First of all i am sponsored by north.
tested the 10m and 14m
The bag is the same as the rebel bag no difference.

Bar and lines is the same as well no difference.

The kite at first look looks like it is missing something and it is a middle strut but it dose have 8 struts in other places which are tiny in diameter.
Build quality is very good like all north kites.

WOW what an awesome kite from the very first time i flew it it had me hooked and it just seems to keep getting better and better.
Heaps of power fells like rhino 2 power but has the depower of a rebel.
Turning is very smooth with no stall points and nice bar pressure very direct fell you can always feel where the kite is.

Jumping is good with heaps of hang time, I'm hanging to get this kite in 30 knots.

Wakestyle was good ,when i got this kite i thought IT wasn't going to be a kite for wakestyle but i was wrong it is perfect for it heaps of pop it has got me right back into it again and making suff i haven't made in age's.

Wave riding not known yet had no waves to test it in.

Would love to go into more detail but no time at the moment will wright more when i get out in the waves and do some more riding on it.
Any questions feel free to contact me and i will do my best to answer them.
thanks paul.j(0418722928)

Hi there
I work for North Importer (NOT a sponsored rider though) and I've been stoked when trying the Rhino.
Aggressive, responsive and powerful kite.
Had first tried the 14m which I liked but it was way too big for me (I'm sort of tiny) even on very light wind: good kite size for heavy guys.
I've since tried the 10m and am in love with it!
It's one of those kites that keeps on feeling better at each new go. It took me a bit of adjustment to really figure how to get big air (was used to jump with the Rebel, with which you barely need to edge to fly: the Rhino feels closer to a C-kite than an hybrid in many ways, loading jumps included: you need to edge hard and hold on!)
Surprisingly, that little 10m has so much power that I do not hold on to it as long as I do hold on my Rebel 12m! (no point on being glutton size wise with this kite: the 14m had as much power as a 16m, and the 10m gets me planing nearly as soon as a 12m. My top end with it is roughly 30 knots (when I still hold on my 12m Rebel in this type of wind! (Sydney's wind...)))
Benk, I'm a bit surprised by your comment as I never felt that the Rebel had any bar pressure (???). The feeling on the bar is the one of a C-kite (eyes closed, you know exactly where you kite is), precise and direct response from the kite, good depower (definitely not as much as the Rebel, in the same sizes! (the 10m Rhino has close to the wind range of a 12m Rebel, but the Rebel is still more forgiving: as I said, I hold on it longer than I can hold on the Rhino!)).
Love the grunt, love the jumps (Gosh, that kite jumps high...), love the pop, the turning speed, the relaunch is easy as pie, the 2 pump system works very well, the only thing I couldn't quite appreciate with the kite was unhooking: I got smashed right away! :-)
So I might leave the appreciation of that one to the "pro riders", lol....
All together, awesome kite, (definitely keeping my demo one!) and anybody who got to have a go with it loved it.
Out of 5 customers who tried it last week, all of them came back to me with a smile up to their ears and 3 of them said it as the best kite they had ever tried...

Paul and/or Em. I have a 14m Rebel that I love. Great low end, gust control, top end, easy floaty jumps, not bad turning speed for a fairly big kite, etc., etc. Rhino hasn't arrived yet up here and haven't had a chance to demo yet. Being the greedy person that I am, I would like my next kite to have all of the characteristics of my Rebel, but boost even bigger, hang longer. If I traded my 14 in for a 12 Rhino would I achieve this? Is there anything I would be giving up? 69kg, intermediate, mainly freeride type rider. Would probably hang onto my 9m Rebel for 22+ knot days. Cheers.

Bushy,
12m would be the go, definitely.
You would gain the boost and hang time you're after, and should come to the same wind range than your 14m Rebel depower wise (may be a tiny bit less). Expect a lot more grunt on your 12m Rhino than you ever had with your Rebel...
What you're about to do is what I'm coming to for my private use as the perfect combo:12m Rhino (aggressive and powered up)+ 9m Rebel (more forgiving so better for lighter people on strong/gusty wind).

As for anybody swapping kite, it took me a little time to adjust to the 10m Rhino, but spending more time flying it, I've found out that it can achieve the same turning speed as the rebel (cf Paul previous post) with a tiny bit more bar input: the Rebel gives you immediate response, even when being very gentle on the bar.
The Rhino requires a bit more straightforward information, meaning you need to be a bit more radical with what you're asking to the kite, but I've found out that it can turn as quick as the Rebel when I'm being very direct with the bar.

I'm currently really enjoying every single ride with it, discovering new little things about it at each new go, which leads me to think the kite has a huge potential....

Benk,
as I said, I've never heard anyone else complaining about the bar pressure on the Rebel (I'm actually quite shocked that you're comparing it to a X-bow 1... We're talking about parallel universe there!!!). It sounds really odd because... the Rebel hasn't any more bar pressure than any C-kite, really (somebody stop me if I'm wrong!).
Changing your back lines to the rear attachment would make your Rebel turn faster but shouldn't affect the feeling of the bar... But the best way for you to find out... is to try! ;-)
I personally always had my back pigtails on the rear attachment as I like my kite to be very responsive.

Em

I currently have the Rebel and like everything about it. I basically want to know and be sure that Rhino is going to be alot like the rebel but have the ability to JUMP higher and have LONGER hang.

If it does everything the Rebel does I'll be really happy. So how much harder do you have to edge to jump over the Rebel? I find the rebel easy to jump.

Mike

Im 80kgs on a 135 Naish Thorn Twin Tip in very gusty 15 - 20 knot South Easterly winds at Redcliffe. Today I took out the 2007 12m North Rhino!

I was previously riding a 2007 12m North Rebel.

Ok here is what I think so far about the 12m Rhino...

Imagine the Rebel on steroids! Definately for the advanced Rebel Rider...it jumps ALOT higher and has significantly longer hang. This kite has alot more power you'll notice it flies further to the edge of the wind window and will kite well in lighter winds.

Water relaunching...I dont think any harder then the rebel. I find the Rebel really easy to relaunch ...when you use the right technique!

I dont think the Rhino is going to suit as many people as the Rebel. The Rhino is going to suit a more advanced Rebel riders/kiter - you'll get hooked on this beast it's like the Ferrari of the North Kites.

If you are already nailing those big airs on the Rebel then you're gonna love the Rhino.

If you are preparing for winter and looking for a lightwind kite try the the North Rhino!

summary

Can point upwind like a demon
Alot of grunt...great for lightwinds
Huge boost and huge hang!
Fast!!! if you are into kite slalom or speed racing this kite is for you!

yeah it defenly jumps lite a rhino should had a few good jumping days on it, still haven't been fully lit on it yet and just wondering how high this thing can go can't wait for 30knots plus.

glad your enjoying it.
paul.j