2017 North Click Bar First Impression with Rygo

Hey guys, it’s Rygo from MACkite and today I want to give you my first impressions on the 2017 North Click bar. Initially, I was really hesitant about this bar. I envisioned an overly complicated control bar that was trying to fix something that obviously wasn’t really broken. When I got it in my hands, that notion couldn’t have been further from the truth. The bar is actually incredibly simple, not only in function but in aesthetics as well. The funny thing is that I was using a prototype click bar that’s not nearly as refined as the finished product. 

First thing on the water, I noticed how good the bar felt in my hands. A large part of this was due to the rubber coating covering my centerlines. I’m not a really big fan of centerlines rubbing on my fingers when I split the bar, so this is just great. Trimming the kite was definitely a new experience, especially considering I was riding in Hood River where a 10-knot spread in wind range is considered a smooth day. 

That being said, I had a lot of opportunities to experiment with the trim unit and really get a feel for it. One thing that I really liked was how quickly I could adapt to the wind at any given moment. Oftentimes you’re ready to go do your next trick, you’ve got your board speed right, everything’s perfect and then all of a sudden you’re overpowered. With the trim unit and the button right on the side, I was able to reach over and dump all of the power that I needed quickly, adapt it, reset my edge, and the problem was solved. 

Powering the kite up took a bit longer; it wasn’t bad or anything, but I do think that the traditional trim is a little bit quicker. The tradeoff is that I don’t have to reach up. I thought it was great riding fully depowered and not having to worry about the trim line dangling, hitting me in the face, wrapping around the bar or anything like that. It was really nice to have such a simple bar. It was kind of interesting having the power display in the center of the bar; while it’s not totally necessary, it’s nice being able to quantify how much power you have and being able to dial it in. With a regular trim, oftentimes you have to go entirely by feel, but with the power display you can accurately determine how much power you want the kite to have. A few twists and I can see right where I’m at as far as kite power goes. 

One major concern we had here at the shop - and I’m sure many of you thought this as well - is what happens to the bar over time as salt and sand build up? In truth, only time can answer that for us. I was using a prototype click bar that had a lot of mileage under its belt. North did take this into consideration and they addressed it by spending a bit of extra time with testing and developing the bar. It was actually ready for the public in 2016, but they decided to give it an entire extra year for testing to ensure that it really did work. While this is the first generation control bar, in a lot of ways it’s like a second generation bar with the exception that the public hasn’t had a firsthand opportunity to test it for ourselves. So, after getting my hands on the bar, I have to say I’m pretty excited about it and I think this is going to be the bar that I’m using this year myself. I plan on flying it with a number of kites to get a feel for it and see how it works out. At the end of the day, the simplicity, the look, and the feel really appealed to me. 

Thanks for watching, feel free to give us a call at 800-622-4655 if you’d like further information!