Tkb Review: 2022 NORTH Atmos

Sizes Available: 133×39, 136×40, 138×41, 141×42, 144x43cm
Sizes Tested: 141x42cm

North Says:

A dynamic ride with powerful upwind abilities, precise edge control, rapid response and explosive pop. Reach earth’s atmosphere with the Atmos Carbon, our premier high-performance Freeride board for mega-boosting, looping and controlled landings.

The Atmos Carbon has been master-crafted by our skilled engineers, who have carefully positioned the full carbon laminate layup to provide balanced torsional stiffness and flex. The harmony created between outline, rocker and flex makes this the ultimate all-terrain board. Designed to ride overpowered with ease and control, yet still enabling early planing and low-end performance. Winner of the Highest Trick Score by Nick Jacobsen, and the Biggest Air by Marc Jacobs at the 2020 Red Bull King of the Air.

Visit for more info: www.northkb.com/en/products/twintips/atmos-carbon-big-air-freeride

TKB Says:

The Atmos Carbon has a carefully orchestrated blend of performance characteristics that give you both user-friendly and comfortable control along with a high-performance edge that allows you to confidently push the boundaries of your freeride game. Lightweight in your hand, but tough enough to handle aggressive riding, the Atmos is a slick piece of engineering that will maximize the amount of fun you have on the water and help you push every aspect of your freeride game.

This board features a Paulownia core wrapped with a carbon weave that yields a super light result that balances stiffness and impulse absorption for a performance-oriented ride that still feels comfortable. The bottom shape of the Atmos is a single concave with subtle quad channeling into the tips. The Atmos came with smaller sized 10mm composite fins and a drilled out deck handle one of the many details that help make this board one of the lighter decks of the test.

One of the first qualities we noticed about the Atmos Carbon was how easy it was to control its upwind riding. Once you put the Atmos on edge, it honed in on a fairly wide groove that comfortably tracked upwind. Despite the smaller size fins, on edge, it felt locked in on a set of rails with fast and efficient board speed that made upwind riding feel effortless. The template is subtlety pulled in toward the tips and this helps to slice through the chop while eliminating any tip spray. We found that once you locked into an upwind tack the Atmos gave us the confidence to pour on the power and make quick work of the upwind legs.

The smaller size 10mm fins allow the Atmos to feel a little more skatey and forgiving when it’s not on edge which makes for fun carving and easy transitions. You can slash waves, release the tail when you want, slide the nose around easily on basic transitions or land tricks blind without having to fight the unwanted grip. Carving in the waves and slashing lips is really fun as the board’s template allows for smooth rail to rail transitions between carves and offers a fast and playful ride that encourages you to get creative.

When it comes to jumping, the Atmos really stands out with its fast board speed and precision control that allows you to enter jumps with power and confidence. The Atmos’ flex falls on the slightly stiffer side with just enough resistance to allow you to build up a ton of power in your load and pop for really big airs. Once in the air, you can feel the advantages of the lightweight chassis; the board stays easily connected to your feet on launch and feels extra nimble through rotations and board-offs. Board weight is a huge factor in big air and the Atmos feels like an extension of your body rather than a piece of equipment that requires attention to keep your feet glued to it. When it comes to landings the Atmos’ quad concave softens re-entry and the flex pattern lets it handle harder hits without deforming and making it harder to ride away clean.

Overall, the Atmos scored high points for its user-friendly handling and easy upwind ability and when coupled with its performance-oriented flex, rocker and channeling, it offers some technical qualities for riders that are pushing their performance boundaries. When you combine the nice light carbon weight with the sweet spot balance between precision control and user-friendly handling you get a board that can mow the lawn with style, but will be more than ready to deliver performance when you start to throw bigger tricks.

Pads and Straps
The Atmos came with North’s Flex bindings which deliver comfort and adjustment while keeping the bulk and weight down on this super slick design. The Flex bindings comes in two sizes; for those with shoe size US 9 or larger there’s a medium/large option and for size US 9 and smaller there’s the small/medium. The bindings have a low-profile footpad that employs triple density EVA that feels fairly firm with a ton of little ridges to grip your foot and keep it locked into place. The ridges are orientated to lock your foot in both forward and aft and side to side on the edges with subtle cupping along the heel and a firm toe bump to keep your foot in place during the most aggressive riding. The strap has two Velcro adjustments on the inboard side of your foot for adjusting strap tension, with adjustability split into two separate zones that allow you to really get the right fit over the different parts of your foot. The strap mounts can be moved forward and aft to adjust the position of the strap, and you can do this without removing the binding from the board. Overall, the Flex binding does a great job of keeping your foot glued into the strap with a plush footbed that falls on the denser side and allows you to have an excellent command over the board. The Knitflex material under the strap is insanely comfortable and the dual zone adjustment allows you to get the perfect tension with intuitive readjustment that is easily done on the fly. With comfort, adjustability and a slick design, this strap earned high praise from the test team.

Visit for more info: www.northkb.com/en/riderstyles/big-air/flex-bindings