North navigator control bar

[windsuks]

I use both Ozone and North bars and both are excellent however the North is my favourite though, the bar is super comfy even after hours on the water, simple RED port side, and both depower and safety are inside the PU tube so no safety line to constantly watch for wear.

[Ben505]

I use both Ozone and North bars and both are excellent however the North is my favourite though, the bar is super comfy even after hours on the water, simple RED port side, and both depower and safety are inside the PU tube so no safety line to constantly watch for wear.

That sounds good. How do you feel about the bar material of North? I am thinking to go and have a look at shop, not sure if they let me demo one.

[windsuks]

I use both Ozone and North bars and both are excellent however the North is my favourite though, the bar is super comfy even after hours on the water, simple RED port side, and both depower and safety are inside the PU tube so no safety line to constantly watch for wear.

That sounds good. How do you feel about the bar material of North? I am thinking to go and have a look at shop, not sure if they let me demo one.

I think for me personally, it's one of... if not the best material I've used on any bar and so far it seems very durable too.

[luca]

I have used my navigator bar for around 25 strong wind sessions now.
Very comfortable und there are no signs of using the bar. Very good until now. My Fone Bars had the first signs of using after the 5th session lately.

[heemskn]

After riding home-made "frankenbars" for many years I recently upgraded to a North Navigator and a Duotone Clickbar. I use the narrow navigator in the wide setting on 13 and 11 Cabrinha drifters and the (very) narrow Clickbar on my 9m Wave and 7m SST. I only ride strapless surfboards in the waves with a rope slider harness and never unhook.

Compared to my homebrew bars both the navigator and clickbar are big and heavy and cluncky. But the navigator more so than the click bar. The center line is just a bit too thick and the QR is just a bit too cluncky. The click-in QR of the Navigator is great though, the QR of the Click bar requires 3 hands to put together after releasing!

The lines of the Navigator are great, the lines on the Clickbar are crappy and will probably only last a season.
Depower is very different on both bars but works OK on both. Waiting to see how they will hold up over time with some wear.
The elastic line winder cords on the Navigator are a pain, the little tabs get pulled into the floats. Can be easily fixed by replacing the tab with a mall stopper ball from WestMarine though.

Worst thing about the Navigator is that the bar throw is only 18 inches. This is probably OK for general use, but not enough for serious wave riding. If I am properly trimmed for a powered-up bottom turn, I am frequently hitting the upper stopper ball when I sheet out while coming down the wave. And I don't have unusually long arms. All my other bars, including the Click bar have 22 to 24 inches of depower, and I never hit the stopper ball on those. Overall I would not buy the Navigator if you use a lot of depower throw or plan on using the bar in the waves.

[biasbilt]

Having just bought a Navigator bar, after some detailed research. My observations are:
One handed reload of the safety loop - fast and safe. Every kite manufacturer needs to go to this type of system
Interchangeable chicken loops for different styles or small for the wife so can reach more easily
Easy to change bar length and as the steering line adjuster knots are under the foam covers, you don't need to worry about the tails getting caught when pushing the platic plugs back in
Foam handle is nice and grippy with a different profile for palm side versus finger side
Pigtails can be swapped between main and steering lines in seconds to allow use on different kites with different knots/loops configurations.
Main pigtails are coloured so you can always put them on so the depower pull loop faces towards you rather than guessing or separating out the main lines every time
The end of bars is a nice soft foam, good for stopping black eyes when headbutting your own bar
Red and green steering line covers for easy port/starboard identification
When winding the lines, the 'jaws' on the bar end are deep enough to hold the line in rather than slipping off and the bungees pull out easily
Easy to unspin the front lines

Other contenders with one hand reload -
Ozone, but still not adjustable
Eleveight, but less available, can't comment on interchangeable pig tails

Overall, first use was very good and coming from an engineering background, the simplicity of design is very good. As the key point of contact, the bar is very important to me, and I'll be getting another for the missus!

[Youtch]

Have you also observed shorter throw as commented above compared to other bars in the market?

[windsuks]

Have you also observed shorter throw as commented above compared to other bars in the market?

It's weird as I've had more people comment on the throw being long, not short!?
It seems you can't win

[Youtch]

Well 18 inches is quite short, compared to the rest of the market, i looked at my old bar and it is 24 inches also.

I m under the impression that they design it for north kites bridal system where the designer wanted a short throw of depower

[luca]

I am not feeling the throw is too short.
It is for example the same like F-One.
Especially for the North Kites you don’t need a longer throw and the other point is, if you make it longer many people are not able to reach the adjuster. For example for my girl. And she is using the small North Loop.