North Orbit vs Reach on 12m

[edt]

I like the orbit better but you want I think the 2022, just feels more agile, responsive better all around. I don't like the reach much compard to the orbit. Got a chance to demo both 12m side by side in the same last year at the great lakes king of the great lakes test fest (thanks Mac Kite you are awesome). The naish pivot is my favorite kite but their 12m is their worst size go figure. Anything below that is great. Also demoed that in a 12m last year. No pop on any of those kites of course, they are made for boosting and sacrifice unhooked to do it. Maybe stick with the pulse. Low end for me means hydrofoil these days. If you are within driving distance of the mac kites king of the lakes test fest and it shows wind in the forecast make the trip. There's no better place to test gear that I know of, so many brands. Always late september around muskegon. If you like the dice get it, it works great on the north control bars, doesn't need that high Y. just change the pigtails as necesary.

[PusherII]

Orbit and reach are totally opposite kite, with some common point. Both jump good and loop good, obv Orbit do It Better, lot Better and It s top class kite for this.
Orbit suffer so much in low end and love to be used in his High range Wind. 2022 less than 2021 that It was totally Extreme imo, so beautiful full windy, so shitty low Wind.

Reach Is quote opposite, i find It si good in his low range and i totally hate It when well powered. I both love and hate reach.

I own 9-12-14 orbit i use
14 into 14-19
12 into 19-23
9 from 23-24 to 30

[Archer77]

For the 12m a 3-struct kite will give you more speed and low end, however, I had a 12m Reach and, to be honest, didn't like the kite and sold it to a friend. Just a personal taste. If you have the chance, try both.

melias if I'm not wrong from other post you ride also the Ozone Alpha V2 right?

could you make a small comparative with the Reach? for twin tip and for foil... would be very appreciated!
in particular on
low end
stability and flotation in the air
bar pressure and turning speed

[Kitedicted]

I understand small orbits are for boosting and megalooping, and seems like the 11m is quite popular as well. But surely the 12m must be more old school oriented?

Is the low end really that bad? I remember on the 2020 the 12m didn't have strong low end but I could still get upwind at 14 knots @ 70kg

[foxzone]

I have 2021 orbit 11m and I don't see any issues in low wind. I guess depends what you want to do but with my 90kg(200lb) I can keep upwind below 20knots on 138cm board. I don't think is much worse to XR6 11m I had. It may be perceived feeling as orbit has light bar pressure, which I love. Also, kite is fast and you can generate power easy. I tried 2021 reach 13m together with 12m 2021 north carve on twintip last year. I liked carve better so much that I bought 13m carve myself for light wind days.

[Luffe]

The North kites are designed to be looped, if looping is your jam, then look no further. If other characteristics are more important to you, you might want to shop around.

What characteristics would you say other brands of kites are known for / designed for?

[Blackened]

The North kites are designed to be looped, if looping is your jam, then look no further. If other characteristics are more important to you, you might want to shop around.

What characteristics would you say other brands of kites are known for / designed for?

For flying characteristics? Maybe Duotone for accessibility - I feel all their kites are relatively easy to use? Maybe Core for being considerate to colour blind people?

[rw30]

Maybe Core for being considerate to colour blind people?

[rnelias]

melias if I'm not wrong from other post you ride also the Ozone Alpha V2 right?

could you make a small comparative with the Reach? for twin tip and for foil... would be very appreciated!
in particular on
low end
stability and flotation in the air
bar pressure and turning speed

I had an Alpha 8m but the first version (now it's Catalyst v3) and also had a Reach 8m that sold recently. Alpha v1 was exclusively used for foiling. Amazing low end but not so good to ride upwind. Never tried this kite on tt. My impression is that it does not have a construction suitable for tt abuse. Ozone changed the AR in version 2 to make the kite better to ride upwind but I've already talked with our local Ozone seller and he liked v1 more than v2. According to him, he found v2 too slow for his taste (trade-off when AR is increased). I've changed this Alpha for a Boxer 9m because the 8m was too small for my local spot. Boxer is heavier, has better construction and also flies deep in the WW, thus, inherits the same properties of 3-struct kite waves: good drift, poor to ride upwind. My Reach 8m had a more hybrid use and rode it on foil (10-15k range) and twintip (25-35k) and it's more versatile (as expected). In this size I really enjoyed this kite. Found it very well balanced for tt and foiling. Good low end for a 3-struct kite (I've not put it on scale but it must weight about 2.2-2.4kg, Alpha in the same size weights 2kg), reasonable drift, good for upwind and boosting on twintip. For people looking for a hybrid kite (foil+tt), imho, Reach is spot on .

[Archer77]

melias if I'm not wrong from other post you ride also the Ozone Alpha V2 right?

could you make a small comparative with the Reach? for twin tip and for foil... would be very appreciated!
in particular on
low end
stability and flotation in the air
bar pressure and turning speed

I had an Alpha 8m but the first version (now it's Catalyst v3) and also had a Reach 8m that sold recently. Alpha v1 was exclusively used for foiling. Amazing low end but not so good to ride upwind. Never tried this kite on tt. My impression is that it does not have a construction suitable for tt abuse. Ozone changed the AR in version 2 to make the kite better to ride upwind but I've already talked with our local Ozone seller and he liked v1 more than v2. According to him, he found v2 too slow for his taste (trade-off when AR is increased). I've changed this Alpha for a Boxer 9m because the 8m was too small for my local spot. Boxer is heavier, has better construction and also flies deep in the WW, thus, inherits the same properties of 3-struct kite waves: good drift, poor to ride upwind. My Reach 8m had a more hybrid use and rode it on foil (10-15k range) and twintip (25-35k) and it's more versatile (as expected). In this size I really enjoyed this kite. Found it very well balanced for tt and foiling. Good low end for a 3-struct kite (I've not put it on scale but it must weight about 2.2-2.4kg, Alpha in the same size weights 2kg), reasonable drift, good for upwind and boosting on twintip. For people looking for a hybrid kite (foil+tt), imho, Reach is spot on .

Thank You melias! in any case the Alpha V2 can be trimmed to have more drift and to stay much deeper in the wind window... but sure than its also taste matter...