From flat-water freedom to tearing the bag out of any size surf, the 2010 North Rebel is the all-terrain freeride / wave kite of your dreams.
Smooth, lively and responsive steering, even when de-powered, makes it the ideal kite for surfing and a blast to ride in any conditions.
The loaded 5th line design, in addition to providing safety, gives the Rebel its short and aggressive power stroke that is up to 30% shorter than bridled kites.
This means huge range and top-end comfort on those super windy days and the ability to instantly turn the power off and on at will as you link your turns down the line.
North's new “floating” centre strut further enhances the direct de-power by allowing the canopy to easily luff as well as providing rock-solid stability in strong winds.
The new back-line “V” attachment distributes the load of the back-lines on the kite for a solid bar feel and, together with the new bungee system, eliminates any line snags during re-launch.
The North 2010 Rebel’s unique steering sensitivity and smoothness have also been improved by implementing a straight segment in the leading edge for an ultra clean, flutter-free canopy near the tips that keeps you connected and in-tune to the kite’s every movement.
Strut Configuration >
One of the reasons North liked the four-strut configuration of previous Rebels was that eliminating the centre strut permitted the broad centre section of the Rebel to luff completely when the kite was depowered. This gave better power and depower – more of a “pop”, more of a crisp and quick on-off in the canopy power – when pulling in on the bar or letting out.
At the same time, this more complete ability to luff in the center of the canopy gave all sizes a smoother, less draggy feel. North were determined to keep both the good depower and crisp feeling in the 2010 Rebel, but thought that staying with a four-strut design, while fine for most riders, was too close to the edge for some.
The answer was to move the quarter struts slightly farther from the centre – thus enlarging the luffable center area of the canopy and to place a straight strut in the centre position.
North Rebel 2010 Water Relaunchable LEI
The new 2010 North Rebel shows that the tip and quarter struts provide providing good profile stability while the straight centre strut adds enormous stability to the leading edge tube without robbing us of the large luffable area.
Combining the wider luffable centre area of the canopy with the extra leading edge support from the fifth strut gave North, in short, the best of both four and five strut worlds.
Overall Geometry >
The change in geometry that is shared by all 2010 North Rebels is the reduction from three segements to just one segment in the span between tip and quarter struts. This is an idea North have tested and revisited over the years, but only now have hit upon the right way to do it.
From testing, and from observing some other kites on the water, North knew that having too few segments through the centre part of the kite – the part that has the most curve in the arc – has undesirable effects on canopy profile shape. Therefore, North knew they didn’t want to use single-segment geometry through the middle of the kite. However, nearer the tips, where the arc of the kite is normally not so curved and where flat canopy profiles are desirable because of their resistance to fluttering and flapping, the single segment approach makes sense.
The result of this use of single-segment geometry gives canopy tips that are cleaner, less draggy and nearly flutter-free.
The other change in overall geometry can be found in sizes 9 to 12. In those sizes we carried over the geometry found in Rebel sizes 14 and 16. The result is a crisper feel, better depower and greater resistance to overflying and nose-diving in those sizes.
This simple yet high performing kite can be used with any 5th line control bar providing the depower line is more than 45cm long.
Profile >
Since North were looking for softer, less aggressive- feeling small kites, they reasoned that flatter profiles, which “pop” less when sheeted in, might be the way to go. This is exactly how it turned out.
A 7 percent reduction in profile depth at the centre of the canopy gave a softer feel, and a further reduction of about 8 percent gave an even softer feel. Interestingly, this overall 15 percent reduction in profile depth did not result in less low end power.
Line Attachments >
Most obvious is the change to a “V” attachment for the back pigtail. This has two benefits: (1) it permits a better, cleaner relaunch bungee design, and (2) it gives a more solid bar feel when the bar is pulled in for maximum
power.
One side benefit of the new relaunch bungee design is that the back pigtail “V” and back flying lines are less likely to snag on the tip of the leading edge.
The other line change is in nose line attachment. Testing showed that the new North Rebel 2010 with its extra rib and consequent greater structural stability needed less structure from the nose line. This was evident from the fact that smoothness and responsiveness to turning inputs improved
with nose line attachments closer to centre.
Cam Battens >
CamBattens give the kite two key advantages: Lower drag at normal angles of attack and better profile stability at low angles of attack!
At normal angles of attack, the CamBattens keep the shape smooth and stable along the front part of the canopy.
Aerodynamic theory tells us that this is the most important part of the profile for generating power with low drag.
As you let the bar out to de-power, the wind tries to collapse the front part of the canopy and push the kite back.
CamBattens resist this by keeping a full, stable shape near the leading edge, allowing the kite to fly at lower angles of attack for more depower.
Combine the CamBattens with Trim Tips, the new tip geometry lets the kite tilt even farther, and de-power to the maximum.
All of this gives the North Rebel 2010 a very direct feel on the bar, better low end performance due to reduced drag, and a much wider wind range. On the water you will notice that the wind just seems a lot smoother, with less holes and gusts.
Construction >
In 2009 North implemented several construction changes in their school kites – the kites that get the hardest, most unremitting beating of any.
One example of these, admittedly subtle, construction changes is the Fusion 10 strut-LE joint. Without going into too much detail, North can simply say that this method of attaching strut to the leading edge is more precise, repeatable and robust than any they have used in the past.
Now that this joint has a year of hard use by schools and riders, North feel confident putting it on all their 1010 models, starting with the Rebel.
Another change can be found in the chord wise (front to back) seams of the canopy. Where these in the past have been more of a “butt” type of seam they are now the stronger and smoother overlap seam. The improvement can quickly be seen in a canopy that is more wrinkle-free than in the past.
Available in 4 different colours: Blue/Orange, Brown/Green, Steel/Fushia, White/Black. Please state your preference when ordering, either by phone or email.
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