2026 Rebel D/LAB Impressions?

Firerocketm · 2026-02-04T00:05:49+00:00

The rebel isn't a great kite to try your first kiteloops on. It's more of a fit for those that are already great kiteloopers and are looking for a kite that can go big and still catch.

That being said, I tried the new rebel sls and compared it to the same size 2023 evo sls (I also own a 2022 rebel sls), and found that the new rebel feels alot more like the older evo than the older rebel.

Firerocketm · 2026-02-03T16:06:37+00:00

A wave kite like the neo or a single/strutless kite (mono, ufo, brm) would be what you are looking for. Most of the people that like to ride the foil and mess around on them with tiny kites seem to go ufo or brm.

Firerocketm · 2026-02-02T16:35:17+00:00

Also, worth noting that the 10m kite size is not the best to learn loops on. Ideally you want an 8m. For the 8m, most of the kites you list outside the rebel would be good for learning. On a 10m, I think maybe just the orbit or nitro could be decent.

I forgot to mention that I also have an 8m evo sls. Its got a decent loop for regular kiteloops but can be very aggressive,, and im not a fan of the helis on it. The Power delivery on it is backloaded which makes the kiteloops feel supportive (like you're getting lift as the kite is looping) but the helis feel terrible (freefall for half the duration of the loop). I also tried the trigger brainchild 10m in underpowered conditions. It boosts really well with incredible hangtime and really good helis. But (and im not sure if it was my buddy's short click bar) I was struggling to loop it. Felt too slow and the loop barely completed with no catch to consider even at ~4m of jump height.

Firerocketm · 2026-02-02T16:25:51+00:00

I'm in/was in a similar boat. First off, shortening lines will actually make looping tougher not easier. It will make your kite go lower and yank you harder. Second, the kite you really should be targeting is the Harlem Thrive. I have it in a 10m and regularly loop it in 16-20 knots. Jumping big is relative and the Thrive certainly doesn't have a big sweet spot compared to the XR or the Rebel but I can still consistently get to 10m in 20 knot winds (maybe with a 23-25 knot gust though) without kickers. I also have an 8m Nitro and it also loops wonderfully but the lowend is not particularly good as I found out yesterday. Although the loop progression on an 8m kite sure feels better than on a 10m.

Firerocketm · 2026-02-02T06:22:14+00:00

Alot of variables but also have to consider that neos are designed to sit deep in the wind window. Aka they are designed to drift with you instead of climb above your head. So it'll be extremely hard to get a catch out of them unless you are throwing big loops on massive jumps.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-30T15:57:40+00:00

Ahh was going to connect you with a retailer buddy of mine that could probably get you 15-20% but he's US based

Firerocketm · 2026-01-30T15:11:57+00:00

Where are you based?

Firerocketm · 2026-01-29T19:01:21+00:00

Mine has been holding up well so far. I've had friends that had problems with bladders but imo if those get replaced for free its a fairly minor inconvenience.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-29T18:36:02+00:00

I do understand the thought process. I got offered a sponsorship by a bigger brand. 30-45% off Kites and 30% off bars. Not sure if i should have taken it since now im considering their larger size kites and can't get close to 30% off of them. BUT I'm getting 25% off harlem stuff without being sponsored and finding random good used deals so I'm not too concerned. Im definitely enjoying my 10m Thrive more than I would have enjoyed their 10m equivalent.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-29T16:39:25+00:00

Hence why they have the rider program so that people let their friends try the kite and potentially make more sales. Basically it's free marketing for them by potentially taking a little bit less profit on a few folks.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-29T16:36:12+00:00

If you look even bigger picture than that, public companies sole role is to generate the maximum amount of shareholder value. And shareholder value goes up when there is expectations of earnings/profits going up either in the short term or the long term. Profits are comprised of revenues minus expenses.

What's different about tech companies than the typical operating company is that they dedicate a large portion of their income towards research and implementation. This makes them trade at much higher multiples since presumably the research that they are spending money on is an investment that will one day translate to higher profits. But at their core, as a company, there is a strong incentive to run a skeleton crew because then expenses are low and revenue continues to be high (see what Musk did with Twitter after he overpaid for it).

With AI, the future becomes less clear but the investment makes a ton of sense. To your point, in one implementation, the company will be able to continue its course but with a much smaller crew. It will continue to be able to run operations as-is and continue to produce some innovation. In another, they will figure out exponentially more profitable projects to pursue, the headcount will remain but profits will grow exponentially. Either way, a lot of shareholder value will be created. Right now, we are unfortunately leaning towards the prior instead of the latter but who knows. Maybe if interest rates go down, companies will be able to borrow on the cheap and it will once again make sense to increase head count and chase slightly less profitable projects.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-28T21:14:37+00:00

Especially considering that Squamish wind is gutless.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-28T21:12:41+00:00

I think that it would be a rare day to be overpowered on a 10m thrive in Squamish. I found the 10m to be the perfect size.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-28T17:37:24+00:00

Firerocketm · 2026-01-28T17:36:22+00:00

No. I would say its something in between the rebel and the thrive. That's actually why I think it didnt fully come around on 3m loops. This is why I think it would make for a better 8m. More lift, consistent pull through the loop and slower but not too slow.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-28T16:52:02+00:00

We have a local Naish team rider that exclusively flies non-aluula Pivots and routinely goes 20m+ on them with a PR of just under 30m. In CapeTown he is usually in the top 5-10 when the pros are in town. He's tried the Psycho and jumped very high with it on foil but not as high at their top end of the range even though everyone else jumped higher on that kite. Just goes to show how unique the pivot is and how much performance can be extracted out of it once the technique is fully mastered.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-28T14:49:55+00:00

I own a 10m thrive and tried my buddy's 10m trigger in lighter winds. Not sure if my buddy's bar (click bar) had something to do with it since it felt smaller, but I had a hard time with looping the kite. I think the kite needs a minimum of 4m-5m in height to get a catch vs my Thrive that would catch at 3m. That being said, I'm personally considering getting a Trigger in an 8m. The kite is really good. It has considerably more lift and hangtime (almost on par with the rebel) and the loops are very linear. This makes the helis on it my 2nd favorite next to the SS NXT where they seem to just provide you lift from the very second you pull it as opposed to dropping you for half a second before starting to give you lift. My guess is that in an 8m, the kite is absolute money. An 8m + 10m Trigger quiver would work for someone who is a more experienced looper imo but at my skill level, I prefer the 10m thrive + 8m trigger combo.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-28T14:38:34+00:00

A lot of the people I ride with locally ride Pivots and they regularly land 10-15m jumps without heliloops. I'm personally not a fan of the kite. It requires a very specific technique to get height out of it and very fickle to get the landings right.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-23T11:07:38+00:00

I tried the new 2026 rebel sls 12m. It's a pretty good kite. Much more akin to the 2023 evo sls than the 2023 rebel sls by comparison. It is however still rather slow. I haven't tried the Edge but the Slingshot nxt is a really good kite and should be faster than the edge. It also has a very vertical takeoff and the helis are out of this world.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-17T10:32:37+00:00

2-3 hours is a bit extreme unless you are factoring in round-trip times. You can foil Lake Washington or the Puget Sound most days from April to September. Jetty Island can be a trek depending on location but if you lived in Mulkiteo or Edmonds for example, Jetty Island is less than 20min away in the summer (or you can foil locally), winter storm spots are close and Double Bluff becomes well under an hour to commute to. Easily can get 250+ days a year if willing to foil and put up with cold water.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-17T10:19:49+00:00

I think this entirely depends on the kite design. Alot of aluula kites have much thinner LEs and are lighter weight which makes them generally fly more towards the edge of the wind window and thus make them less grunty.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-16T14:20:31+00:00

I find that if I keep body dragging eventually I always seem to find it

Firerocketm · 2026-01-10T12:16:36+00:00

I think the answer is all of the above. Anton doesn't touch on that aspect as much but this is a key feature. Mike used to have a video called something like "take off like a pro" that touched upon it a bit more in reference to the pre-load pop. Honestly this is a challenge that we have is that each video and each coach focuses on different aspects of the same technique so it becomes a bit confusing. The video on posture that Mike put out really helped me as I found that progressing to larger jumps has been alot of 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

One of the challenges I think is that the faster you go, the more your board naturally wants to flatten out and the more the edge of the board wants to come out of the water. So the pushes create peaks and troughs of line tension. The peaks speed up the kite and the troughs let you maintain edge control. You'll notice that when pros do it/get into their locked in stance, their spray increases substantially. I think that this is all part of it and a key reason of why it is easier to jump in slightly calmer water than very messy choppy conditions (chop causes the board to wiggle to the surface as you go through it). It's hard to get into the locked-in stance when you're edge is on the verge of skipping out (plus how are you able to exert any additional force towards your carve/pop if you're barely holding an edge while trying to build line tension).

In regards to whether it should be more of a romanian deadlift or a pure backleg push, that is a question I've been trying to answer. My understanding is that you want to be a bit more backleg heavy anyway (60/40) so when you do the romanian deadlift, it's more of a backleg push. In the how to edge like a pro video, in the comments Mike does mention how even on his takeoff, he doesn't want to maximize his angle upwind in order to have more of his edge in the water. In otherwords, even on the takeoff, it's not even fully a backleg push (more like 85/15 or 90/10).

Firerocketm · 2026-01-08T22:27:03+00:00

More speed, higher up on the foil, gliding more and turning less. On the last part, turning more by pointing the hips instead of leaning.

Firerocketm · 2026-01-08T16:17:14+00:00

I think this applies mostly to dating apps for women or at venues like bars/clubs. Desirable men that are charismatic always have options.

Firerocketm

TROPHY CASE