From Boost to Landing | Brazilian Brothers Find the Sweet Spot on the 2025 Rebel SLS

The Brazilian Brothers are back with MACkiteboarding to bring you a review of the 2025 Duotone Rebel SLS. The Rebel has been a standout model from Duotone for many years, and they're stoked to walk you through its features and their thoughts on this kite.

Why review the 2025 Rebel SLS?

Your first question might be: why we are reviewing the 2025 Rebel instead of the 2026 Rebel SLS that was just released? There are two reasons for this. First, there are still 2025 Rebel kites on the market. Second, we just got the 2026 Rebel SLS here in Brazil, so we still need to put it through its paces to get a good feel for a review. That'll also let us compare both versions to share what's new.

A Legacy of Performance

The Rebel has been in Duotone's lineup for the past several years. In fact, it was the kite that brought Lorenzo to the highest place on the podium at the 2022 King of the Air. Since 2022, Duotone has continued to improve the Rebel, and we're excited to share our thoughts on its jumping ability, looping ability, and ease of use.

Bar Pressure and Feel

To be completely honest, we've always been a bit skeptical of the Rebel because we thought of it as a kite that was slow and heavy on the bar. However, when we first put this 2025 version in the air, we were pleasantly surprised. The bar pressure on the 2025 Rebel SLS is definitely lower than its previous versions. It sits in the moderate category and actually feels pretty rapid in the air once you get it up and going. This is a very balanced kite in terms of stability and bar pressure, and that pressure allows you to know where the kite is at all times.

Jumping

In terms of jumping, the Rebel is awesome. It has a big sweet spot which allows you to boost even when things don't line up perfectly. We absolutely love it for jumping because it is so forgiving and allows you to stay up there for a really long time with good hangtime. Additionally, it's an easy kite to come down on. You do not need to time your heli-loops perfectly in order to get lift out of this kite, which we love.

Looping

We were also pleasantly surprised by the Rebel's looping. It is definitely not as fast as something like a Reedin HyperModel or a Trigger Brainchild, for instance, but it does have a safe and intuitive kiteloop. When you pull that loop, the kite has a rounder loop, but it recovers very fast. We were having a blast looping this kite in 25 to over 30 knots and we felt completely safe. The second lift of this kite is awesome; once that kite catches you, it is really easy to do a heli-loop and come down nice and soft from big loops.

Ease of Use

The Rebel is a very accessible kite. Anyone who hops on it will immediately appreciate its big sweet spot and the ease of use when coming down from big jumps. You do not need to be a very proficient pilot in order to come down nice and soft. You'll also appreciate the nice feedback on the bar. You will have a really good idea of where the kite is at all times, which makes rotations and board-offs easier.

As far as looping is concerned, you will need to be a more advanced rider in order to advance through loops because the loop of the Rebel is a bit rounder and a bit more "angry." Having said that, the second lift of the kite is awesome, which makes landing big loops really fun and easy.

Overall, we are stoked on the Rebel SLS by Duotone. The combination of a big sweet spot, really good hangtime, and that second lift makes it a really fun kite to take out there. We've been stoked on how it's been performing here in Prea, and we can't wait to review the brand-new 2026 Rebel SLS and compare it to this version.

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