​North Flare Kiteboard Review

The North Flare is a wakestyle / parkstyle board. It's made for kiteboarders who are looking to ride powered, do unhooked tricks and grind things. In spite of the fact that wakestyle is pretty underground right now, I wanted to do a review on this board. I've used almost every wakestyle board to date, so I have a good idea where this one stacks up behind the kite and in the cable park.

Performance

My first impression is the simplicity of the design. The board has a good outline for speed and it has mild channeling, which is perfect for keeping an edge without being so aggressive you would worry about a hang-up on a feature or something. The colors are great and it looks like the board designer did their homework. All that said, there are things I loved and things I would change.

First impressions: the Flare works well as a freestyle board. It's actually fast compared to my Slingshot Refraction. For perspective, I use a 147 Refraction and my demo Flare was a 143. The Flare was more efficient. I found it easier to load my lines and popping took less effort with the Flare. The Refraction requires more of a scoop to engage the channeling on the tip and tail, or fins if you are using them. On the 147, I find you have to use more energy and load the tail up by shifting weight behind your hip more so than simply digging your heel.

The landings are soft as well. I found the Refraction to be more forgiving on the knees, while the Airush Live Wire has more pop than both, but the landings can be rough sometimes.

Park Riding and Cable

I've used the Flare most of the winter as my main cable board to get a good feel for it. There are things I liked and didn't like. Most notably was the size I was demoing. At 180, a 143 is awesome for freestyle, but on rails I much prefer a 147. It's more surface area to slide and easier to lock in a press. I also find it easier to soften up hard kicker landings when I have more tail to touch down with.

Feel on the Water / in the Park

Sizing aside, the Flare comes with mild channeling that will not get in the way or lock up on a rail. The landings feel controlled and purposeful. In contrast, my Refraction was more playful so I had to ensure I engaged the channels on the tail for control. On the features, initially I found the Flare to be stickier and slower than I'm used to. This is a pro or a con, depending on who you ask. Coming from a board with next to nothing on the bottom and a slick base with concave, this was foreign to me. Over a few sessions, I learned to adapt. Mostly I had to bring more speed and power into features to keep the bar close to my hips.

On that note, like all kiteboards, the 2021 North Flare is quite fast in the park. It was manageable and I never felt out of control. Granted, I have committed to using my kiteboard in the park for 2 years now.

Other Notes

The Flex is still quite stiff; it took some energy to do butters or get the board to flex out on the water. On the kite, this was a near-perfect balance. In the cable park, I felt the board could use a little extra technology that I've become accustomed to like flex tips. This is where the board is stiff underfoot but has some give in the tip and tail. My Refraction actually locks in on a press. It's super nice.

In Summary

The Flare is, in my opinion, a more freestyle-oriented park board that works well enough in the park. True to North's no-frills design, there are no extra features like flex tips to help cross the need for freestyle stiffness with parkstyle flex.

Ryan (Rygo) Goloversic

Many people dream of quitting their job, traveling the world and pursuing their passions. Rygo is one of those people who pulled the trigger. A few years into his career, he decided to change everything and travel as a kiteboarder, freelance videographer & writer. His mission is to share the stoke & help people put the boarding into their kiteboarding. Get outside and kite!

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