starts with the usual hype - best kite the reviewer has ever tested etc etc, but then we get:
At the top of the wind range and when the kite is fully loaded against the edge, we found it a little too easy to over depower the kite slackening the rear lines which in turn causes the wingtips to become unstable. Adding more air pressure when inflating the kite, especially in the small sizes, helped a little, but this is a kite that likes to have backline tension at all times to stay stable in the air.
Ouch. Unstable top end on a big air kite. No thank you. I don't want any kite shenanygans when I'm edging through a gusty squall.
This review reminds me of the Waroo version 1 - it likes back line tension otherwise those wing tips flap around.
Anyone tried the Orbit? iksurfmag got it all wrong?
I had the opportunity to try this kite at AWSI in Hood River this past week. Maybe I had set my expectations too high, but I was expecting a rock solid boosting kite like the Cabrinha Switchblade or Duotone Rebel. Instead I experienced a kite with very light bar pressure and an unstable feel in the unruly Gorge winds. The kite did loop quickly though... Most of the feedback on the beach was that the new North kites have a tendency to backstall in the lulls and have stability issues in the gusts, the wave kite they have was nearly un-flyable. The freestyle kite they would not even let people test... There was a youtube video of these flying characteristics shown at a demo in the UK, but it appears it has been deleted.
These users thanked the author PNWKiter for the post (total 2):
The designer from cabrinha probably had his designs compromised because they didn't want them too much like his last designs for Cab.....just saying compromise usually leads to mediocrity.... just a hunch..
The designer from cabrinha probably had his designs compromised because they didn't want them too much like his last designs for Cab.....just saying compromise usually leads to mediocrity.... just a hunch..
This link was posted in another thread: Pat Goodman ex Cab designer talks about the designs. Sounds like he is pushing each design to the max.
It's amazing that Jesse Richman did so well on a kite that he'd only flown for a week. I bet he's gutted he couldn't ride a Torch.
imho, duotone is looking like the smart one here and new north kind of reaching. the north brand is obviously recognizable and full of past glory, (built on duotone's, aka boards & more, hard work in the past, but now north seems like a ghost of its former self.
The designer from cabrinha probably had his designs compromised because they didn't want them too much like his last designs for Cab.....just saying compromise usually leads to mediocrity.... just a hunch..
Couldn´t you just as well said they now got the opportunity to get rid of flaws in the old design by starting fresh? Always a balance between how far you can improve on an old design vs. the uncertainty of building something completely new.
I would say that is more likely when designing something that you come up with something better. Especially when you got the experience these guys got. If it is a kite, car or whatever - even if the first version often needs tweaking. No pulleys for example could become rather interesting.
imho, duotone is looking like the smart one here and new north kind of reaching. the north brand is obviously recognizable and full of past glory, (built on duotone's, aka boards & more, hard work in the past, but now north seems like a ghost of its former self.
Based on this review? North is not trying to be its former self - isn´t that the point?
The designer from cabrinha probably had his designs compromised because they didn't want them too much like his last designs for Cab.....just saying compromise usually leads to mediocrity.... just a hunch..
This link was posted in another thread: Pat Goodman ex Cab designer talks about the designs. Sounds like he is pushing each design to the max.
It's amazing that Jesse Richman did so well on a kite that he'd only flown for a week. I bet he's gutted he couldn't ride a Torch.
20:03 no interview is complete without the obligatory mini deathloop and hot launch in the background
Last edited by sarc on Fri Aug 23, 2019 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
