North Charge
Sizes Available: 5’5” x 18 1/8” x 2 3/16” x 23L, 5’7” x 18 3/8” x 2 1/4” x 24.7L, 5’9” x 18 7/8” x 2 5/16” x 27.1L, 5’11” x 19 3/8” x 2 3/8” x 29.5L
Sizes Tested: 5’5” x 18 1/8” x 2 3/16” x 23L
North Says:
A fast, dedicated surf shape with smooth turning and loads of projection, allowing a powerful vertical attack in down the line waves. Developed for surfing and engineered for kitesurfing, the Charge rides like a high-performance surfboard. Turning hard in the pocket and releasing on demand, it excels in carving, has fantastic upwind drive for onshore riding, and is versatile enough to pop strapless freestyle tricks with ease. The Carbon Innegra Futurelite system maximises strength without losing flex or responsiveness. The full deck grip with front and rear kicks provides exceptional comfort and control. Commit to the wave and have the confidence to charge.
Visit for more info: www.northkb.com/en/products/surfboards/charge-performance-surf
Tkb Says:
The Charge is North’s classic high-performance shape with a narrower template and squash tail that excels in high-quality waves that has seen some small changes for 2021. The Charge comes with FCS 2 fin boxes and three forward/aft insert options for the front foot and three options for the back that are staggered on either side of the stringer for duck. The Charge comes with a ¾ length EVA deck pad that offers a more dense corduroy feel with a raised bump on the pad up front to keep your front foot in place and a solid kick on the tail for your back foot to jam into on heated moves. The construction features North’s carbon and innegra Futurelite which keeps the weight down and the feel both durable and lively. The bottom shape is a single to double concave and the mid-section has been narrowed a bit along with a flatter tail rocker to increase speed.
The first thing we noticed with the board in hand is the kitesurfing 2.0 construction that feels incredibly light for high-performance riders yet durable enough to take the beating that performance riding requires. The Charge has a great feel to it, starting with the first upwind tack to the top of the reef. It felt really efficient in the water when slightly underpowered and charged upwind with really solid tracking on its rail, being noticeably smooth through the chop without much chatter that made the trip to the top of the reef seem faster. Dropping in on the first couple of waves, the single to double concave works great with the nose and new tail rocker that made turns feel easy and intuitive right off the bat with little need for adjustment or compensation to a new board. The board’s outline and rocker cut cleanly through the bumpier sections of the wave and the medium fins gave solid bite while still feeling fast and efficient back to the lip. The fins are high-quality honeycomb construction and seemed to give good traction in the more intense turns, but also capable for breaking loose in the lip on command. Sometimes switching up testing equipment can be hard but it seemed super stable on the bottom turn and then drove to the top turn with clean snaps in the lip every time with minimal effort for executing tight pivoting turns. The board snaps around really quick with the right pressure on the tail. The tail rocker still works great for load and pop on strapless airs and transitions for those riders that combine A-frame waves with some aerial and freestyle. The lightweight construction helps keep the board glued to your feet on bigger airs. All around, the Charge gains high points for its speed and user-friendly carving and feel that is ready to push boundaries in shoulder to head high plus waves.
