Officially Announced: North is Rebranding to Duotone

*Emails submitted above are submitted to Duotone, not to MACkiteboarding.com

The Secret Is Out

After 18 years Boards & More is dropping North Kiteboarding and launching their own brand, Duotone. Citing differing views on the future of the brand with North Sails (owned by Oakley Capital), Boards & More has parted ways and will move forward under the newly formed brand Duotone. So what does this mean for you? Hopefully only good things.

Their new website can be found at: www.DuotoneSports.com

Is the gear going to change?

The designs over the years have come from Boards & More designers and employees. Boards & More also owns all of the patents for the North Kiteboarding gear currently sold on the market, meaning the new Duotone kites will be the same North kites you’ve come to know and love. The North Rebel will be the Duotone Rebel, the North Neo the Duotone Neo. Flight characteristics and positioning for these will be identical.

What about my North warranty?

Great news here – North will honor all existing warranties. If the customer signed up for any warranty extension program, an additional six months will be added to the period. Boards & More will continue to facilitate warranties the same way they have under North.

What about the North riders and staff?

At this point, everyone is on board and will continue working under Duotone.

What the heck is up with that name?

According to Boards & More, “Duotone represents authenticity – being true – both in kiteboarding and windsurfing.” Could be worse – Pepsi spent $1 million on a rubbish logo rebrand.

When will we see Duotone?

Duotone will officially launch on August 1, 2018. The Vegas, Rebel, Dice, and Neo will all be at that time, as will boards (as opposed to the staggered releases in years past). The next product push will follow in February (Evo, Juice, Mono).

What does this all mean?

Not all that much. It’s essentially a big rebrand that will hopefully bring more creative freedoms to Boards & More. If you have to have that North name, 2018 is the last year to have that particular branding. Otherwise, your 2019 Duotone Rebel is going to be the same kite that the 2019 North Rebel would have been.

For those that want to learn more, please check out iKitesurf Magazine for the latest interview with Till Erbele, here.