Latest News, Blog & Videos
Kitesurf Control Bar Review | North Navigator Pro / Duotone Trust / Core Sensor 3 Pro
Jason is an excellent reviewer of kiteboarding gear, limited only by what he's able to get his hands on in New Zealand. He and MACkite have teamed up to get more gear in his hands, so hopefully you'll be able to enjoy even more of these in-depth reviews in the near future.
Today Jason is talking about the North Navigator Pro control bar but, as is true of any of us, his perception of it is going to be influenced by what he's ridden in the past. So a little backstory will help bring
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29th Apr 2024
Cheers to Pat - Thanks for All the Sessions
After bringing the MACkite crew and customers the boardsports stoke for 10 years, Pat is moving on join the North/Mystic team. Thanks for everything, Pat, and cheers to your new adventure! Check out the video to see just some of the reasons we love Pat! He'll put a smile on your face just like he has ours.
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12th Feb 2024
2024 North Navigator Short Throw Kite Control Bar | On-Water Review
Kristen Cooper is back with a look at a new offering from North that shorter riders, women, and kids may find interesting, if not long overdue. The 2024 North Navigator Short Throw bar is out, and Kristen has had a chance to ride it in the Florida Keys. If you have ever had trouble reaching the bar when it's fully sheeted out, this may be worth a look.Who's It For?
In addition to shorter riders, it's also a nice bar for beginners. It can be frustrating and even intimidating to have
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29th Jan 2024
2024 North Sonar Foil System Overview with Ryan and Matt
Ryan Hooker from MACkite and Matt Aiken from North chat about the North Sonar Foil System for wing foiling, surf foiling, and kite foiling. Find out who it's for and what's new for 2024.
Ryan: I've been riding this system for the past six months or so, and a few things that I've been liking about it are that it's a really solid setup. It's one of the stiffer foils that I've been on. The mast goes all the way down to the connection of the fuselage. You also have the option of the ful
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19th Sep 2023
2024 North Pulse Kite Review With Kristen
Hello, everyone—Kristen here! We've had the pleasure of spending time with the 2024 North Pulse, and we're thrilled to share our insights with you. Let's go!
The New Logo
First up, let's discuss the new aesthetic change. North has unveiled their new logo which is making its appearance in the 2024 collection. This isn't just a mere update, but a symbol of the brand's commitment to innovation. The North Sails logo will be incorporated into all their gear.
Reduction in Weight
For
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14th Aug 2023
2024 North Reach Kite Review with Kristen
Kristen chats about the 2024 North Reach: what's new, what's different, and what you can expect to feel familiar.
It's a beautiful day in Muskegon, Michigan. It was a north wind, which tends to be a little bit gustier up and down. It's about 70 degrees and the water temp is warm, and I just had a great session on the 9m North Reach. It is a really fun kite!
New Logo, New Material
On the kites you'll now see the North Sails logo being rolled out for 2024. North has also been work
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14th Aug 2023
Pick 5 Challenge | Ryan Shares His Wing Foiling Essentials
Tucker and Ryan introduce a new series that finds them making some hard decisions on what gear they would ride for the ultimate quiver. The catch? They can only choose five items.
Tucker: We understand that everybody's making tough decisions. Not everyone has fifty thousand dollars to spend on a quiver of gear. We all wish we could do that, but realistically, we may not have the space to store it, the money, or our priorities are elsewhere with some of that cash.
So we're going to
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4th Aug 2023
2024 North Code Zero | On-Water Review
The Code Zero is back again with a little bit of a redesign for 2024, and it's actually quite nice. It feels fairly similar to the Slingshot UFO, but with a single strut.How Does the 2024 Code Zero Fly?It's a bit lower aspect shape compared to the 2023. That makes it a little sharper and quicker in the turning radius.I also feel like it drifts quite a bit better. They definitely made it more of a dedicated foil shape this year. Last year's worked pretty well as a foil/surf crossover. I
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28th Jul 2023
2024 North Orbit Kite Overview
What's Old Is NewWe have the 2024 North Orbit here. North is going in a new direction with their branding, and I am excited about it because they're bringing back the old school North Sails. A lot of you who have been in the sailing industry for a while know that North Sails goes way back. I'm dating myself, but when I got into the sport in '82, North Sails was prominent. So that's something new you're going to see on the North lineup for 2024, and all of their North Sails gear is going
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25th Jul 2023
2024 North Code Zero Review
This is Jeff at MACkiteboarding.com, and we've gotten our hands on the brand new 2024 Code Zero V2 from North. I was able to take it out in very light winds on three days now.The New North
As a brief aside, I'm excited about what North is doing this year. They're rebranding back to their North Sails (NS) roots, and I love that. It reminds me of when I was windsurfing back in the day. North's products have always been high class and well-thought-out.First Impressions
While I'm on
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24th Jul 2023
2024 North Reach Overview
What Is the North Reach?
Today I have the all-new 2024 North Reach. This is a kite that I was fortunate enough to test at the North dealer meeting in Portugal, and I ended up falling in love with it. Granted, it is my kind of kite: a three strut, all-around, do-everything canopy. It's going to be similar to kites like the Duotone Evo, the Slingshot Code, the Reedin Supermodel, the Cabrina Moto, and the Naish Pivot. They're all in that three strut, "do everything a little faster wit
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24th Jul 2023
North Code Zero - On the Beach With Matt Aiken
What's in a Name?
Matt: Probably the most exciting new kite that we have is the new Code Zero. You're probably wondering why a one-strut kite is called "Code Zero". It's a little callout to our sailing heritage with the North brand. Code Zero is a legendary light wind racing spinnaker, so with this being a light wind performance foiling kite, it's a sort of callout to the heritage of the North Sailing brand.
Jake: Well, it looks epic and the staff here has absolutely loved it, as
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10th May 2023
Tech Talk: North Sonar Carbon Foil Set With Matt Aiken
Why Choose Carbon?
The Sonar foil system comes in a full carbon version in addition to the full alloy setup. North is one of the few brands that has a full carbon fuselage, not just a carbon mast. Carbon masts are relatively easy to produce, but saving the weight off of the fuselage is actually more important. Think about yourself holding a five-pound weight in close. You can hold it there all day, but you know how heavy it gets if you hold it out. The same thing applies at the end o
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10th May 2023
The Most Important Part of Kiteboarding: How to Fall
Blake from MACkite here. It's good to be back! I'm recovering from a torn ACL surgery, and just being able to walk is so incredible. So I figured... why not teach you one of the most important things in kiteboarding, which in my opinion is how to fall.Get StrongI have a lot of experience in falling; I've been injured a lot. Throughout the years of teaching myself how to kiteboard and do all of my own tricks, I have had to learn how to fall through trial and error. Now I've got it down
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3rd May 2023
Wing Foil Board Size | Is Bigger Always Better?
Straight to the Sinker?with Matt Aiken from North Kiteboarding
Jake: What size board did you get started with, and what size are you on now?
Matt: I haven't changed too much there. I've dabbled in some smaller boards. I learned on 135 liters, and I'm about 215 pounds. I learned in flat water and some pretty strong winds in Cape Hatteras.
Jake: Lucky you! I'm not knocking our spot; we love it here, but flat water it is not.
Matt: That definitely helps. Strong winds and fla
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30th Mar 2023