Reno Romeu is a professional kite surfer and duotone team driver. Don't you know him? No problem, because Reno comes from Brazil and that is far away. However, he was at 15e already national kitesurfing champion of Brazil. Recently, Reno shared his personal opinion about the Duotone Rebel compared to the Duotone Evo SLS. Reno explains how he views the Rebel and Evo when it comes to freeride, jumping, kiteloops, kitefoiling, wakestyle kitesurfing and wave kitesurfing. So Duotone Rebel versus Duotone Evo SLS. View the images and the summary in this kitesurf blog.
Freeriding: Rebel score 4, Evo SLS score 5
As a Freeride kite to spend hours on the water, Reno chooses the Duotone Evo SLS with full conviction. Reno labels the kite as a kite for beginners, advanced and professional kite surfers. It has a light bar pressure, does well when the wind is less strong and is fast. To really jump high, Reno chooses the Duotone Rebel with the same conviction.
Jumping: Rebel score 5, Evo SLS score 4.5
The Rebel is a 5 strut kite that stays in good shape in strong winds and gusts. The Rebel is seen as a kite for high jumps and a long time in the air: 'big air' and 'hang time'. According to Reno, the Rebel often positively surprises kite surfers in this area. I can confirm this through my experience with the Rebel. Although the Evo SLS is also a nice kite to jump with, a kite surfer will have to have skills to jump as high and long as the Rebel. That is why Reno advises the Rebel for this. The Rebel is also available in large sizes. For example a 15 meter. This while the Evo SLS goes up to 12 meters. Reno gives as an example that at 18 knots he uses the Rebel 14 meters.
Kiteloop: Rebel score 3, Evo SLS score 4
Despite the fact that you can make kiteloops and beautiful downloops with the Rebel, it has not been developed for kiteloops. The Evo SLS does. With the Evo SLS you jump high enough for good kiteloops so that the kite can still catch you well. The Evo SLS is also suitable for kiteloops in combination with other tricks.
Kite foiling: Rebel score 4, Evo SLS score 5
According to Reno, this is often asked for: kite surfers who are looking for a kite to jump with but which is also suitable for kite foiling. According to Reno, the Evo SLS is a nicer kite to kite foil with than the Rebel. It flies further to the edge of the wind window and is therefore better for walking or maneuvering at height when kitefoiling. Even with little wind, the Evo SLS is more suitable than the Rebel for kite foiling. The Evo SLS is a lot lighter and that prevents the kite from falling out of the sky or having to be kept in constant motion.
Wakestyle: Rebel score 2, Evo score 3
The Rebel has been developed for 'big air', 'hang time' and 'air style'. High jumps and long stays in the air, so that the kite surfer has plenty of time for tricks. Wakestyle tricks are possible. However, despite the fact that the Evo SLS is not a wakestyle kite; it can be done with it and will go a lot better than with the Rebel, Reno says.
Wave kitesurfing: Rebel score 2, Evo SLS score 3
The Rebel has a lot of bar pressure and a heavier, stiffer construction than the Evo SLS. The Rebel has less drift than the Evo and that makes it less suitable for wave kite surfing than the Evo SLS.
Conclusion Duotone Rebel vs Duotone Evo SLS
If you go 100% for 'big air', 'air time' and 'air style' with tricks like the board off, grabs, table tops, old school rotations etc., then the Rebel is very suitable. The Rebel is also more suitable for heavier kite surfers. After all, it is also available in larger sizes than the Evo SLS. If you are a kite surfer who also goes for other sailing styles such as kite foiling, wave kite surfing, kite loops, then the Evo SLS is a better alternative according to Reno. The Evo SLS also jumps nice and high, but is also good if you want to combine other sailing styles with it.
