North Vegas 10 (2004)
North Kiteboarding has just announced the North Vegas kite, the new medium-high aspect kite from the North stable. The Vegas, like the high aspect Rhino, is aimed at medium to advanced riders, while the North Toro is aimed at beginners and entry level riders.
The kite comes with the North Sceptor bar, which is curved slightly backwards, has a good quick release mechanism and has elastic bands to keep your lines from tangling. The lines on the bar are slightly coated which prevents the lines from sticking to each other when doing multiple spins.
In 2002 North set the benchmark for durability and performance with the North Rhino. Last year they followed up with a new Rhino II, but unfortunately they made it too powerful for anyone lighter than 90 kg's. The 2003 Rhino was a tractor whith one forward gear and no brakes - it was simply too powerful.
This year North is back with a new range of kites that is more manageable and less powerful.
Olaf warned me to put the kite on the slower setting as the kite is extremely fast, but I was adamant to have it on the fastest setting. I later regretted putting the kite on the fast setting as this kite is definitely the first kite I ever flew that is too fast for me. One has to get used to the speed and power of this kite before riding it on the fast setting.
The first thing I noticed when I water-started with the kite is just how quickly the kite moved, and how much power was generated just by a normal but fast dive - enough to lift me and send me downwind. The kite is telling me that it's ready for action, it's got plenty of power on tap. It's telling me that it wants to go faster. It's like an open top sports car you race through narrow streets. Over the first wave I send the kite back hard for some airtime, and on the way down I dive the kite like I usually do with my X2. I was suddenly presented with the amount of power one usually experience when you do kiteloops - and I hit the water with more power and speed than I can handle. It's like the kite is looking down at me and laughing at me, challenging me.
One quickly finds out that doing simple things such as doing a waterstart or jumping requires a very precise technique. If one looks at how the kite is designed and flies, you will easily understand why. This kite doesn't flop or jellyfish - it sits solid in the sky - the shape of the kite doesn't change through gusts or lulls and one always has strong pull on the lines.
To jump and land smoothly with this kite takes just the right amount of downstroke on your landings - too much and you will definitely get nailed hard, and too little and you won't ride the jump out at all. The same applies for any other movement with the kite - be it a kiteloop or a downstroke on a waterstart. The gap between where to put the kite and where not to put the kite for a maneuver has narrowed drastically with this kite. This kite is a formula one racing car.
My time on the water was spent testing new boundaries, and experimenting by flying the kite through different parts of the window. I was amazed by the smooth delivery throughout the window - transitions can be done so easily as you have so much consistent power all the way through - doing jump transitions felt easier as I had the power on tap to land the other way with speed and power.
In 2003 North brought us kites with too much power in the wrong places. The 2004 kites has the same power and possibly even more in places, but this year the power is in the right place, and you are able to control it with absolute precision and turn it off if need be. At 70 kg's I'm considered a light rider but I had no problem controlling the kite or cutting the power off.
This kite sets a new standard for kites in 2004, hands down. It redefines the way we think about kiteboarding, and what is possible on kites. Kiteboarding is about taking incredible amounts of power and directing it into controlled movement and direction. This kite delivers with a lot of power, but it also gives you the precise flying characteristics to put the kite exactly where you want it and when you want it. Which is why, if you move the kite too fast and too far you will get punished, even by doing the simplest of maneuvers, but put the kite at the right place at the right time and a whole new world of kiteboarding will be possible with this kite.
While some other brands chose to hit the market by flooding people with marketing brochures and fancy jargon, they disappointed with actual performance. North chose a different route as usual, they didn't make a lot of noise or say much, they chose to deliver the goods instead and only said what was needed. This kite is truly different from other kites in the way that it flies, handles and performs. The statement that all kites are more or less the same can no longer be made. For the second time in three years, North has set benchmarks with their kites. Well done to Ken Winner and his team.
When I came off the water with the kite I was shaking with exhilaration and adrenaline. It's like I just drove a sports car through narrow streets and corners way faster than I should have. My heart was still racing, and I was smiling with satisfaction. This kite has challenged me and gave me a very immediate idea of what areas I need to improve my skill on. On the way to the car I ran into an Italian friend who had just traded all his kites from another brand for the new North kites, and he told me that he has learnt more on the North kites in three days than he had done in four months on any other kite. I just smiled and looked the other way, I knew exactly what he's talking about after spending some time on the water with the North Vegas...
To buy north kites in South Africa, contact Olaf Marting from Kitesurfing Africa on +27 83 492 8755 or olaf@kitesurfing-africa.com