2025 North Orbit Ultra Aluula Big Air Kite | Featuring a New Size Optimization

Pat's back for a guest appearance! Now with North Kiteboarding, he's on the beach to chat with MACkite's Dustin about the new North Orbit Ultra Aluula big air kite. What's new, does the Aluula make that much of a difference for big air, and is it right for you?

Pat: The North Orbit Ultra is our big jumper this year. We took the tried and true DNA of the Orbit, one of the bestselling big air kites over the last couple years, and added Aluula. Last year we added the Orbit Pro to the line with a better Dacron that let us make a narrower leading edge, and this year we pulled out all the stops with an Aluula version.

Going to Aluula let us go to a still narrower leading edge and strut design. That gives you a faster-flying kite with better performance and jumping. The goal was to make the best possible big air kite we could.

Dustin: I got out on it about a week ago. It's summer here in Michigan, so the winds are absolutely terrible and we take what we can get. I think we were out in about 20, gusting to 25.

Pat: Yeah, we were on a 10 meter, which was appropriate for that, though we could have used a little more wind.

Dustin: Right. But let me tell you... this kite had so much vertical lift it was insane. The thing just wants to loop.

Pat: The kite has a lot of vertical lift to it, and it really does want to loop. It's one of the faster-looping kites I've flown. To me, it has a little bit more pull through the loop than the traditional Orbit, but it's meant to do that, with it being aimed towards a higher-performance rider. But it's still a kite I could pretty confidently throw an intermediate rider on.

Dustin: This year you are doing sizing a bit differently. How does that work?

Pat: We wanted to make the change between sizes more linear, so each size is 10 percent larger than the one before. That gives you a more linear change in power. This year we're looking at a 5.9, a 6.6, a 7.3, an 8.1, and then a 9, 10, 11 and 12m. So there's just about every option you could want in a big air kite. The 12m is for those sub-20 knot days where you're still trying to send it. Even the 12m loops on the Orbit Ultra.

Dustin: And you're getting a better wind range out of these?

Pat: Yes, I find that the smaller ones get a little better wind range on the low and high end. Part of that is due to the more rigid frame, and the other part is thanks to the 13-16 percent weight reduction. The weight reduction isn't that big a deal in the smaller sizes. In my opinion, that's not really where the performance gains are; it's in that smaller leading edge and strut diameters.

Dustin: Right. You can really hold this thing down, too. I'm excited to get on a 9m in super overpowered conditions.

Pat: I'd like to get you on the Classic, Pro, and Ultra back-to-back in the same wind to see what you think of each one. I was fortunate enough to do that at a dealer meeting in Portugal, and you really can tell the difference. Each one is for a different rider. I can still jump on an Orbit Classic and have a ton of fun, but on the Ultra you get that much higher performance, more speed and more lift.

Dustin: We'll do a back-to-back-to-back comparison in a future video. The colors this year are beautiful. The grey-blue with the Aluula yellow really shine out on the water. It's a gorgeous-looking kite.

Pat: The canopy is still using North's own N-HTRS ripstop. It's a triple-core ripstop so it's really tough and stretch-resistant, but a little lighter weight than your traditional material.

Dustin: The big thing lately has been bridle points. How many bridle points are we rocking?

Pat: The Orbit Ultra is a five-point bridle, just like the Pro. However, the geometry of it is different than the Pro. They had to tweak it slightly due to the smaller leading edge diameter. If you were to lay out each Orbit next to each other, you'll see they all have the same profile shape, but they'll all be a bit different in the leading edge diameter and the bridle geometry, so they're technically all different designs, but are all built off the same Orbit platform that everyone has come to love.

Dustin: It's a fan favorite for sure.

Pat: One more cool feature that we added for this year is the QR codes found on all our products. You'll scan it to add it to your gear locker, and you'll add your information. Then if your kite drifts downwind and you lose track of it, someone can scan that code to get in contact with you.

Dustin: That's pretty stellar. That's going to be featured on kites and boards?

Pat: Yes, all the 2025 hard goods are going to have that QR code.

Dustin: Nice. I think I've lost three boards in the last 13 years, and I only got one back by chance.

Pat: Yep. The old label system wasn't bad, but it's nice to have this as a backup since it won't ever peel off or fade.

Dustin: So I got out the other day, and like I said, this kite has huge upward pull. It's a jumper. It isn't the best in underpowered conditions, but you're not necessarily going to be using this kite then. However, if you are looking to ride in those marginal conditions, you're going to gain a bit of wind range with the Aluula. It's an Orbit and it wants to jump.

Pat: It's designed to be ridden a bit overpowered. It still performs better than the older Orbits in a light wind scenario, but it's still designed to handle those higher winds.

Dustin: Exactly. Otherwise, I had such a sick session the other day, so I'm excited to get out on an overpowered session and really send it. It's been so nostalgic to get on the beach with Pat, and if you have any questions about any of the Orbits and which one is best for you, give us a shout. Chat, email, smoke signal... Pat's favorite is carrier pigeon... whatever works for you.