The Mirage was very easy to string up last year and the Rebels this year were no different, which was no surprise since ECD focuses a ton on stringing. I strung a shifty mid pocket in both heads, although channeled them a bit differently for the shape of each head. In the Offense, I used Powell Frontier mesh and on the Defense, original Firethreads FireMesh. On each head, there are a ton of holes on the sidewalls, all big enough to double wrap a string so you could really lock down the sidewalls. The six top string holes are large enough to fit any type of triangle top string, etc. and can fit leathers nicely. The bottom string holes are improved from the Mirage and can easily fit leathers.
ECD really fine tuned both Rebel heads for awesome performance. They took the design of the Mirage and just refined it more in almost every way to improve both versions of the Rebel for their positions. My biggest complaint about the Mirage was that the scoop, although workable wasn’t great compared to other heads coming to the market at the time. On the Rebel Offense and Defense, they really improved the scoop a ton. The scoop is nicely rounded, which kind of reminds me of the Speed Scoop that STX is using on their new heads and is a very nice improvement. Ground balls with this new scoop are a breeze. The face shape of the Rebel Offense is very similar to the Mirage but a bit more pinched at the top of the head, which is now allowed with the new field lacrosse rule changes. This is a welcome addition as it makes the head a bit more accurate since it lets you channel the pocket more tightly. The Rebel Defense, is a bit wider and is a great shape for d-poles trying to get in lanes knocking down passes. It is more tightly pinched though than many other defense minded heads coming to the market, making it a nice option for d-pole middies that like carrying the ball down field more in transition.
ECD focused a lot on durability with both versions of the Rebel. The Rebel Offense is stiffer than Mirage, while still having a bit of flex when shooting. I think its strong enough to be able to work well for any attackman, an offensive middie or even a box player at any position or a two-way middie. The Rebel Defense has the same strut design as the Offense, but each struct is more beefed up with extra plastic around the edges of the struts, allowing no give or flex to it. This will give defensemen a ton of power on checks while being able to rely on that their head won’t warp or break. Both heads have two screw holes to give a more reliable connection to the shaft and reducing head rattle.
Overall, ECD did a great job with the Rebel and made two different heads that focus more on a specific type of player with welcome additions and refinements on last year’s Mirage. I really am liking the Rebel Offense a lot as a box player and would recommend it to a lot of offensive players in field and think it could be a great middie head as well with its versatility. Although it doesn’t fit my style of play at my position, I think the Rebel Defense could be a good option for a d-pole that wants a tighter, more aggressive head and think it would be great for a d-pole middie.
