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North Neo 2014

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PoweredbyNorth
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Re: North Neo 2014

Postby PoweredbyNorth » Sat Nov 15, 2014 10:28 am

Hi Dan,

Not sure this post belongs here but it seems most logical. In feb I bought the Neo 2014 6 and 9 and I'm absolutely stoked on them. Last week I bought the new 2015 model, again 6 and 9. Amazing kites. Best I've had from North so far, and I've had them all since 2001, starting with the Rhino. Unfortunately I discovered several pinholes on both the 6 and 9 as a result of chafe from the plastic clip that holds the one pump tube to the LE. I can see wear on both kites on all three spots near the struts on exactly the same place, four of which now show pinholes, the smallest 0,5 mm, the biggest 2 or 3 mm. You can imagine that I was unpleasantly surprised by this.

I have claimed warranty with my dealer yesterday and I'm waiting for a response for North. Meanwhile I'm searching the forums and ran into similar but occasional issues here with the Dice and the Rebel. I understand there were some discussions around the patch near the valve, and also discussions around unprotected hard plastic parts.

I believe I have a very solid example here of a flaw in the design of this kite. Now, I'm sure I can work this out somehow with the dealer/North, but I'm also worried about by new Neo's. I have checked, but it looks like the construction in that area is the same so most likely I will start to see chafe and pinholes after some time on them too. I think I will put some preventive protection patches on them, but actually I would rather that you guys at North would fix this properly.

One more thing, when you watch the clip of the Neo 2015 on the North site you can see that at 1:30 the canopy behind the LE folds inwards due to depowering. The canopy is loose enough to touch the hard plastic clip. Could this be the cause you think?

I'm interesed in your view and advice in this matter. Thanks.

PS: To support my case further I found this video on youtube from a german user
http://youtu.be/LbGGyxWsKcw
DSCN6394.jpg

Er Presidente
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Re: North Neo 2014

Postby Er Presidente » Sun Nov 16, 2014 11:07 pm

@ PoweredByNorth

thanks a lot for your message. it seems definitely an issue. I would hate to put black ripstop tape on the canopy.
Do you think a strip of light neoprene on the plastic yellow valve would do the job?

PoweredbyNorth
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Re: North Neo 2014

Postby PoweredbyNorth » Mon Nov 17, 2014 11:06 am

Er Presidente wrote:@ PoweredByNorth

thanks a lot for your message. it seems definitely an issue. I would hate to put black ripstop tape on the canopy.
Do you think a strip of light neoprene on the plastic yellow valve would do the job?
Hi Er Presidente,

Yes I think that could work although I think neoprene would be heavier than some additional ripstop patches. Personally I think the best solution would be to add the extra patches in the design, just like with the big patch near the onepump valve.

Another solution could be to change the position of the onepump connection on the LE, more away from the canopy, but that possibly has other consequences.

Anyway, the root cause seems to be the unprotected hard plastic part being able to touch the canopy.

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Re: North Neo 2014

Postby unbob » Mon Jul 13, 2015 9:27 pm

PoweredbyNorth wrote:Yes I think that could work although I think neoprene would be heavier than some additional ripstop patches. Personally I think the best solution would be to add the extra patches in the design, just like with the big patch near the onepump valve.

Another solution could be to change the position of the onepump connection on the LE, more away from the canopy, but that possibly has other consequences.

Anyway, the root cause seems to be the unprotected hard plastic part being able to touch the canopy.
Okay, now almost 9 months later, and no additional posts re this problem. So, was it resolved in later 2015 kites? Or not? I just purchased a new 2015 Neo quiver and really need to know if I should take evasive action to prevent this from happening to my kites. Any feedback would be great! Thx, Rob

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Re: North Neo 2014

Postby BigBafana » Tue Jul 14, 2015 8:16 pm

In the same boat, also getting a North Neo 2015 soon. Anybody have any news on the pinhole situation, if it's still an issue or what they've done to protect their kite?

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Re: North Neo 2014

Postby Er Presidente » Wed Jul 15, 2015 12:33 am

I been using extensively the Neo 2015 since end of last year. I have travelled already on couple of long haul flights with the kites packed tight and i had zero issues.
I don't see any additional protection though compared to 2014. I think it all comes down to making sure u don't have too much sand rubbing against the valve/fabric area when packing the kite tight.

Enjoy the kite


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