So as some of you may know eppos 2016 rebel got a stick flung threw It by a junkie(I can still hear him crying). Well he's got it repaired and given it to one of the lads down my local. I had a shot of it Christmas Eve around 20knots
after my 2013 vegas 10m split in 2 mid kite loop probably me not looking after my gear not manufactur fault. I was not overly fond of the rebel it didn't feel right and had not got that " hold onto ure g string we're going for a spin " feel to it. Now today I went out on my 12m vegas 2013 20knots plus. The dude with the rebel kicks down mid session as the wind picked up I went in to put up my 8 after battling with the 12 for too long (getting old) as I've the 8 pumped up he came in on the rebel smiling from ear to ear saying to take it out. Which I did... on the way out pulled the pin immediately and holy god did it lift me. To the point i Had Visions of being lofted onto a near by road. I actually didn't want to give the kite back it felt like floats forever +25knots. My question is now do I buy the newer 2016 on vegas or do I get one of these rebels. Not for the review section I think as I would appreciate any input at all not from keyboard stat readers but actually by someone who gets amongst it rather then chinwagging. One of my mates has said not to get a rebel I'm not old and brittle enough has anyone else swapped model ???? I would put my style of riding down as intemediate. Love hooked in big air and am mad to get into board offs and someday be as cool as eppo haha. I've also of late been getting into unhooked.
Cheers for any input.
Gees that local lad must a farking legend giving up his kite like that ??, i was about to right the kite off as a boring old rebel but solid 25+ knots = epic session, knees are on ice now, need a augusta run asap, only need 35 knots and a go pro now
Last week in dongara i watched cauncy come off his vegas amd try eppos 10 rebel and he was boosting higher longer smoother.
But then matt on his 9m 2017 vegas with gambler and boots was soaring above all of them.
Maybe vegas work best with boots and that style?
North Rebel 2017 is absolutely sensational.
Didn't do anything spectacular today as my old bones are ruined from yesterday.
But here's a few nice pics to showcase the pinky;
You can unhook it but not as good as the Fuel or Vegas (or the Dice)
The 10m loops nicely though - much much nicer than I expected.
Select to expand quoteDave Whettingsteel said...
Last week in dongara i watched cauncy come off his vegas amd try eppos 10 rebel and he was boosting higher longer smoother.
But then matt on his 9m 2017 vegas with gambler and boots was soaring above all of them.
Maybe vegas work best with boots and that style?
That was a session saver
I was very frustrated on my vegas 9
I find they have a fantastic top end, due to 5 line
But they need to be in their upper limits to jump big
Matts a fair bit lighter and certainly wasn't struggling to get the 15 Mtrs jumps
I love that constant drive from the rebels
And with that , it lets me ride a lot more smoother
That session made me dig out my old edges the last couple of days
Love this style of kiting
Eppo was getting some of the biggest jumps on his rebel that session again towards the 15 Mtrs mark, threw a nice few loops in too
My only gripe with the rebels is they have a little stall when you come out of big carving turns, there's just a little lag as you come out, the edges keep on driving, but when the wind gets up the 5 line holds better stability imho
It's a very different shaped kite , less boxy in profile, in the 3/4 hrs I rode it, it had me thinking of buying some, I reckon a day on the kite would have me tuned fully in, it's a cracker
An 8 up here would be an insane kite
Thanks for the ride epps
Love it how you guys talk about 15 metre jumps as if we should all be going that high or there's something wrong! It's so fricken windy up there 
If height only is your game, then a Vegas in boots will always rip you higher. Plus mat was on a 9m (and wind power was in excess of for 1 metre to make any difference), hence in that chop, you are able to flick it hard and fast and quicker when a small smooth section opens up.
I do think when when I went downwind to the flat section at the headland I was going as big or bigger.
But when do we have nice flat water conditions with a small kicker like that? Most of us never.
If decent height but also hang is more your aim, then of course the rebel will win hands down.
remember mat unhooks as well...to me it's a young mans kite or someone who has a greater risk return profile. The Vegas is a high performance competition level kite...
the 2013 Vegas Dan, was the last of the freeride Vegas, so the new ones are nothing like the ones you have been on, especially after hadlow got his hands on them.
Dan if you want somehting a little more 'exciting and lively' ... and you do ride like a mad prick 
, then maybe try an evo.
...an enduring image that will always stay with me is watching you skulling a beer, with the sun setting through the yellow beer liquid before you charged your first graveyards kite having only arrived in Exmouth 10 minutes earlier (after that ordeal getting up there) . then watching you ride like a crazy man essentially in the twilight dark...respect...lol....
2014 Vegas was pretty much the same as 2013 so also still suitable to aggressive freeride. Always been an awesome jumper. Clean, vertical jumps, perfectly reacting to bar input. But coming down fast as well hence requiring softening the landing by sending aggressively or better looping.
No it wasnt. Some similarities, but yeh it wasn't until 2015 it went full blown comp level hadlow spider monkey, so yeh it could be an option. the 'freeride' Vegas lovers vouch for the 2013. The dice was brought in 2014 to kind of replace the 2013 Vegas, so the 2014 Vegas was already moving along the full blown C path.
I had 3 sizes of both the 2013 and 2014 and for me there was very little difference. 2015 perhaps was a slight move towards wakestyle but still gradual.
Perhaps in 2014 a lot of freeriders jumped to a Dice hence the last Vegas they remember is the 2013.
Sometimes you've got to stop kidding yourself
( me included ) stick to what you love about your kite and style,
I often think if 2 kites your thinking of flying were set up on the beach what would i fly
Edge every time, unless the rebel was next to it
That'd be a tough choice
It sure is a tough choice.
Here's a few Edge photos from today from our local hangtime enthusiast at Cottesloe.
I think its cool all north kites come with a free pair of rollerblades, and are also made with colors to be recycled into clothes for the local mardi gra once they are wrecked from laying down on the grass while you guys are waiting for the wind to drop. But seriously dan, a rebel!! What would you tell your child? How could he ever look up to you? What what his friends think?
