Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Independent review North Click bar

Find reviews of kites, boards and accessories
davedej
Medium Poster
Posts: 150
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 10:24 pm
Local Beach: Zandvoort, Netherlands
Favorite Beaches: Table view Capetown
Canos de meca Spain
Style: freestyle
Gear: North Dice 2016 5/7/9/11 m
Ride clash 140 2.1
Brand Affiliation: We Test Kites
Has thanked: 15 times
Been thanked: 9 times
Contact:

Independent review North Click bar

Postby davedej » Sat Sep 03, 2016 5:15 pm

Source: http://www.wetestkites.com/2016/09/03/n ... -bar-2017/

The introduction of the new Click bar can be compared to the time when new cars got a remote control for opening and starting a car. Handy, but not necessary to get from A to B. So a game changer? No, of course not. You will not fly higher, ride harder or get more pop. But it is a refinement of the bar.

Compared to the standard bars of North, it is more than just the way you power/depower you kite. You may even safe money -although it costs 160 Euro's more than the Quad bar- on the long run. For sure it is safer and more friendly to use. If sand will ruin the (de)power system, is hard to tell. It doesn't look like it, but at least make sure you register your Click bar to get to the extra 6 month of warranty. Better be (18 months) safe than sorry,

Click vs Quad bar

We have a lot of experience using the North Quad bar ('15 and '16). They are one of the best bars out there, but still some (mainly wear out) issues can be addressed; The 2015 version originally came with a certain split point case which damaged the lines. North provided an upgrade, but didn't provide a new front line. The upgrade kit also isn't ideal, since the two provided metal rings rub against an unprotected line.

By the way the message on this upgrade was send out by email to people who registered their bar. Yes, also the bar (unique identification number is on the black plastic part where the depower strap is hanging at) can be registered at North. It will also get you 18 instead of 12 months warranty.

Value for money?

Both the 2015 and 2016 bar suffer from wear out on the depower line. Replacement of about one or two per year (30 Euro) is quite common. And not to forget the red safety line (also 30 Euro) and the center part needs replacement about once a year (8 Euro). So in theory the Click bar's 160 Euro's extra costs are roughly earned back in 2 years! Not to mention the wasted hours to replace those parts. But some experienced users of the Quad bar warned us that preventive replacing of the center part sooner would prevent changing the depower and safety line so frequent.

Most obvious question on the Click bar is on its durability. The moving parts inside the bar will wear out really quickly if sand would get in touch with them. So the idea is that the system is so tight it won't let any sand come inside. North claims -as we were explained orally- it has been using the Click bar system for a couple of years without any issues. The future will tell if they are right. For the moment, after testing it one day, we got the feeling the system is indeed sand proof.

At some point (probably years) however the lines need to be replaced. Our guess is that getting the left line al the way through the Click bar will be a hell of a job. But we know the lines of North, developed closely in cooperation with Teufelberger are from a very respectable quality and normally don't need frequent replacement (we guess roughly about every 3 or 4 years). Another nice trick from the Click bar is that it has a way of changing the height of the split point of the front lines (for example the split on the Vegas with the five line set-up is higher). Main tip from our side by the way is to enlarge the knots, both on the steering lines as on the bridles. We have seen slipping (mostly of the steering lines) in quite some occasions.

Functional differences

The new (de)power system is adjusted on the right side of the bar. It simply needs a turn to get more power and a press on the button for less power. On the bar a red indicator shows you where it is at. It takes about 3 minutes to get used to it, so it is pretty easy. Most happy on this new bar is our female tester. She can now power her kite without help, which was a bit of a struggle on her own on the traditional Quad bar.

Next to less wear out, there are a couple of functional differences which should get you buying the Click bar instead of the Quad one. Not only the way you depower but also re-hooking after a unhooked move is now easier. This is because the suicide mode has been rearranged slightly.

The leash now stays connected to a metal ring which cannot come down any more on the chicken loop. This is quite a relief compared to the Quad bar, where the red safety line got in the way when re-hooking, especially when the kite is depowered with little tension
on the red safety line.

Another -unique- feature is the way the depower line turns around it axis and untangles the safety line automatically.
We never saw an swivel that actually turns by it self all the time. The below the bar swiffel on the Quad bar needs manual adjustment, but the one of the Click bar turns by itself. This is constructed quite simply due to squared shaped plastic depower line. Simple but very effective on having the ultimate safe bar. Too bad the stopper ball isn't really one that works on the fly anymore. You need to adjust the stopper ball with two hands. On the other hand we know the one of the Quad bar (which is one that works on the fly) stops functioning after about 20 sessions.

Most features of the Click bar in this review is compared to the alternative Quad bar from North. Of course some features are also present on bars from other brands. But- as we wrote before- be aware when using alternative bars; All North kites require a high split point bar (around 6m from the bar). Using a low split (which a lot of other brand have) will influence the performance negatively.

List prices

North Click Quad Control bar (with 22 or 24m lines and safety leash) 649,- Euro

North Quad Control bar (with 22m lines and safety leash) 489,- Euro
Attachments
DSC_0807-e1472907906485-683x1024.jpg

User avatar
dracop
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 884
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2013 4:37 am
Local Beach: Naska Beach - Kanaha - Maui, HI USA
Waipuliani Park - Kihei - Maui, HI USA
South Point - Hawaii, HI USA
A-Bay - Hawaii, HI USA
Favorite Beaches: _
Kanaha - Maui, HI
Kihei - Maui, HI
South Point - Hawaii Island
Kite Beach - Cabarete, Dominican Republic
Tableview - Cape Town, South Africa
Style: Big Air :D
Gear: 2022 Dice 10m/12m SLS, 2022 Rebel SLS 12m, 2022 15m Aluula Juice
2017 Core Choice 2 142, 2020 Duotone Jaime Textreme, 2014 Best Breeze 145,
Brand Affiliation: The Maui Kitesurf Company
www.mauikitesurf.com
Location: Maui, HI
Has thanked: 28 times
Been thanked: 77 times
Contact:

Re: Independent review North Click bar

Postby dracop » Sat Sep 03, 2016 9:07 pm

WHy did you need two hands for the stopper?

davedej
Medium Poster
Posts: 150
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 10:24 pm
Local Beach: Zandvoort, Netherlands
Favorite Beaches: Table view Capetown
Canos de meca Spain
Style: freestyle
Gear: North Dice 2016 5/7/9/11 m
Ride clash 140 2.1
Brand Affiliation: We Test Kites
Has thanked: 15 times
Been thanked: 9 times
Contact:

Re: Independent review North Click bar

Postby davedej » Wed Sep 14, 2016 1:36 pm

dracop wrote:WHy did you need two hands for the stopper?
The stopper ball sticks very firmly and needs quite some effort to adjust. Two hands are needed, so for sure it cannot be used "on the fly" anymore.
Dave
We Test Kites
Last edited by davedej on Thu Sep 15, 2016 8:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

Jerome Bonieux
Rare Poster
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2016 3:21 pm
Kiting since: 2002
Weight: 70kg
Local Beach: Pointe D'esny
Favorite Beaches: Pointe D'esny, Le Morne
Style: Foil / Strapless / Wakestyle / Big Air
Gear: Evo 2020 / Dice 2020 / Jaime txtreme 2020 138cm / 2020 Pro Wam 5'5" / Click bar S and M / Daytona DOS / Indy / Capa 9,11,15m
Brand Affiliation: Duotone Kiteboarding
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 5 times
Contact:

Re: Independent review North Click bar

Postby Jerome Bonieux » Wed Sep 14, 2016 4:57 pm

davedej wrote:
dracop wrote:WHy did you need two hands for the stopper?
The stopper ball sticks very firmly and needs quite some effort to adjust. Two hands are needed, so for sure it canoot be used "on the fly" anymore.
Dave
We Test Kites

Hi Dave,

Thank you for your review of the bar.
I am surprised that you found the stopper hard to move with one hand? It should definitely move easy enough with one hand. I use it all the time on my click bar and never have an issue.
Did you "release" the stopper by pulling down on the bottom part first?
Did you check that the little grub screw on the side of the top part of the stopper was not screwed in tight, in the "lock mode"?

It should work as shown on the video below:
https://youtu.be/khpTqUOK1XI

davedej
Medium Poster
Posts: 150
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 10:24 pm
Local Beach: Zandvoort, Netherlands
Favorite Beaches: Table view Capetown
Canos de meca Spain
Style: freestyle
Gear: North Dice 2016 5/7/9/11 m
Ride clash 140 2.1
Brand Affiliation: We Test Kites
Has thanked: 15 times
Been thanked: 9 times
Contact:

Re: Independent review North Click bar

Postby davedej » Thu Sep 15, 2016 8:25 am

Jerome Bonieux wrote:
davedej wrote:
dracop wrote:WHy did you need two hands for the stopper?
The stopper ball sticks very firmly and needs quite some effort to adjust. Two hands are needed, so for sure it canoot be used "on the fly" anymore.
Dave
We Test Kites

Hi Dave,

Thank you for your review of the bar.
I am surprised that you found the stopper hard to move with one hand? It should definitely move easy enough with one hand. I use it all the time on my click bar and never have an issue.
Did you "release" the stopper by pulling down on the bottom part first?
Did you check that the little grub screw on the side of the top part of the stopper was not screwed in tight, in the "lock mode"?

It should work as shown on the video below:
https://youtu.be/khpTqUOK1XI
Hi Jerome,
we missed that video! So yes, the screw may be set too tight infact (although we did not change anything). We will try to adjust it and confirm it in the review.
Thanks!

BTW a question to you on the replacement of lines; do you get the replacement tool when buying new lines?
Dave
We Test Kites

Alejo
Rare Poster
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2017 12:28 am
Style: Freestyle & Strapless Surf
Gear: Takoon Skoop
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Independent review North Click bar

Postby Alejo » Sat Feb 25, 2017 2:48 am

Great review!
Definitely not a game changer but the concept looks interesting.
Reckon “That shit will jam” is probably on everybody's mind, and is for sure what I think.
Sand proof system?
Let’s wait and see.
On the other hand, the automatic line untangler is simply brilliant.

wrogu
Frequent Poster
Posts: 368
Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2010 9:12 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 18 times

Re: Independent review North Click bar

Postby wrogu » Sat Feb 25, 2017 1:00 pm

And I hope they will incorporate auto line untangler in their other bars next year. Thats a progress of (imho the best QR) iron heart most want. The only issue is telling the condidion of the depower line ... and using a cheap replacement line from marine shop ;)

NorCalNomad
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 838
Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2014 4:40 am
Local Beach: San Francisco
Gear: Why should it matter?
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: Independent review North Click bar

Postby NorCalNomad » Sat Feb 25, 2017 7:01 pm

How the hell are you wearing out one or two depower lines per year? I'm kiting average 3-5 times a week and none of my bars (even the 2014 one) even look close to needing replacement.

Jbrook
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 993
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2004 2:39 am
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Independent review North Click bar

Postby Jbrook » Sat Feb 25, 2017 7:20 pm

Cover with plastic you are done, havent replaced a rope in years.

dontsellrubish
Rare Poster
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2016 8:18 am
Gear: Slingshot
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Independent review North Click bar

Postby dontsellrubish » Thu May 11, 2017 3:42 pm

I have gone through 2 sets of center lines on the clicker bar
they are snapping at the v the plastic ring wears out the center line that is also the safety line
I've seen several other people's lines that are wearing out at the spline in the line near the connectors
north are staying mum about it and not doing a thing about it check your lines guys it's dangerous
it's just the lines on the clicker bar


Return to “Reviews”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 53 guests