North Neo 2014

[stefarius]

@peterheirman
Yes it's a wave kite for Nord European conditions. But test it, it's stronger, more compact, direct feel.

We made a head tot head test between the EVO vs NEO 2014.
This was our short conclusion:
This year's Neo has been upgraded to be a more compact and powerful sheet & go kite. It has good surf characteristics, specialy in it's low-end. The Evo is a performance wing that likes the high end spectrum of the wind. It will generate a lot of lift and float with more wind.

See the the total review on http://kitefinder.blogspot.com

[Dan-at-Duotone]

Westozzy-

Complete extrapolation... Again, I'm not much of a jumper, but I did try jumping that Neo a lot because the hangtime and the kite's response was so crazy... I found it enjoyable but I would say it's not sporty and I'm not sure if it would be the kite for riders looking to boost. I did catch what may have been the biggest air of my life on that kite, but I would definitely blame a good gust on an extremely gusty day. On the downside, I looped the kite at the top of that jump and I just couldn't get it to climb back up to 12:00... The kite wants to sit really deep and hang back... it does not want to get to the edge of the window. It's crazy and fun to jump with but my guess as a guy who doesn't have experience with old-school air is that it would not be the best kite for it. I don't think you'll get nearly as high or go up as quickly. Fun, relaxed, floaty air? yes. Sporty huge explosive air with responsiveness in the sky and kiteloop friendly? No. But I really would like to see more user reviews before I say anything for certain.

Windfreak: As to the whole lineup... I think this requires a whole new topic and I will try to put something together soon, but in the meantime, to make it short, the Neo has the most grunt but the least high-end of our kites. The Dice has much more high end and lacks a little on the low end. the Evo probably falls in the middle. For freeride, hooked in, strapped jumping, the Evo will probably be the best, the Dice in the middle, the Neo at the bottom. For waves in almost all respects the Neo will be on top, the Dice in the middle, and though the Evo does decently well in the waves, it doesn't compete with the Dice and Neo as a dedicated wave kite. It tends to get to the edge of the window too quickly and with its 5 struts it just doesn't drift as well as the other two.

Hope that helps.

[Westozzy]

Thanks dan I'm not looking for old school air time, more some controlled hang time to bring back the board offs into my repertoire again. Ridden the rebels and edges I know what big air looks and feels like, but you gotta keep good bar and kite placement control in the air. Been looking for a more stable wing...the 12m dice lit is pretty close though.

Although I think I need another demo or two on the Evo maybe, the only thing is, we found a big barrier or limitation in the waves once pushed a bit. For basic prancing around yeh the Evo works in the waves, but nothing like the dice, nor the old neo and it seems the new neo.

Just can't have it all can ya....lol!!!

Yeh I figured the neo wouldn't loop as well, that wing sniffs a bit of delta origins, not enough C in it. Dice accelerates around like a bloody ripper!!!

[magnusod]

@peterheirman
Yes it's a wave kite for Nord European conditions. But test it, it's stronger, more compact, direct feel.

We made a head tot head test between the EVO vs NEO 2014.
This was our short conclusion:
This year's Neo has been upgraded to be a more compact and powerful sheet & go kite. It has good surf characteristics, specialy in it's low-end. The Evo is a performance wing that likes the high end spectrum of the wind. It will generate a lot of lift and float with more wind.

See the the total review on http://kitefinder.blogspot.com

Thanks for the review. Seems like there are tons of power. The main drawback seems to be the upwind performance. Not uncommon on kites that sits further back in the window. Is it only in comparison with the Evo that it lacks in going upwind or is it a general impression that the upwind performance is quite poor with the strong pull further back in the window?

[stefarius]

@magnusod

It's is a comparison with the Evo. I would say that the up wind performance is average in normal wind.
In it's high end you have to work harder to go up wind because of it's generated power. In it's low end the Neo is pretty easy, fast steering and power while steering.

[robclaisse]

I've had the chance to fly the NEO 9 & 7 over the past 3 weeks (4 line shorter bar, 22m lines), so thought I'd give you a few of my thoughts. (I'm not personally sponsored by North but they have lend me the kites to use in the series of wave riding instructional videos that I am currently making, of which they are supporting).

I'm 102kg (225lbs) and riding a 6'2" North Pro Series surfboard (awesome board!). I;m out in Cape Town so the wind here is particular strong and punchy, so worth bearing mind. I also flew Rebels for the past two years (11/9/7/5).

I've only really used the 9m in light onshore conditions, probably 12-15 knots. For me this would normally be an underwhelming session on a 11m Rebel but I can honestly say I had some really fun session on the 9m Neo. Its bottom end is incredible, I was probably the heaviest guy on the water but compared to other guys on 9/10m/surfboards, I was able to get going and park the kite and charge upwind whilst others were having to fly the kite constantly. The kite turns really well, in such light wind and it never back stalled or lose responsiveness (something I've found with Rebel on the low end). For me this can easily be my biggest kite and I think it will be really fun in light cross-shore down the line weather.

I've used the 7m several times in a variety of conditions - cross/cross-on 20-30 knots with waist to overhead high waves. This kite took me a little longer to get used too as I was so used to the feel of my rebels and this is a very different kite. With the rebel I would generally be sheeting the kite in a lot to maintain power/trim & keep the kite responsive to turn - doing this instinctively on the Neo was not such a great idea as it just generated way too my much pull. But once I got comfortable with allow the kite to be sheeted out (where it will still steer well) I really started to like the kite. It drifts incredibly well, again like the 9m I couldn't get it to stall - coming out of a backside turn the lines would go completely lack and the kite would just sit there nicely and casually drift back in to position. Its definitely helped me to start surfing the wave more rather than relying on the power of the kite to pull me out of my turns.

The hardness thing to get used too was going out on smaller kites than normal, for a big guy going out on a 7m when others who are obviously 30-40kg lighter than you are riding bigger kites is kind of strange. But its just a change of mindset and actually works great as you get a small kite that turns better - we all want to be a smaller kite for wave riding so this works well.

The downsides to the kites are that it feels like the wind range of the kite is slightly smaller than say the Rebel, but then the rebel has always had a particularly big wind range and great top end. When your powered up they definitely don't go upwind quite as well as the rebel, but again the Rebel is probably one of the best kites for cracking up wind on a surfboard. They aren't terrible upwind just not exception. And less of a downside but more something to get used too - these kites do generate some serious power, if you sheet them in quickly. This can catch you out so you need to be gentle with the bar sometimes but I've also found it to be amazing when you need some power to get you out of tricky situation or when you stuck on the inside and the wind is light and flukey.

Overall, I was not sure about the kites when I first used them but after a few sessions, I now don't want to use my Rebels and am excited about how the Neo's are helping me to improve my wave riding.

[stefarius]

@robclaisse

Would you use the smaller sizes for lessons? Did you tried the 6m Neo?

[robclaisse]

I haven't used the 6m but my guess would be a quiver of kites for me would be 9/7/6/5 to over me for most conditions. They pack really small so I think these 4 kites will take up about the same amount of space/weight as my 4 Rebels, maybe less.

As far as for teaching goes, I'm not really in a good person to ask as I don't have much to compare it too as I've never worked in a school or as an instructor.

[stefarius]

@robclaisse

Thanks, for your honest answer!

[windfreak]

Thanks Dan and all of you guys for your extrapolations and reviews...Like westozzz said you can t have it all ! It was different in 2005 when we only could use a c kite with noooo depower to ride in every conditions