I can't speak for either of the kites unfortunately, but in terms of the bar and lines, I actually want to get a Fifth Element when I can afford it. I can't even consider the Recon or Recon 2 because although I can fit the North system to my Airush kite, the Cabrinha system is no good to me as it only works on specific Cabrinha kites.

That's just my criteria anyway. Other people may have other reasons to prefer one kite or bar system over another.

I fly a '05 CO2 14m, and I'm not sure I like it as much as I like Cabrinha's Oz distributors East Coast Board riders.
When my bladder burst for no reason they gave me a new one no questions asked.
When Cabrinha sent me the wrong size Recon 2 bar ECB changed it no questions asked.
When the carbon edge rod snapped ECB fixed and replaced it and gave me a spare.

5th element sounds good but when was the last time u used your safety? I only used the recon to see if it worked once and had a damn hard time relaunching.

I think CO2 flies better than the rhino but I can't really compare 15 minutes with a 9m to hours with a 14m CO2.

Flysurfer you should change your name now that you fly LEI's!

Have flown a couple of LEIs but not enough to compare fairly with my 12m Rhino 5. I will say that I think the Rhino kicks ass. I started late last year and bought the Rhino in January - until recently I have not needed another kite. I am amazed at how well it deals with gusts, and I have held it down in nearly 30 knots. 5th element works well, although I hardly ever use it. kite is well built - bag is excellent. Only possible negative is that they have thinned the leading edge to get the performance they wanted out of the kite, and rely on the 5th line to make up the structural strength, and stabilize the arc through gusts. Thats all great, but I have heard that the kite can misbehave if you take it off. Why would you do that - some reviewers have said that if you invert your kite in the surf and it gets some wind in it you can cut your kite in half. I have done exactly that - inverted the kite, but not in surf - and it flew around a bit before I pulled the release - and had not problem, but it wasn't really howling, so who knows.

I effectively learned on this kite, and have progressed very quickly on it - which I attribute in part to its stability for a LIE. I give it 10 out of 10.

Ultimately, I think mostof the top kites are probably a much of a muchness!!

Failed to mention though, saw a beginner on the beach who probably had his ass saved by the recon system....