9/10
Disclosure: User
My Comments:
I haven't try the last year's rebel so I can't compare.
"THE" perfect kite for wave riding, you can throw the kite from right end of the window to the left end within 1.5 seconds.
No slack lines no matter what you do with the kite
Good depower, in 28 knots kite was stable
High boosts are easy with this kite
Lets make it short;
+ good built quality
+ *good bar and depower system
+ fast kite
+ one way inflation valve
- no bar feeling
- *chicken finger and chicken loop can easily pop out of your harness
- deflation valve is not in the center so you can't pack it tidy.
The reason I put the * in front of the "good bar" is that the chicken finger need to be modified to make it a perfect bar
update - been on the 11m 4 times now in various conditions, and I did ride my 2010 in between just once to feel the difference.
the main striking difference is that the 2011 has a feeling like a buffer for smoothness at each end of the power stroke which takes out the slightly on and off feel of the 2010, its very very slight difference and really for me I loved the 2010 so much that I was reluctant to sell it.
if you are a Rebel rider or get used to Rebels there is less difference between the 2 but it seems that many non Rebel riders really like the 2011.
the important thing for me is they have not made this smoothness by using more bottom end and longer bar stroke like the 2009, which has simply gruntier lower end and was popular with wider audience, but although I still liked the kite as it was such an imporvement over 2008 it was a worry that the 2010 would go further away from the rebel feel, whcih it did not and thank goodness for that.
the 2010 and 2011 are awesome kites and I think if you are a rebel rider 2010 or 2011 are good options and you will be stoked, if you are riding another brand that has longer bar throw and lagging power in the depower throw then 2011 gives you the advantages of rebel with an easier transition.
simply the kite is super steady, and increadibly smooth without any overpowering, which for wave riders, freeriders and the regular wakestyler is great. if you are a power wakestyler then look at vegus or rhino
Importantly the 2010 and 2011 have a lot of grunt but its very controlled with the shorter bar throw (in comparison to a lot of other kites I have flow - simply as a preference on such)
Dazza
