North Kiteboarding Carve 2023 Kite - Surf / Strapless Freestyle.
This is surf.
We chase this feeling.
And we'll keep on chasing it.
All the way down the line.
Instant drift with a flick of the wrist.
The New North Carve is a powerful, reactive and controllable kite, ideal for carving up a wave face, tucking into a barrel or boosting strapless tricks. Engineered with a stable, lower aspect ratio design for fast pivot turns and excellent drift, the Carve has an extremely direct feel in both bar pressure and steering initiation.
For 2023, we've put the Carve back into its wave riding category. Refined bridling for a longer, more progressive travel means the kite feels smoother and more responsive throughout the full depower range. It is still reactive when you sheet out – to the very end. Improved overall balance also enhances drift, so when you're surfing, it glides down the line, waiting for your bar input. More intuitive control - especially when the kite's not visible on a big bottom turn, cut back, or in a barrel - means you can focus 100% on the surf. The Carve has a slightly reduced leading-edge diameter and thinned-out profiles. This gives the kite smoother power delivery, improves the high-end wind range, and helps you ride deeper in the pocket for longer. The kite won't pull you aggressively off the rail, and you'll have softer landings when doing big jumps.
The New North 2023 Carve will also relaunch faster in critical situations. We've introduced lighter bladders in all sizes and a lighter 2-ply canopy reinforcement. This reduces weight and helps improve the turning speed in light wind while maintaining the Carve's surf-tough durability. The Carve now flies faster, generating more power and board speed. It rockets upwind. Experienced riders will benefit from the kite's impressive power and efficiency, while intermediate riders will find it offers a smoother, more user-friendly ride. Freeride and Strapless Freestylers will love the improved hangtime and catch for kite loops and softer landings.
HIGHLIGHTS
Two-stage arc with direct pivot steering
NEW evolved drift
NEW improved top end performance
WHERE IT THRIVES
Big waves, small waves and anything in between
WHAT RIDERS SAY
"When I'm on a wave all I have to think about is smacking the lip." - Jesse Richman
DETAILS
TWO-STAGE ARC WITH DIRECT PIVOT STEERING
North Carve's responsive two-stage arc design enables tighter turns without excessive amounts of power. As the arc shape becomes narrower the kite uses less of its projected area, giving it a smaller turning radius for tighter turns, and less pull or power in turns.
NEW EVOLVED DRIFT
New bridling ensures you’re able to maintain the drift when you're sheeted in, the kite is responsive and goes down the line. But when it’s offshore or you're riding overpowered, there's now a lot more reaction from the kite when you sheet out.
NEW IMPROVED TOP END PERFORMANCE
Changes to the bridle have improved the top end wind range of the kite. We've traded a little from the bottom end for a considerable amount more top end depower, so you can experience bigger jumps with better hang time in stronger conditions.
NEW LOW-DRAG, NO-PULLEY BRIDLE LINES
The NEW bridling provides an extremely direct feel in both bar pressure and steering initiation, with more intuitive feedback from the bar in both directions so you'll always know where your kite is. The new bridling enables more responsive steering and pivoty turns, limiting the amount of power that is produced so you generate less speed in your bottom turns, and can ride closer to the pocket of the wave. Our NEW high quality spliced, pre-stretched bridle lines are pre-loaded and measured before cutting to improve accuracy and consistency.
This results in reduced shrinkage, reduced elongation and improved longevity. Removing ALL pulleys from the bridle improves safety and gives the kite direct and precise handling. The end result is lower drag, more accuracy and a more direct feeling.
NEW LIGHTER SURF-TOUGH CONSTRUCTION
We've maintained the surf tough construction by replacing the dacron canopy panels with a NEW heavy duty lighter, stronger canopy reinforcement material. The reinforcement protects the lighter inner main canopy body and allows the kite to be more responsive in the steering and depower.
This adds strength and elongation control, protecting the lighter inner main canopy body and producing a durable kite that can hold its profile for increased performance and lift. Because the new fabric is more conforming to the inflated structure, it creates a smoother, cleaner entry on the profiles.
REFINED AERODYNAMIC PROFILE TRANSITION PANELS
The profile transition panels ensure that as the leading edge expands, tension from the elongation doesn't migrate into the canopy and a precise lateral profile shape is maintained as close to the leading edge as possible. This creates a smooth transition from the segmented leading edge to the curved canopy so the profiles are more uniform throughout the entire wing. The panels reduce inconsistencies in the profile, resulting in a smoother, more efficient kite, with more aerodynamic airflow, drive and stability.
FAST-LAUNCHING SWEPT LEADING EDGE DESIGN
Allows more area in the centre of the kite for efficiency and makes the kite easy to roll off the water during critical relaunch in the surf. The Carve is not swept in the trailing edge like a bow kite, but it has a lot of curvature when viewed from the side, and the wingtips are not particularly wide.
This puts a lot of the usable area in the center of the kite, rather than in the wing tip. So even though the Carve is lower aspect, it is still efficient for its size, and more importantly, the relaunch is super-quick. With less leading edge on the water it doesn't lay flat, so for fast relaunch in most cases you don't have to pull the rear line, simply rotate the bar. This really helps if you're riding waves and need to relaunch your kite quickly when a set’s coming.
HIGH BUOYANCY LEADING EDGE DIAMETER
For a rigid, stable kite frame which requires less inflation pressure. The high volume of air in the leading edge ensures the kite stays on top of the white water, and is not easily crushed by the waves. The larger leading edge diameter intentionally produces more drag and helps the kite sit deeper in the pocket. It also allows us to thin out the actual profile in the canopy itself.
With less curve through the main body of the canopy and a larger leading edge design, you end up with less canopy movement or deformation as you ride the kite at lower attack angles or sheeted out. The kite sits a little further back in the window, so that it will run with you as you steer towards it, rather than stop moving or flying forward and front stalling.
DURALITE SEAM PROTECTION
Lightweight reinforcement to protect from chafing and abrasion along the struts to the leading edge. Thin foam padding is inserted underneath to form a lightweight durable buffer which lifts the kite slightly off rough surfaces, and protects the stitching along the struts and leading edge seams.
PERSONALISED PERFORMANCE TUNING OPTIONS
Bar pressure and steering impulse can be adjusted on the wing tip, allowing you to fine tune the kite's characteristics to your personal preference.
PREMIUM TEIJIN D2 TECHNO FORCE CANOPY
D2 Ripstop Fabric by Teijin. Premium high-density canopy material made in Japan, using high tenacity polyester yarn for lightness, high tearing strength and endurance. Teijin Techno Force has the highest strength to weight ratio and longest durability in the industry.
KEVLAR REINFORCED STRUT SYSTEM WITH BRIDLE DEFLECTORS
For the most accurate and durable connection between the strut and the leading edge. Bridle deflectors on the leading edge prevent the control lines catching on the struts.
HYPERFLOW RAPID SINGLE-POINT INFLATION
High volume single point inflation system with larger diameter hose for rapid inflation and deflation. Bayonet style main inflation valve compatible with most pumps. No adapter needed.
TWO-STAGE ARC WITH DIRECT PIVOT STEERING
The Carve's responsive two-stage arc design enables tighter turns without excessive amounts of power. The two-stage arc allows the smooth curved efficient central region of the kite to produce power, while straighter wing tips provide a more dynamic steering response.
NEW EVOLVED DRIFT
The Carve is a statically balanced, stable kite that resists nose diving. Down the line drift is most important when the wind’s onshore. The more offshore it gets, the more important it is for the kite to fly forward. New bridling ensures you’re able to maintain the drift when you're sheeted in, the kite is responsive and goes down the line. But when it’s offshore or you're riding overpowered, there's now a lot more reaction from the kite when you sheet out, and its ability to fly forward is greatly improved.
NEW IMPROVED TOP END PERFORMANCE
Changes to the bridle have improved the top end wind range of the kite. It maintains linear power delivery and you can still ride it a size smaller, but we've traded a little from the bottom end for a considerable amount more top end depower. Now that we've improved the top end on this kite, you can experience bigger jumps with better hang time in stronger conditions. This gives strapless freestyle riders the ability to choose a bigger size kite than you’d use for wave riding yet still have the control and manageability you need for jumps and hang time for tricks.
Webpage: https://www.northkb.com/