Rider:83kg intermediate,advanced
Style: Freestyle
Weather: 12-45 knots
My Comments:
1st post i know but i've followed this forum for a while...
tried a mates 11m 2011 rebel out yesterday in 18-22 knots after being on my 2010 11m hi fi comp..
first impressions of the rebel was just how smooth it is very smooth bar input,solid in the sky ...predictable i suppose..unlike the hi fi comp that is pulling,tugging and wanting you to fly it.
the one surprise was the jumps with the rebel...really quite nice, not the highest for the afternoon but no slouch either, but i found it had more float downwind and more hangtime...very nice
What i'd like to know firstly is how does the vegas compare to the rebel ? i could see me not being excited by the rebel after time , dont get me wrong its nice...but i still want to be excited, almost terrified at times without going down the pure c kite route of say the fuels (had 07-09's) or the hadlows...after an exciting kite with usable wind ranges.
but secondly..the north bar ..... love the release, suicide ring, depower cleat, lines ...every thing.........EXCEPT...no way of self landing the kites using any sort of rerides..
when i had norths in 05-06 i ended up fitting my own as for me, riding alone a lot self landing/launching is paramount and dropping it onto the 5th line isnt always an option as i dont have room (bad i know..!! )
i remember with my old norths that i hated dropping it to 5th anyway as the canopy ended up rubbing around on the beach...or in the case of the 05 rhinos they would sometimes hover off the ground.
I gave up north also after the horrific amount of wear i got from the depower ropes..one every 3 months...my slingshots used to last 9months and i've only changed one LF rope in 14 months..has this been sorted by north.. at least now its just a case of changeing the rope now rather than the whole assembly in 05
i'm getting to the time when its kite trade in and at the mo' i see no reason to change from LF but the vegas is a real tempt if anyone could shed some light on the issues i have above...
cheers
pete
Get someone that knows how to fly a rebel to show you how to actually land it, rebels will self land into the parked position with no requirement to readjust with a little practise.
cheers taurus... its not mine ...
i'm assuming that your saying they will self land by pulling the upper rear line whilst the kite is at the edge of the window with wing tip on the ground ?
thanks
Self landing is quite easy.
Park kite so wing tip is on the sand.
grab trim rope and walk slowly UPWIND of the kite. (the extra power will make the kite want to drive into the sand.)
Slowly work your way up the centre lines until you reach the V.
Pull on the top front line and the kite lands safely.
Never let go of the centre line. The Rebel won't try to relaunch if you keep enough power in it because it will just drive harder into the sand.
I'll post a video of this method soon. Works every time. Even landed my 8m Rebel in 30 knots like this.
cheers dave..
used the front line pull myself on revs and even my hi fi comps in low winds.
its just the walking up the centre line bit that sounds a little dodgey but he can try it out
I'll pass the msg onto the mate with it.
However i said i'd make him a re ride for one of the rears if he wants, then its easy peasy.
thanks
pete
Even if the kite relaunches, holding on to the centre line will keep the kite depowered. It won't power up.
I was on the Vegas last year (2010) 12 & 9 and then moved on to the Rebel (2011) 12, 10, 8, for more surf and upwind abillity.
I really like both kites, and find the Vegas is the is smoother on the bar and absorbs the gusts better, but in saying that the 12 M Vegas is about the same as a 10 M Rebel.
The cross over from one kite to the other was not an issue.
I am really impressed with the bottom end of the 8 meter Rebel, and I think the 11M Rebel is a great kite as well, it gets going early and has a great wind range. Probably the pick of the kites. In hindsight I should have just got the 2 of these in stead of the 3.
I don't have any trouble self landing either kite on the 5th line, but have I noted that the Rebel does like to relaunch so you need to keep pressure on the 5th line until it is settled on the leading edge as described in the previous methods.
I have had wear on the depower line, but I buy my own cord and fabricate them myself and change them out in no time at all when I need too. It's not an issue. I use only the one bar for all my kites (I save the new ones for O/s trips) so it does get a bit of a workout, but I have not had to change a 5th Line yet.
Because I do my own depower lines I tend to change it early as I don't want the hassel of broken lines while kiting.
Rebel or Vegas, is not a bad choice either way, they are both good kites.
Hi both the vegas and the rebel can be self-landed using the 5th line when the kite is sitting on the ground at the edge of the window safely and with relative ease and you can reride from here as long as you know what your doing (not particularily hard, don't play with steering lines to self land it can go terribly wrong). If your not sure about relaunching just walk down wind of kite with lines check and then self launch like normal.
Personally, if freestyle and unhooking is what your after go the vegas it has a great wind range and still feels like a c kite, smooth and responsive.
Have fun
-George 
i self landed my 9 vagas in 30knots i thought it was going to be hard but its so easy with the 5th line and it doesnt rub on the beach it just sits and waits as you walk along the 5th line.
only problem i can see happening is that the rope that the bar runs along will be the first part to wear out but its as simple as just replacing 1 rope.
i think you will love the vagas over the rebal it is definately the more freestyle kite
it will keep you excited as they can be super fast if you want them to be or total wake style and sit and wait for you just as easy as swapping 1 setting.
matt camo..
