North 2021 Carve / Kite Only
North 2021 Carve / Kite Only
DESIGN DETAILS
SURF / STRAPLESS FREESTYLE
SIZES: 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11
Powerful, reactive and controllable, the Carve provides instant drift with the flick of your wrist, allowing you to power on and off instantly, stay in the pocket for longer and out of the critical impact zone. Featuring a sensory pivot turn for control, and huge depower range, the Carve gives you the confidence to focus on surfing, in onshore to offshore, and anything in between, while strong surf-freestyle characteristics let you throw down strapless freestyle and perform lofty jumps with ease. Compared to the rest of our North range, the Carve sits further back in the wind window and enhances down the line drift, perfect for carving and tucking into a barrel. 3 x Kitesurf World Champion Jalou Langeree's kite of choice.
TWO-STAGE ARC WITH DIRECT PIVOT STEERING
The 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
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. 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.
TECH SPECS
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.