2022 North Reach, Is This Your Do-It-All Kite?

The North Reach is the do-it-all kite from North's range. Now, considering that almost all kitesurfing kites, to a fault, are do-it-all these days, what does that even mean? It means the 2022 North Reach is balanced perfectly for all disciplines while other kiteboarding kites tend to favor a specific niche.

The Reach is a bit lighter than, say, the North Orbit, which was built for extreme and overpowered conditions. Now this doesn't mean the Reach isn't durable. It means it's been optimized for standard conditions, and the lighter weight helps with surf and foil scenarios as well as light wind. This is notable for the drift required while kitesurfing a wave or hydrofoiling. The light weight also means a quicker, more intuitive one-handed response, needed for entry-level and high-level maneuvers.

What's new for the 2022 North Reach?

For the new model, North has lightened the bladders to reduce the weight of the kite. For most of us at the shop, this is our favorite kite in the North Kiteboarding range.

Exciting, versatile, and a perfect wind range, this really is a prime choice.

If you're an aspiring big air rider, the Reach has the loft and the looping ability to take your riding to another level. If you're a wave guru or foil fanatic who doesn't want to limit themselves with a foil or wave-specific kite, the Reach is the right balance to keep you happy on a twintip or the foil.

If you are a freestyle rider, the Reach yet again surprises us by hanging with the crossover kites. It really is a versatile and well-designed shape.

In Summary

What really makes the 2022 North Reach shine for us is the ease-of-use and the wind range. For example, the Orbit is an amazing big air kite, but it has its drawbacks in light wind. Simply put, that kite is made to be used slightly overpowered. The Reach rocks upwind and doesn't ask much from the rider, meaning you're more likely to have a good session with a forgiving kite. It's something that jumps easily, has decent loft, loops amazing and meets all disciplines right in the middle. Obviously, in contrast to a specialty kite that only excels in one discipline, the Reach is a bit behind, but what is amazing is how good it actually is at everything. For us this is a perfect 90 percent kite, meaning it is the right fit for 90 percent of riders.

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