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North Carve 6m 2020 - real world review

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sarc
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North Carve 6m 2020 - real world review

Postby sarc » Sat Feb 13, 2021 5:17 pm

I always buy last year's model at discount so I just got a new North Carve 6m 2020 and Navigator bar.
I wanted a wave-biased freeride kite and that's what I got so I'm very happy with the kite.
the tldr is: what people say is true, it's a great kite, the only thing it lacks is hangtime (float), and it shakes a bit at higher wind range, everything else is very very good.

Here's what I found after 5 sessions in wind ranging from 10 kn (lulls) to 30+kn (gusts) and everything in between:
- It jumps very high especially after you have worked out the timing and technique. I'm on a 6m at 20-25 kn and I'm thinking 'what am I doing up here'? For comparison, I took out my 2017 9m Rebel back to back to the 6m Carve (3m size difference!!!!) and I was jumping maybe 30% higher on the Rebel, this is outstanding considering the size difference. The fact that I can have fun on a 6m and an 9m says something about the Carve's versatility. The claim that you can ride 2m less than other kites is no joke.
- The punchy jumps are great to jump over waves on the way out , even upderpowered you can jump over head-high waves easily.
- There's no float. You go up very fast, and down equally fast, if you don't helicopter loop or even just wiggle the kite over your head you will land hard. The back to back 9m Rebel had more than 2x or 3x the airtime of the Carve.
- Kiteloops are an absolute treat, especially for the casual kitelooper like me. The Carve goes from spinning onto itself like a propeller with no pull to nice light and easy arc with moderate pull, and due to bar feel and depower ability I was able to adjust the arc in flight. The price to pay if you stuff up the kiteloop is low due to the low pull, unlike my older Rebels who have absolutely spanked me may times.
- It goes upwind extremely well, even underpowered. I was pointing higher on the 9m Rebel, but not enough difference to matter in real world, honestly on an average session I would not notice the difference. I am very impressed. Underpowered performance is a big plus for wave riding or just goofing around on a relaxed session.
- The Carve's bar feel, depower and maneuverability is exceptional. I have 5-8-9m Rebel and I have to work to put the kite where I want it in chop/gust/big jumps/kiteloops. The Carve is like an extension or the rider, I basically think it where I want it and it goes there. Bar pressure, response, turn speed and depower response are perfectly tuned in as far as I can tell. I was concerned that depower would be an on/off kite based on some reviews but no, depower works really well on the whole range. Also on a wave it depowers and drifts plenty well for me (chest to head high windswell, onshore to sideoff).
- I had a very gusty session with wind 20+ ranging from maybe 12 kn to 30+ knots (side/off with buildings in the way), the Carve made it look easy, very stable power delivery over the depower range, great in gusty messy wind, I was never fighting the kite, gives a feeling of ease and control.
- My 6m does shake the bar in wind 25-27+kn and above, as other reviewers have noted. It's noticeable but not to the extent that it's annoying or detracting from the fun. It does not bother me. However the kite is not noisy or unstable per se. Powered kiteloops are smooth and quiet. On one occasion I was riding out at good speed when I had to redirect the kite from one side of the window to the other side to make a 180 and avoid collision with a windsurfer (hey, he was on the wave coming in, so he had priority). The kite zoomed across the window fully loaded without issues and no canopy flapping.
- The back pigtails are effective to change the kite behavior a bit - maybe the back pigtail for improved maneuverability in very low wind. The front pigtail did not seem to increase depower response or change bar pressure by much. I feel that the middle is definitely the sweet spot

Finally it has a bridle so tiny that it barely qualifies as bridle, that's a big plus for me because I don't see how it can snag, wrap, tangle or cause any issue whatsoever. And no pulleys, another reason why I choose the Carve.

The 2020 Navigator bar is as good as other reviews say - no frills, top quality, great SK99 lines, everything is thought out really well and it works. The only little thing is that North was too cheap to make the left float red color, it's a lighter gray than the right float. Typical case of saving 30c per bar by not switching the dye in the injection molding of the float. On a $400 bar the vendor should not worry about saving 30c. Other minor things; the bungees for wrapping lines do disappear into the floats once in a while, and color coded lines would have been nice in case you need to untangle a rat's nest after self rescue or something. I have seen some reviews saying the depower plastic sheeting can jam in hard turns or kiteloops, that never happened to me, always felt smooth.

p.s. 2021 bar is green and black, that's just ... I don't know what the North designers are thinking. I think only Naish understands that blue is on right and red is on left.

sarc
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Re: North Carve 6m 2020 - real world review

Postby sarc » Sat Feb 13, 2021 5:20 pm

sarc wrote:
Sat Feb 13, 2021 5:17 pm
I always buy last year's model at discount so I just got a new North Carve 6m 2020 and Navigator bar.
I wanted a wave-biased freeride kite and that's what I got so I'm very happy with the kite.
the tldr is: what people say is true, it's a great kite, the only thing it lacks is hangtime (float), and it shakes a bit at higher wind range, everything else is very very good.

Here's what I found after 5 sessions in wind ranging from 10 kn (lulls) to 30+kn (gusts) and everything in between:
- It jumps very high especially after you have worked out the timing and technique. I'm on a 6m at 20-25 kn and I'm thinking 'what am I doing up here'? For comparison, I took out my 2017 9m Rebel back to back to the 6m Carve (3m size difference!!!!) and I was jumping maybe 30% higher on the Rebel, this is outstanding considering the size difference. The fact that I can have fun on a 6m and an 9m says something about the Carve's versatility. The claim that you can ride 2m less than other kites is no joke.
- The punchy jumps are great to jump over waves on the way out , even upderpowered you can jump over head-high waves easily.
- There's no float. You go up very fast, and down equally fast, if you don't helicopter loop or even just wiggle the kite over your head you will land hard. The back to back 9m Rebel had more than 2x or 3x the airtime of the Carve.
- Kiteloops are an absolute treat, especially for the casual kitelooper like me. The Carve goes from spinning onto itself like a propeller with no pull to nice light and easy arc with moderate pull, and due to bar feel and depower ability I was able to adjust the arc in flight. The price to pay if you stuff up the kiteloop is low due to the low pull, unlike my older Rebels who have absolutely spanked me may times.
- It goes upwind extremely well, even underpowered. I was pointing higher on the 9m Rebel, but not enough difference to matter in real world, honestly on an average session I would not notice the difference. I am very impressed. Underpowered performance is a big plus for wave riding or just goofing around on a relaxed session.
- The Carve's bar feel, depower and maneuverability is exceptional. I have 5-8-9m Rebel and I have to work to put the kite where I want it in chop/gust/big jumps/kiteloops. The Carve is like an extension or the rider, I basically think it where I want it and it goes there. Bar pressure, response, turn speed and depower response are perfectly tuned in as far as I can tell. I was concerned that depower would be an on/off kite based on some reviews but no, depower works really well on the whole range. Also on a wave it depowers and drifts plenty well for me (chest to head high windswell, onshore to sideoff).
- I had a very gusty session with wind 20+ ranging from maybe 12 kn to 30+ knots (side/off with buildings in the way), the Carve made it look easy, very stable power delivery over the depower range, great in gusty messy wind, I was never fighting the kite, gives a feeling of ease and control.
- My 6m does shake the bar in wind 25-27+kn and above, as other reviewers have noted. It's noticeable but not to the extent that it's annoying or detracting from the fun. It does not bother me. However the kite is not noisy or unstable per se. Powered kiteloops are smooth and quiet. On one occasion I was riding out at good speed when I had to redirect the kite from one side of the window to the other side to make a 180 and avoid collision with a windsurfer (hey, he was on the wave coming in, so he had priority). The kite zoomed across the window fully loaded without issues and no canopy flapping.
- The back pigtails are effective to change the kite behavior a bit - maybe the back pigtail for improved maneuverability in very low wind. The front pigtail did not seem to increase depower response or change bar pressure by much. I feel that the middle is definitely the sweet spot
- I tried adding 4m extensions, making the lines 26m - not major change overall, especially no improved float (by contrast my Rebels jump much higher and have much more hangtime on 23 vs. 27m lines)

Finally it has a bridle so tiny that it barely qualifies as bridle, that's a big plus for me because I don't see how it can snag, wrap, tangle or cause any issue whatsoever. And no pulleys, another reason why I choose the Carve.

The 2020 Navigator bar is as good as other reviews say - no frills, top quality, great SK99 lines, everything is thought out really well and it works. The only little thing is that North was too cheap to make the left float red color, it's a lighter gray than the right float. Typical case of saving 30c per bar by not switching the dye in the injection molding of the float. On a $400 bar the vendor should not worry about saving 30c. Other minor things; the bungees for wrapping lines do disappear into the floats once in a while, and color coded lines would have been nice in case you need to untangle a rat's nest after self rescue or something. I have seen some reviews saying the depower plastic sheeting can jam in hard turns or kiteloops, that never happened to me, always felt smooth.

p.s. 2021 bar is green and black, that's just ... I don't know what the North designers are thinking. I think only Naish understands that blue is on right and red is on left.
ps 92Kg experienced rider on Shinn Speedball 18w

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windsuks
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Re: North Carve 6m 2020 - real world review

Postby windsuks » Sat Feb 13, 2021 11:06 pm

Great review of a great kite.
I've had the biggest jump I've ever had on a 7m Carve, the glide/hangtime was maybe not so good as other kites but still gave me a big smile.


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