North Launches All-New Wing, Kite, SUP and Surf Foil Collection

North’s all-new 2021 foil collection’s release heralds their evolution beyond kitefoiling into wing, surf and SUP foiling. The new 2021 Reach Performance Freeride kite is lighter than ever, ready to do it all and serves as a timely reminder that freedom is not a place. Finally, the 2021 freestyle collection showcases the Pulse kite, Focus and Flare twin-tip boards and Fix boots – engineered and refined in 2021 for an unrivalled riding experience.  

FOIL COLLECTION  

Run the water. Fly the water. Be the water.   

The 2021 Foil collection premieres the all-new Nova wing, the all-new Seek, Swell, refined Scoop and Sense foilboards, new Free and Free-V foil straps, and new SONAR front wings and Sonar Editions. Each product results from the same attention to detail, quality and simplicity of design synonymous with the North brand.  

SONAR FOILS 

Race-foil design guru George Hradil and former America’s Cup marine engineer, Uli Sommerlatt, have developed a completely new reflexed hydrofoil technology. The all-new reflexed camber line 1500R, 1850R, and 2200R carbon front wings are phenomenal across all disciplines. Not only stable and controllable, but they also have an incredible speed range. They can get going at very low speeds and also enable comfortable high-speed riding.   

Hradil says the reflexed foil section makes the hydrofoil easier to ride: “A reflexed airfoil is concaved downward at the front then the trailing edge is orientated slightly upward. That means this trailing edge doesn’t create any lift at the back of the airfoil. In fact, there’s a localised downforce on the wing’s trailing edge, which acts as a stabilizer would. So, in essence, when you use a reflexed airfoil, it’s like you’ve built a mini-stabilizer into the back edge of the wing.”  

The new High Aspect HA1250 and HA1450 Front Wings are most efficient for wingfoiling, with the highest lift, pumpability and windward performance.     

These, and the smaller Sonar front wings, mix and match within the extensive Sonar Modular Foil System, to which we’ve introduced new CF Carbon Editions and AF Foil Editions specifically designed for higher loads. Each component within the Sonar Foil System is interchangeable and compatible, allowing riders to build their custom quiver specific to any foil discipline.   

Brand Director Mike Raper is frothing over the new high performance range of foiling products:    

“There’s no better feeling than connecting waves or riding lumps. Foiling allows us to transfer energy with incredible efficiency. It’s the transferral of power that feeling of limitlessness. It’s how we ride. And we’re passionate about sharing our learnings as the sport evolves. It’s exciting to be progressing our high-performance designs into new uncharted territory.”    

NOVA   

Legendary North kite designer Pat Goodman draws on aerodynamic principles and 25 years of unparalleled design experience to create a new performance freeride wind wing “lighter, more stable and with more control than anything before”. The all-new Nova is a powerful, balanced wing with a massive range and features an extra-large diameter connection between the leading edge and curved centre strut for stiffness.    

Creating the new Nova, Pat Goodman thought: “How can I apply some kite/windsurf/hang-glider technology into the wing? Of course, each discipline has its own set of performance parameters and behaviours. But the first thing I noticed when I evaluated a lot of the wings on the market was that they had an amazing amount of deflection in the strut while they were riding. Especially when you’d see somebody jumping, they just bent so much.  

“To limit deflection, we’ve built a lot of pretension or pre-twist into the wing so that when it loads up, it locks right into an efficient shape that is powerful, has good drive forward and good upwind performance. The riders’ feedback is unanimously impressive; everyone who hops on the Nova says: ‘Wow, it’s just rock solid. It has more forward drive and upwind performance than anything I’ve ever ridden before,” says Goodman.  

FOILBOARDS   

Master board-shaper Jaimie Scott uncovers breakthroughs in foilboard design for instant touchdown recovery with stable transitions, early take-offs and smooth landings – wind or no wind. The all-new Hybrid Carbon Technology Seek wing/SUP, Swell prone surf and Scoop foilboards have integrated PVC stringers for performance and durability and feature our convenient new DropBox fast foil-mounting system. The new Sense kite/wake foilboard maintains its robust, low volume wood-core construction and fast foil set-up.  

Jaimie Scott recalls the design process behind the Seek and Swell foilboards effortless touchdown recovery: “When designing the hull shape, my goal was to enable as much release as possible, so you won’t slow down if your board touches the surface. As soon as we introduced the crisp edges and the cutaways, it meant you could touch down and then lean it back and come back up. You wouldn’t stick and slow down. For both the Seek and Swell that was a real breakthrough.”  

Mike Raper believes a true heritage of North design aesthetic is coming through with the new Foil Collection. “We created the brief around the highest technology possible balancing the technological experience of America’s Cup naval architect Uli Sommerlatt with the craftsmanship of multi-discipline shaper Jaimie Scott. There are no gimmicks. Just pure, clean design, with maximum simplicity. An elegant, beautiful balance of technology and craftsmanship.”  

FREESTYLE COLLECTION   

On Fire    

2021 Freestyle is a celebration of our riders’ athleticism – the power and grace of movement and relentless dedication to their craft – in a way that sets water and air on fire.  

We’ve introduced a new material to the 2021 Pulse Freestyle Wakestyle kite, which, Pat Goodman says, changes the behaviour of the kite, because it changes the shape of the profiles. “It’s imperative that the canopy where it’s attached to the leading edge can grow uniformly under inflation. Replacing some of the heavier Dacron reinforcements with a new heavy-duty canopy material saves weight. It creates a smoother, more efficient profile entry, which gives you better handling and a more balanced feeling, more drive through the kite loop and a faster recovery. The refinements also improve slack line and pop.”   

The new Focus Freestyle/Wakestyle board has a progressive rocker and squarer flatter outline with a new tip shape to generate ultimate pop for aggressive freestyle moves. The 2021 pulled-in tip shape adds durability.   

The 2021 Flare Wakestyle/Park board features a high wakestyle rocker, PressFlex tips and durable low-friction P-tex base, also with a new pulled-in tip shape.  

The new Fix boots feature a newly extended neoprene flex zone for a greater range of movement – and new streamlined buckles for easier one-handed adjustment. North Director of Engineering Hugh Pinfold says, “Most of our competitors are just using wakeboard boots but ours are lower cut so you can get into a solid kite position/stance for going upwind. This, combined with improved flexibility in the mid-section of the boot, allows you to lean back more and drive upwind or engage a rail.”

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