North Orbit Pro Launches
Tue 7th Nov, 2023 @ 8:00 am
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North just released their new competition Big Air kite! You’ve seen it on the podium with the North athletes at Red Bull Megaloop, BAKL Tarifa and Macapa Big Air – Now it’s official!
The newly launched Orbit Pro is competition-optimised to land the highest-scoring tricks and engineered lighter, with faster steering, for more extreme boosting and looping. Not for the faint-hearted, the Orbit Pro lets you exploit increased pressure systems at altitude for greater power and gives you the hangtime you need to win the heat.
Kite designer Pepijn Smit has engineered the new Orbit Pro to feel as light as possible, with lighter, more agile handling and greater power delivery: “Its efficient, weight-saving design features lighter N-Max, stripped-back scuff guards, the lightest bladders, reduced HyperFlow hardware and steering impulse attachment points. The lighter weight means increased amplitude, faster turning, faster catch and recovery, and unsurpassed top-end control and performance.”
North Team Rider Luca Ceruti, who placed second in Tarifa at the BAKL, says: “I love that the smallest bit of input is translated to motion. The Orbit Pro allows more control to arrest forward speed and give you extra hang time. It’s much easier to pinpoint where you want the kite to go during one-handed loops, as when you stop turning pressure on the bar, it immediately goes straight.”
Cohan Van Dijk, who placed third in September’s Red Bull Megaloop, says: “The kite feels super light, flies high, and has good hangtime, especially in the down loops; it catches like a machine, like never before – so that’s super awesome. The competition sizes are incredibly fun and work perfectly.”
Brand Director Mike Raper says: “The new Orbit Pro is lighter, faster and has an immediate response. It’s easy to pull big, slow loops with soft landings because of the way it flies forward to the edge of the window, but it is more of an advanced rider’s kite because of its seed and the high level of input required.
“The Classic Orbit is still your advanced rider’s kite for learning how to jump and loop; it is more stable and predictable in gusty conditions. Whereas the new Orbit Pro allows pro-riders to push the boundaries in the competitive arena. We’ve seen our athlete’s podium on the Orbit Pro at every major event this season, it’s really helped them perform, and we’re very excited for the Red Bull King of the Air.”
Former King of the Air Marc Jacobs says the kite is the lightest and the highest-performing Orbit yet. “The new Pro is faster and quicker catching in the loops. It also sits in the wind window further, allowing me to hold a better edge in stronger conditions and giving more vertical lift and hang time. The Orbit Pro is designed to really advance your technical skills – if you can already loop, this is the kite you’ll double loop.”
The Orbit Pro airframe is constructed with N-MAX, a multi-coated composite material which ensures the airframe meets structural stiffness and durability demands, without adding unnecessary weight. N-Max is 13% lighter and has 21 % lower elongation than standard Dacron. The multi-layer structure
of this new material improves the tear strength five times. N-Max also has a more balanced weave for a crisp, lively feel. The symmetrical yarn pattern gives the material a lower bias elongation which snaps back to its original shape faster and provides the kite with a crisp response, more precise steering and more dynamic recovery. Learn more about N-Max here.
Head over to North to find out more!
