i was wondering witch kite would be better im into a bit of free ride and also a bit of freestyle/wakestyle stuff any help would be appreciated
cheers jake 
North for a quality product!
(it won't fall apart in a hurry)
Vegas for freestyle riding...
Stickyb,
The Cabrinha Switchblade is an awesome kite in that it works great in so many areas ie freeride, wakestyle, freestyle and waves. It offers incredible hangtime, very easy to boost big, easy water relaunch and utilizes a great safety system which makes solo landings and self rescues effortless. I would say what also makes this kite so very popular is that it is not a just for the pro rider/advanced rider kite but it can be used by intermediate and beginners. The Switchblades are known for their great lowend power so in some cases you can go 1 or even 2 meters smaller than other brands. If you can get the 2011 bar setup with the Recoil i would go this route as in my opinion this is an awesome feature, or get the Recoil upgrade kit for the 2010 bar. If your focus is leaning more towards waves and freestyle the Cabrinha Nomad is the prefered choice.
Stickyb,
This is a hard call mate, both kites are really good kites with very similar characteristics. Ive riden North Kites for years but have spent a lot of time on Cabs in the past 2. They are both great in the waves, are good freeride kites, have good low end but also great depower ability, with great boost and water relaunch. IMO neither are great for unhooked tricks given they are both real grunty kites and power up when u unhook. You could almost toss a coin and you wouldnt be disappointed. Best advise is to try and demo both and see what u like best.
thanks for all the info guys.. the cab sounds pretty good i might go down that path i have a 12m rebel 08 its really grunty and has a really wide wind range. im not shure that the new rebel would be as good..
If you're worried about the windrange on the newer rebels don't be I use a 10m 2011 from 14 to 30 and I weigh 90 kg
The other question to ask you're self is 4 or 5 line pros and cons
yer i like that the rebel has the 5th element but i find that if the fifth line gets tangeled its a session ender. 4 line would be more simple but does it have the same amount of depower? because i would like to use the kite in the 25-30's im only 70kg tho
i ride a 2010 12m fuse mostly and tested a 2011 switchblade 12m the other day...
they handle very similarly,both 4 line, id say they have the same low end power but the SB feels slightly more grunty. Fuse felt like it had better top end. they both have slight delay in turn initiation but when turning i think the fuse might be slightly quicker.
the SB had more bar pressure which i didnt like and got tired after about 45min, i preferred the chicken loop on the SB, and the actual bar material was nicer on the hands. also like the inflate valve more on the SB
i preffer the safety system and depower on the north alot more. and the material feels stronger.
in the air the SB looks like a much bigger kite... its much of a muchness, im sticking with the fuse purely because of bar pressure and i hate the SB depower system.
I own both. I'll compare things other than performance, since they are about the same.
I prefer to pump up Cabrinha kites any day over the 2010 Rebel. The Cab has a large screw connection on the pump hose that lets FULL FLOW air into the leading edge. The kite pumps up in half the time, with half the effort. That feature alone is enough reason for me always pick the Cab when I kite.
I'm too lazy to pump my North. But, I know North plans a large full flow design nozzle in the future.
The Switchblade does sit a little farther back in the window in my opinion, making it geared more toward wakestyle.
Hay Jake, Both kites are good. However the North kites have unmatched build construction. They have the Technoforce D2 rip-stop material on all of their kites, along. Which is THE strongest material on the market at present. they also have a UV coating on both sides of the kite, which most other brands don't have.
If your looking for an all round free-ride kite the Rebel is the way to go for sure. As already mentioned in a previous reply, the Switchblade is a little more progressive, leaning towards wakestyle.
Another option that is very similar the the Switchy is the North Evo, it sits further back in the window as the switchblade does, and doesn't fly forward in the window when un-hooked. It is also a super stable kite and has the build construction mention above.
Also if your not keen on getting a 5 line kite, the North Fuse is the exact same as the Rebel simply with four lines and a bridle. With the fuse the de-power isn't compromised. It de-powers just as well as the Rebel.
Try to try both the rebel and the switchy in the same wind on the same day to compare them fairly.
Cheers
Marcel
