Does crepe batter really need to rest for an hour?

Kenji over at Serious Eats does not rest his crêpe batter. He outlines his reasoning in this article:

https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/03/how-to-make-crepes-savory-pancakes-food-lab.html

Of crepe batter is not rested properly how will it affect the final product

Yes. Don't skip the rest period. I've done it both ways and the rest is a major benefit.

Per food scientist Harold McGee: When you rest batters, you’ll notice that the batter gets thicker. This is a sign that the dry ingredients are continuing to soak up water from the wet ingredients. Just as presoaking beans cuts their cooking time way down, soaking the tiny flour particles means that they will cook through more fully and evenly in the couple of minutes that a crepe or pancake has on the griddle, so the texture is finer. If you do age a batter, it’s often a good idea to add more liquid to thin it again just before cooking; that thicker aged consistency means less spreading in the pan and a denser result.

I routinely rest mine so that the gluten (protein) in the flour can relax. The crepes are more tender as a result.

When it rests, the bubbles in the batter go away - when there are bubbles in the batter, the crepe is more likely to tear.