north evo 2013 vs north evo 2014 - beginner level

[moochacha26]

hello,guys!

I am new here and I am also new in this crazy mind blowing sport!

I am about to buy my first equipment, I will go for second hand and I am facing a difficult decision.
I have 2 very smilar options (regarding the kite's condition, price and trust level in the seller): North Evo 2013 and North Evo 2014.
I have read that there is a change in design from one year to another and the 2014 is not as suitable for beginners as the 2013 one. The 2013 is easy to relaunch from the water - a thing that is very important to me as a beginner - as I still drop the kite a lot.
So which one should I go for?

Also, should I take a 5 line bar? I am only at waterstart level and any extra line sound more complicated.

Thanks a lot for your advice!

[UnderWindPower]

If the condition of both kites is the same and the money is the same, then the youngest kite is always a good idea (for resale, hidden ware n tear, bladders etc). I can't comment on the design changes. But i imagine that both should be good at launching off the water after a crash. I learned on a 2011 evo, and it was such a nice kite. Great, almost auto-relaunch!

As for 5 vs 4 line, well the jury is still out on that. I use a 5 line system and have never had issues with the extra line. The complete depower you get when you release the kite to safety is really good and adds a good deal of safety. I don't think the four line bars from 13/14 had 100% depower flag-out...they used a front line, and you'd get a bit of pull, especially if the kite was falling erratically during those magic couple of seconds.

The new four line bars have changed this behaviour i believe.
So, my advice is, if the newer one is essentially the same money, it'll probably last a bit better. But look at the pigtails, and general condition closely, as a newer, but highly used kite could be in worse condition.

Evo's are lovely.

[gvironda]

I had both EVO 2013 and currently have EVO 2013
If relaunch is an important matter, take the 12m in the 2013 version. The 2014 is really hard to relaunch in low wind, you need to have a very good tecnique
The 2013 relaunch in a second
obviously 9 and 7 are all easy to relaunch
The 2014 have more range, the 2013 are easier (delta design, always pull easy) but when overpowered are more difficult to manage
have fun!

[dyyylan]

Almost any kite you buy will be able to relaunch well, pick whichever you can get the best price on. You will get used to any minor differences, and won't be able to tell the difference for a while anyway.