North Neo 2014

[hced]

Never tried the Neo 5 but fly my 4m2 Neo 2014 in anything above 25 knots. In fact my Neo 4 and Dice 6 can be flown in the same conditions but the Neo obviously is more comfortable at 40+

Thx for input, 22 or 24 m lines?

[silversurfer_no]

Only use 22m but then again hardly fly bigger than 7. Occasionally a 9m Dice.
Current setup:

3,5 Best Kahoona (old but works)
4 Neo
6 Dice
7 Neo
9 Dice

2 x 22m bars
1 x 24m bar

A little overlap but share the quiver with my wife who generally uses one size smaller than me.

[mr moon]

interesting hearing that despite the mr 5 vs mr 4 line video, and all the safety policy behind the 5th element bar North admits that both their wave dedicated kites Neo and Dice fly better on 4 lines
I fly and love the Rebels but I'm now looking for some wave dedicated faster kites (size 9 and 11 or 12) thought to give it a try to the Neo but as it supposedly flies better on 4 lines, I'm no longer sure about it
I'm not worried about the 5th line wrapping thing, and safety comes first for me so I only fly 5 lines.
Dan yr input would be much appreciated, cheers.

[celtic60]

Any ideas in when we can expect the 2015 Neo to be launched this year?

[Dan-at-Duotone]

Mr. Moon:

As far as the safety of 4 vs 5 line systems, we stand by the fact that our 5-line safety system is the safest system on the market. That's the main point of that video. This is why all of our kites for at least the last eight years have had a 5th line option. At the same time, we are aware that there is a large number of consumers who, for whatever reason, would prefer a 4-line kite. This is why we offer many 4-line compatible kites and a 4-line bar. For those for whom safety is paramount we recommend flying these 4-line kites on our 5-line bar.

For the most part, our 4-line kites fly identically on our 4- and 5-line bars. We noticed when testing the Dice that the particular design of the front bridle caused the kite to fly slightly differently on our 4 vs our 5-line bar, due to the differing height of the "Y" on the bars. While a few people told me they preferred the way it rode on 5-lines, most people seemed to have a slight preference for the way it flew on our 4-line bar. In truth the difference was not huge.

As far as flying the Neo on 5 lines, Ken Winner, the designer of the 2014 and upcoming 2015 Neo tells me that "The difference in feel between 4 and 5 lines is pretty minor on the Neo". Ken is extremely sensitive to any compromise in feel or performance, like a supertaster for kites, so I take this to mean that the average discerning kiter will not notice a difference in how the Neos fly on our 4- vs. on our 5-line bar. However I do not have any personal or direct customer feedback on this.

Though I personally generally ride our 4-line kites on 4-line bars, If I were heading out in any sort of sketchy conditions on a Neo I would probably choose to ride it on the 5-line setup for the added safety.
If you get a chance to test the Neo on 4 vs 5 lines, please report back here so we can all hear your thoughts.

Celtic60- Looks like the 2015 Neo should be released sometime in mid/late October.

-Dan

[mr moon]

Hi Dan, thanks for explaining
When you say 'difference in the way it fles' (4 vs 5 line bar) what exactly do you (or Ken) mean in regards to the Neo?
I also used to fly 4 lines kites in waves and like most wave riders I would have never taken a 5 line kite in the surf for the principle that the less are the lines the less can go wrong and to be able to easily relaunch and fly a 4 line inverted kite. I had to change my opinion after a nasty accident where I nearly died after a death loop, that on a 5 line would have never happened. Since then I decided never to fly a 4 line kite again, regardless. So I now find myself to be a 5-line wave rider hopefully not the only one!
It seems very hard to find some sort of feedbacks from kiters flying NEOs on the 5th element bar..

[Er Presidente]

@ Dan

Dan thanks a lot for the precious info as always.
Since the 2015 has single line flagging safety, can we use 2015 bars onto 2014 kites?
I need a Neo for an upcoming trip, but the October release for the Neo 2015 will be too late for me.
Would you mind asking ken if the 2015 bar on a Neo 2014 guarantees the same safety designed for 2015 Neo? Isn't the 2015 bridle different to accommodate single line flagging?
Thanks a lot

[stephduche]

are the bridles with or without pulleys?

[Don Lester]

In talking to Ken, the difference in the 2015 Neo bridle has little to do with the safety, that comes solely from the new bar. The difference in the new bridle is to give the rider the option for more or less depower.

And remember guys, there's a big difference between a LOADED 5th line kite i.e. Rebel, Vegas and a 4-line kite flown with a 5th line for safety i.e. Neo, Dice, Evo. If you're on a 4-line kite with a 5th line safety and you wrap the 5th line........... you can cut it with your hook knife and relaunch the kite and continue flying back to the beach. A loaded 5th line kite will not relaunch and fly without the 5th line.

So a 4-line kite with a 5th line safety gives you the advantage of both.......the ultimate safety, without worrying about wrapping and the simpleness of a 4-line kite.

[Er Presidente]

@ Dan

Dan thanks for your answer but that sounds quite suspicious.
In designing a bridle a single or double flagging system will imply certain design changes. That's why all around the forum I am reading ppl advising against combining single flag bar with double flag bridles kites and viceversa.

Including some of yor earlier comments where you stated that in the post North was reluctant to adopt a single flag system because the kite could have spun without control.
Hence in my view the limitation came more from a bridle design constraint, rather than the bar itself.

Sorry to stress the point but I recently had to sell a brand new kite with double flagging safety system because I was very unhappy with the depower when QR was activated. And this has prevented me to buy 4 lines North kites (I been buying Rebels for the past 2-3yrs).

I don't think is possible to simply change a bar to make a double like flag safety designer bridle kite flagging on a single line.

Please correct me if I am wrong and I thank you in advance for the clarification