Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

2018 North Evo, any thoughts?

Forum for kitesurfers
User avatar
edt
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 7316
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:27 am
Kiting since: 2010
Local Beach: Michigan
Gear: ride hard, no regrets
Has thanked: 530 times
Been thanked: 664 times

Re: 2018 North Evo, any thoughts?

Postby edt » Sat Feb 03, 2018 9:17 pm

lindseym wrote:
Sun Jan 21, 2018 1:31 am
Frozenfox wrote:
Sat Jan 20, 2018 12:09 pm
Has anyone bought or had a chance to fly the new 2018 North Evo, any thoughts on the new 3 strut design, how does it compare to previous generations, noticible improvement or a step backwards this year?
Hello,
Disclaimer - North Team Rider here. That out of the way - I did have a chance to put some time in on a 12m Evo in fairly gusty conditions a few weeks back. Overall I was impressed and I like it more than previous years. It feels a lot like the new Rebel but turns faster and, of course, doesn't have the same hangtime but is definitely more versatile. I previously posted a review on here with some video (not that great). I definitely do not think its a step backwards although some may disagree. Its range seems to be pretty solid and like the rebel, I think it may be a bit more forgiving and stable than previous iterations. If you can definitely take it out for a demo prior to buying. Ultimately, I think you will be very pleased.
I've love some input from a team rider. Is the Evo just better than the Rebel this year? I don't understand why these two kites occupy the same market niche. Thanks for any answers.

User avatar
purdyd
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2299
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 1:00 am
Has thanked: 281 times
Been thanked: 345 times

Re: 2018 North Evo, any thoughts?

Postby purdyd » Sun Feb 04, 2018 4:47 am

if you look at north’s usage charts it appears that the rebel is still the top end hangtime king.

I think it was smart for north to remove two of the struts in the evo as it makes it clearer the rebel is king of the air and the evo a better all around kite. A jack of all trades as they say.

Evo chart below.
658A4F32-04A4-4817-8AD5-76C0BF51CFF7.png

suzsuz07
Rare Poster
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2018 8:27 pm
Gear: Don't have gear yet
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: 2018 North Evo, any thoughts?

Postby suzsuz07 » Wed May 02, 2018 5:25 pm

Teabageppo wrote:
Sun Jan 21, 2018 3:09 am

Rocks on the front lines, disconnect between back and front lines we don’t normally experience with north kites. Shit house feel at the throw. As I said very unlike north feel.
I'm a bit new to kiting and just bought the 2018 Evo. Had some challenges launching/flying at first which made me feel like a Day 1 beginner, but don't know enough about it to know why. I eventually got used to it, but would like to understand more about what I was experiencing. Can you (or someone who gets that) explain what you mean by your comments? It might help me understand what I was struggling with. Thanks!

JBo
Medium Poster
Posts: 76
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2003 5:21 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: 2018 North Evo, any thoughts?

Postby JBo » Wed May 02, 2018 7:41 pm

Roll the dice and purchased 2018 12m Evo.

Light bar pressure (my only complaint but getting use to it)
Turns fairly fast for 12m in hard setting
Water relaunch easy. Pull one side and the kite just goes
Constant power even with big gust
Kitleloop a little heavy but getting use to it
Good drifting for surfboard
Great kite for foiling 4 sure
Unhook wakestyle not bad but kite does not shoot forward like the Vegas on landing
TT jumping not too bad, Rebel much better with better height and hang time

Overall a really good kite for every discipline. Just order 9m Evo. Might get 6m but will wait. Tough to replace 2017 6m Neo. Added new clicker bar and literally so dialed in any setting.

Blackened
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1245
Joined: Fri May 04, 2018 4:47 am
Kiting since: 2013
Style: Big Air, Airstyle
Gear: 2020 Rebels
23/24 Orbits
Has thanked: 107 times
Been thanked: 512 times

Re: 2018 North Evo, any thoughts?

Postby Blackened » Sat May 05, 2018 12:42 am

suzsuz07 wrote:
Wed May 02, 2018 5:25 pm
I'm a bit new to kiting and just bought the 2018 Evo. Had some challenges launching/flying at first which made me feel like a Day 1 beginner, but don't know enough about it to know why. I eventually got used to it, but would like to understand more about what I was experiencing. Can you (or someone who gets that) explain what you mean by your comments? It might help me understand what I was struggling with. Thanks!
I'm not new to kiting, but very similar experience. Initial impressions were it sucked (12m). Seemed like they had designed a vacant beginner kite since the relaunch was annoyingly automatic. It was never where I thought it was, had no low end power, and couldn't jump. I have a very varied kite style/brand ownership history (including North), so used to flying different brands with different styles, but this was completely weird. Everything else I was able to understand within an hour or so and start hooking up, but the new Evo took about five 3-4hr sessions before I actually started enjoying it. A couple mates have taken out my 12m and thought it was weird initially as well, but after a couple hours on it, they went and bought them.

Kite: 2018 North Evo 12m
Weight: 95kg
Board: 139 Cabrinha Custom (mainly)
Wind: 15-30kn range
Lines: 22m
Skill level: Intermediate

Bar pressure: Lightest I've ever flown.
Relaunch: Automatic - easiest kite I've ever used
Low end: Non-existent - at my weight, 18kn to mow the lawn, 20kn for small jumps. Lighter friends were fine from 15kn.
High end: Never ending. Kite for me comes alive at 23-24kn, and I've had it out in as much as 35 fully powered. Really surprised by this.
Gusts: Unless there's a large variance, hardly notice them. Handles big gusts quite well.
Lulls: No problem. Kite flies in very little wind. Not quite as good as a 1-struter though.
Drift: Much better than previous Evos, but still wouldn't use it as a surf kite. (mainly because I have surf kites)
Turning: Much quicker than previous years. More instant response.
Looping: Power is super consistent throughout the entire loop and extremely predictable. Much quicker and smoother on the soft/medium settings.
Jumping: Great lift, great float. Highest jumping and most float kite I've owned. Needs a bit of loading/sending skill to get a reasonable height though. Haven't tried them, but from what I've seen on the beach, the new Rebel/Switchblade will out-jump and out-float with just a bar pull.
Unhooking: Can only do basic ralleys, so no idea.


Basically, there are a lot of pros/cons to the new design, but after initially wanting to try to return it for being utter shit, it's the most fun kite I've ever flown. So much so that I bought a 10m, which I recently had out in a storm megalooping in 40kn+ (okay, megalooping when it was 30-35 and hanging on for dear life after 40 :o ). The upper range on these kites is incredible. My confidence on the water has taken a dramatic leap forward with the 2018 Evo and I've progressed leaps and bounds on it. Previous kites always caught me out doing one thing or another, but this one is extremely forgiving. The main downside will be that at my weight and board-size, I need another (or larger) kite for the fairly standard 15-20kn condition range. If I were to do over again, I'd probably size up to the 13m or even the 14m. For now I'm considering sticking with the 12m over winter and seeing how I feel at the start of next season.

Frozenfox
Rare Poster
Posts: 23
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 3:12 pm
Gear: Nkb
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: 2018 North Evo, any thoughts?

Postby Frozenfox » Sun May 06, 2018 7:07 pm

Blackened wrote:
Sat May 05, 2018 12:42 am
suzsuz07 wrote:
Wed May 02, 2018 5:25 pm
I'm a bit new to kiting and just bought the 2018 Evo. Had some challenges launching/flying at first which made me feel like a Day 1 beginner, but don't know enough about it to know why. I eventually got used to it, but would like to understand more about what I was experiencing. Can you (or someone who gets that) explain what you mean by your comments? It might help me understand what I was struggling with. Thanks!
I'm not new to kiting, but very similar experience. Initial impressions were it sucked (12m). Seemed like they had designed a vacant beginner kite since the relaunch was annoyingly automatic. It was never where I thought it was, had no low end power, and couldn't jump. I have a very varied kite style/brand ownership history (including North), so used to flying different brands with different styles, but this was completely weird. Everything else I was able to understand within an hour or so and start hooking up, but the new Evo took about five 3-4hr sessions before I actually started enjoying it. A couple mates have taken out my 12m and thought it was weird initially as well, but after a couple hours on it, they went and bought them.

Kite: 2018 North Evo 12m
Weight: 95kg
Board: 139 Cabrinha Custom (mainly)
Wind: 15-30kn range
Lines: 22m
Skill level: Intermediate

Bar pressure: Lightest I've ever flown.
Relaunch: Automatic - easiest kite I've ever used
Low end: Non-existent - at my weight, 18kn to mow the lawn, 20kn for small jumps. Lighter friends were fine from 15kn.
High end: Never ending. Kite for me comes alive at 23-24kn, and I've had it out in as much as 35 fully powered. Really surprised by this.
Gusts: Unless there's a large variance, hardly notice them. Handles big gusts quite well.
Lulls: No problem. Kite flies in very little wind. Not quite as good as a 1-struter though.
Drift: Much better than previous Evos, but still wouldn't use it as a surf kite. (mainly because I have surf kites)
Turning: Much quicker than previous years. More instant response.
Looping: Power is super consistent throughout the entire loop and extremely predictable. Much quicker and smoother on the soft/medium settings.
Jumping: Great lift, great float. Highest jumping and most float kite I've owned. Needs a bit of loading/sending skill to get a reasonable height though. Haven't tried them, but from what I've seen on the beach, the new Rebel/Switchblade will out-jump and out-float with just a bar pull.
Unhooking: Can only do basic ralleys, so no idea.


Basically, there are a lot of pros/cons to the new design, but after initially wanting to try to return it for being utter shit, it's the most fun kite I've ever flown. So much so that I bought a 10m, which I recently had out in a storm megalooping in 40kn+ (okay, megalooping when it was 30-35 and hanging on for dear life after 40 :o ). The upper range on these kites is incredible. My confidence on the water has taken a dramatic leap forward with the 2018 Evo and I've progressed leaps and bounds on it. Previous kites always caught me out doing one thing or another, but this one is extremely forgiving. The main downside will be that at my weight and board-size, I need another (or larger) kite for the fairly standard 15-20kn condition range. If I were to do over again, I'd probably size up to the 13m or even the 14m. For now I'm considering sticking with the 12m over winter and seeing how I feel at the start of next season.

Blackened superb insight, thanks for sharing

User avatar
dracop
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 885
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: 2018 North Evo, any thoughts?

Postby dracop » Wed May 09, 2018 10:23 am

I added an 8m 2018 North Evo to my teaching quiver back in Dec. Overall I am very pleased with it, super beginner friendly and great all purpose kite:

Pros:
- Light bar pressure (could be Pro or Con depending on preferences)
- Quick Pivoty loops still there (could be Pro or Con depending on preference)
- Friendly, forgiving kite
- LOVES to load for jumps, if you know how to load and pop, its a great kite
- Lighter weight than prior model years and handles light wind much better as a result
- Fast and nimble

Cons
- DIslike it for high weight riders in high winds, that combo gets served by a Rebel or Cab SB much better

Overall I like it for my beginner students and the feedback is quite positive. For myself I prefer the Rebel unless Im doing unhooked trix, in which case I like the Evo. If you Load power alot the kite rewards you - this lets me ride small kites back upwind to my students despite my high weight for the size.

User avatar
purdyd
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2299
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 1:00 am
Has thanked: 281 times
Been thanked: 345 times

Re: 2018 North Evo, any thoughts?

Postby purdyd » Thu May 10, 2018 5:06 am

For me it was natural the first time i flew it.

Own the 9,8, & 7m strictly surfboard and waves. 170 lbs 18 years kiting flying on the easiest/quickest turning rear attachment.

i've flown the 12m and well it is a 12m but the 8m is a really sweet spot for the kite

to me the light bar pressure is a godsend and has noticeably increased the time I can spend on the water and reduced any pain in my elbows which becomes important with all of the miles I have on my arms from windsurfing and kitesurfing

I can only conjecture that the light bar pressure and effective sheeting could be throwing people off. Although i was talking to an instructor the other day and he said the Evo was very popular at the school.

I prefer the Evo to the Neo in the waves. The Neo can just wear me down particularly in the lower end of the kite range when you are working it. Also the Evo gets you back up wind with less effort

The evo is also a bit quicker to relaunch which can be crucial if you drop the kite in the surf zone.

the evo has better high end range and the sweet spot is a bit wider. The neo I would be adjusting the depower a bit more.

in spite of the low bar pressure the evo seems a bit more directly connected on account of the simple single line rear attachment

the neo has a vee attachment and this little bungie - my experiece the vees can lead a to a two stage turning feel

Both kites drift great with the Evo a tad more forward in the window than the Neo. I think that makes the Evo a bit quicker and smoother to hook back up and get moving again if you drift it deep or run out too wide a bottom turn

the Neo does turn better with slack lines, in part I think because the lines aren't as slack since the bar pressure is higher, and partly because the Neo takes more sheeting motion to get the same depower and so is less dependent on bar position for turning

The Neo reacts quicker to small bar movements while the Evo is almost too steady but once you commit to turning the Evo, it moves quickly.

Just my opinion, the 2018 Evo is a great kite and I have been extremely happy with mine.

alford
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 816
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2016 7:53 pm
Gear: all brands
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 101 times
Been thanked: 46 times

Re: 2018 North Evo, any thoughts?

Postby alford » Thu Sep 20, 2018 3:18 pm

Blackened wrote:
Sat May 05, 2018 12:42 am
suzsuz07 wrote:
Wed May 02, 2018 5:25 pm
I'm a bit new to kiting and just bought the 2018 Evo. Had some challenges launching/flying at first which made me feel like a Day 1 beginner, but don't know enough about it to know why. I eventually got used to it, but would like to understand more about what I was experiencing. Can you (or someone who gets that) explain what you mean by your comments? It might help me understand what I was struggling with. Thanks!
I'm not new to kiting, but very similar experience. Initial impressions were it sucked (12m). Seemed like they had designed a vacant beginner kite since the relaunch was annoyingly automatic. It was never where I thought it was, had no low end power, and couldn't jump. I have a very varied kite style/brand ownership history (including North), so used to flying different brands with different styles, but this was completely weird. Everything else I was able to understand within an hour or so and start hooking up, but the new Evo took about five 3-4hr sessions before I actually started enjoying it. A couple mates have taken out my 12m and thought it was weird initially as well, but after a couple hours on it, they went and bought them.

Kite: 2018 North Evo 12m
Weight: 95kg
Board: 139 Cabrinha Custom (mainly)
Wind: 15-30kn range
Lines: 22m
Skill level: Intermediate

Bar pressure: Lightest I've ever flown.
Relaunch: Automatic - easiest kite I've ever used
Low end: Non-existent - at my weight, 18kn to mow the lawn, 20kn for small jumps. Lighter friends were fine from 15kn.
High end: Never ending. Kite for me comes alive at 23-24kn, and I've had it out in as much as 35 fully powered. Really surprised by this.
Gusts: Unless there's a large variance, hardly notice them. Handles big gusts quite well.
Lulls: No problem. Kite flies in very little wind. Not quite as good as a 1-struter though.
Drift: Much better than previous Evos, but still wouldn't use it as a surf kite. (mainly because I have surf kites)
Turning: Much quicker than previous years. More instant response.
Looping: Power is super consistent throughout the entire loop and extremely predictable. Much quicker and smoother on the soft/medium settings.
Jumping: Great lift, great float. Highest jumping and most float kite I've owned. Needs a bit of loading/sending skill to get a reasonable height though. Haven't tried them, but from what I've seen on the beach, the new Rebel/Switchblade will out-jump and out-float with just a bar pull.
Unhooking: Can only do basic ralleys, so no idea.


Basically, there are a lot of pros/cons to the new design, but after initially wanting to try to return it for being utter shit, it's the most fun kite I've ever flown. So much so that I bought a 10m, which I recently had out in a storm megalooping in 40kn+ (okay, megalooping when it was 30-35 and hanging on for dear life after 40 :o ). The upper range on these kites is incredible. My confidence on the water has taken a dramatic leap forward with the 2018 Evo and I've progressed leaps and bounds on it. Previous kites always caught me out doing one thing or another, but this one is extremely forgiving. The main downside will be that at my weight and board-size, I need another (or larger) kite for the fairly standard 15-20kn condition range. If I were to do over again, I'd probably size up to the 13m or even the 14m. For now I'm considering sticking with the 12m over winter and seeing how I feel at the start of next season.
Great review, have your thoughts and opinions on the kite changed?

Blackened
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1245
Joined: Fri May 04, 2018 4:47 am
Kiting since: 2013
Style: Big Air, Airstyle
Gear: 2020 Rebels
23/24 Orbits
Has thanked: 107 times
Been thanked: 512 times

Re: 2018 North Evo, any thoughts?

Postby Blackened » Thu Sep 27, 2018 11:10 am

alford wrote:
Thu Sep 20, 2018 3:18 pm

Great review, have your thoughts and opinions on the kite changed?
Thanks, Alford.

8 month review is basically the same as above, except the big gusting. Although, I couldn't handle the lack of low end at my weight and ended up buying a 2018 - 15m Rebel for an "emergency holiday" over winter. Couple things I noticed since the initial review:

1. It can't handle huge gusts -- The NZ winter brings some wild gusting, say 18kn gusting 30kn+. It jellyfishes in the huge variability. My 12m became almost unflyable at one stage. The problem was only slight on the 10m, but I didn't have it out in as extreme conditions.
2. I put on some winter insulation (5kg+) and now definitely notice instability on the 12m when I manhandle it. A few others were questioning it for heavier riders, and I agree with that assessment on the 12m for 100kg+. Only recall light flutter or wallow at 90-95kg, even when overpowered beyond the top end of its range. That extra 5-10kg makes a bit of a difference on the 12m. The 10m not so much, so it's perfect as my high wind kite.
3. 6PSI is an absolute daft pressure to pump these. I started pumping mine to 8-9PSI, but that's just because I don't dare go higher. It definitely does perform better at higher PSI and helps (not solves) the above problems. I'm not sure what other people do for North/Duotone kites.
4. I constantly vary the wingtip settings, but tend to stay with soft/medium for the smoother looping.

Summary: The Evo is an amazingly easy kite to fly. It's perfect for Beginner-Intermediate riders as it does everything fairly well and is extremely forgiving. Everyone I've let borrow them now owns one :). For the heavier guys wanting an Evo, definitely size up - unless you're typically in very gusty conditions, then get something else.


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Baidu [Spider], Bing [Bot], Brent NKB, Google [Bot], purdyd, suisd12, Vivo3d and 359 guests