North Orbit vs the Reach

The Orbit and the Reach are two offerings from North Kiteboarding. One's a big air specialty kite and the other is an all-around kite.

The North Orbit

2021 North Orbit

Let's start with the Orbit. This is a five-strut big air specialty kite. The Orbit implements a two-stage arc in the canopy. This means the top of the kite is flat to help with a hanglider-floaty feel. The wingtips are curved so the kite turns faster than it should. This makes the kite exceptional at kite loops. It's designed to sit further forward in the wind window and it really wants to shoot back up after a big loop.

The Orbit is designed to ride overpowered. The first generation didn't have as much low end because of this, so for the second gen North made some modifications to reduce the weight and bring back low end grunt into the kite. The reason the Orbit is designed to take so much power is because big air riders often ride lit.

Shaun Bennett of North Kiteboarding

Shaun brought up some good points about picking the right size kite, and I'm a big believer of that myself. It was interesting interviewing him because it's almost like we're practicing different sports. My focus has been freestyle mixed with freeride tricks, like low kite loops, hand drags, etc. Much of my riding is focused on getting the kite to slingshot me forward to emulate other sports. I aim to land with power and never dangle below the kite.

Shaun's focus is getting as much height as possible and doing loops. He had some good tips on loading lines for more height and I actually learned a lot speaking with him. We'll do some tutorials with him in the coming weeks.

The North Reach

2021 North Reach

The Reach is made to excel at a bit of everything. Shaun mentioned it has a little less loft and low end than the Orbit. This was surprising to me because everyone at the shop loves the Reach for its low end and versatility. As of now, the Reach is the most popular kite in our shop among the staff. It foils well, it unhooks well, it's decent in the waves and it's really fast to jump with and loop.

On that note, I had a great conversation with Shaun about the kite choices riders make for King of the Air. You see kites from every style and discipline, so if you were training to compete you could pick the Reach or the Orbit. It really comes down to the rider over the gear every time. While sorting the footage I noticed that Shaun was doing a lot of loops on the Reach, and it’s really fast!

He mentioned that the Reach is faster than the Orbit so you can whip the kite faster to make up for the difference in loft and low end. This comes back to my comment about how rider skill always trumps the gear.

So if you can't make up your mind, the Reach is a good option; if you really want to ride powered and focus on big air and loops, the Orbit is going to be the pick.

2021 North Pulse

On a side note, I do have my hands on the new Pulse. I can't write anything about this kite yet, but stand by for a review on this one in March. If you don't know, the Pulse is North's crossover freestyle kite. I had the chance to demo this one in Morocco last year but, honestly, it's hard to gauge a freestyle kite in 45 knots of wind!

Ryan (Rygo) Goloversic

Many people dream of quitting their job, traveling the world and pursuing their passions. Rygo is one of those people who pulled the trigger. A few years into his career, he decided to change everything and travel as a kiteboarder, freelance videographer & writer. His mission is to share the stoke & help people put the boarding into their kiteboarding. Get outside and kite!

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