Loop a Rebel?

[Faceplant]

Anyone ever try a megaloop with a North Rebel?
I don't think I have the balls to actually pull the trigger, but I like to dream of it.
Been to the stratosphere a few times with the 5m and 7m (24m lines) in 30-40 kts.

I've also seen other guys (not rebel kites) loop their kite in a really tight circle above their had just prior to landing. I don't think my Rebels will do that. I think when I pull hard the kite dives but doesn't come around very quick. Should I try pulling with the bar extended (less powered)? Instead of pulled all the way in (fully powered)?

Coming down from huge airs sometimes I'm coming down pretty hard, last thing I want to do is dive the kite hard (or try to loop) when I'm 10 feet off the water. It feels like I'd get slammed. Seeing other guys loop it on the way down, it appears they are generating slight lift, or at least helping to soften the landing.

Cheers

[Roxstock]

Check out YouTube, there are lots of tutorial videos on there. I recently started trying to loop my kite and have been slammed pretty hard a couple of times. The biggest thing I got from the tutorial videos is that you have to commit and really go for it, which is the hardest thing to get over when for me.

[Tony360]

I have looped a demo Rebel, works fine. Not as good as the North Dice but better than a Cabrinha Switchblade.

As to a "megaloop" which I think is defined as a kiteloop in a high sent jump where the kite loops below the rider in a huge arc, I have never tried one, best left to the pros IMO.

If you are asking about basic kite loops, they are fun and easy to learn. As Mark said, the first step is commitment. Here are the tips that I got from Matt once, which got me successfully looping the first time out:

1) Ride with normal speed with kite at 11. Send your kite to 1, pop and sheet in gently as if you are doing a very small sent jump.

2) Immediately after you pop, with kite still at 1, pull as hard as you can with your back hand. Your back hand should be on the back bar end, pulling past the depower rope. Your front hand should be at the center of the bar next to the depower rope.

3) This is where the commitment comes in. Once you pop and yank on the back hand you will be yarded in quite a dynamic way straight downwind. If you are not used to this feeling it will cause you to panic and yard sale in the air. Make sure you keep pulling on your back hand so the kite gets all the way around in its arc. Keep looking at your kite through this process, it will keep your body in the right place.

4) As your kite completes the arc, it will give you a bit of lift. Point your board straight downwind and get ready to absorb the impact of landing.

5) Ride away and unwind your lines.

[Slappy]

By far the easiest way to start looping is doing looped backroll transitions. When I do them I stick low to the water, maybe 6-8 feet up max. Just get your backroll transitions down pat then just commit to the loop and pull f'ing hard.

As for heliloops, the ones you have to do to avoid stalling out when you are boosting big, those are a totally different thing. For those you don't have to worry about completing the loop at all. You are doing them when your kite is almost stalled and any added speed gives you lift, even if the kite is headed straight down. The key to them is to make sure you wait until you are at or after the apex of the jump. Start with ones that you finish the loop after you land and you'll see they aren't anything to be scared of.

Once you get heliloops dailed in you don't have to worry about those hard landings after big boosts anymore. Just feather the loop in as you are coming down and you get a soft landing.

[Faceplant]

Thanks for the pointers dudes. Megaloop is out of the question for me unless I pound a solid 10 beers before trying it
Softening the landing is what I'm after for now. You guys have given me some nice new ideas.

[spinmaster3000]

All great advice in this thread. I accidentally taught myself how to loop the kite while doing a back roll. Ended up doing a back roll kite loop, which was a really fun feeling. I did it with an 8m kite. When I tried it with my 11m, I got SPANKED hard and skipped across the water. Looping with the 11m was less fun for me and required much more visits to the chiropractor.

I'm not an expert by any means, but as has been said already, my first piece of advice is that you MUST commit to the loop - especially if airborne.

Best way to start is to loop the kite while still planted to the water....just point the board downwind, steer the kite quickly and aggressively (pull back with one hand, push forward with the other - almost lining the bar up to "point" at your kite), and commit.

Less aggressive steering = bigger loop and more power. The more aggressively you commit, the tighter your loop will be and the less power it will have. This is why the commitment is so important. (that and when you're airbone, giving up half-way will send you back to the water pretty quickly).

I hope this helps - feel free to correct me, those with more experience, if I've stated anything incorrect - however, I'm mostly just regurgitating what I've heard and learned.

Cheers!

[tweegster]

The only thing I have to add that has not been already mentioned is... I was instructed the safest way to learn is actually unhooked backroll kiteloops. By doing it unhooked and just holding on to the bar end with both hands you eliminate the lack of commitment. Plus, if you did mega loop chances are it will just be pulled out of your grip.

Not saying I got it dialed, but I have also not gotten hurt. Well, I did try one in Boracay on the 15M in 20ish knots. I traveled a long way sideways before slapping my ribs on the water. Hmmm, no wetsuit hurts. Better to experiment in the lower end of the kite's wind range .