North Kiteboarding Quest TT 5’10 2015
Reviews / Surfboards
12,673
At A Glance
The Quest TT has been in the North line up for a couple of years now, it’s a classically shaped thruster aimed at the riders just looking to get into riding surfboards. Due to the design remit the Quest TT has some tricks up its sleeve in terms of the design. The wide point has been pushed a little further forward than a traditional surfboard, the rail areas have been straightened to promote speed too.
In terms of construction the Quest TT uses the bullet proof Tough Technology developed by North to create a far more durable board. The tech makes it way right through the board to the outer skin, so small scratches and dings from transportation are now a thing of the past. The area under the heels is also heavily reinforced to prevent damage from big jumps and hard landings.
Overall this does add weight to the Quest TT and it is about 12% heavier than the pro construction they use in their high-end boards. For the beginner to intermediate wave riders out there this small weight gain is a good price to pay for the peace of mind that you won’t be smashing your board to pieces every time you lose it on the rocks.
The board can be ridden with or without straps, although it is worth noting you will need to request the straps and footpad for the front of the board from your dealer. North honeycomb fins are provided and slot into Futures boxes on the board. It’s a thruster set up to offer good drive with a traditional feel.
On The Water
The Quest TT feels classic in every sense of the word, its familiar shape and handling will be a great building block for any newcomer to the world of surfing with a kite. Traditional shapes shouldn’t be overlooked as a starting point as these boards are often so much easier to ride than the much wider and shorter more modern equivalents.
The Quest TT is extremely forgiving and also very easy to ride, its long drawn out rails cut through the chop with ease and the wide squash tail and extra width help to keep the speed and power on when you are cranking those bottom turns. It is very forgiving towards foot weighting and placement, poor technique is masked by the boards lines allowing you to get away with a few errors here and there.
This makes it great for learning, but also a very easy board to ride for the more advanced riders out there. The Quest TT isn’t a board you will grow out of quickly, far from it. It can handle a wide variety of wave conditions, from onshore to down-the-line race tracks, it is exceedingly capable.
"The Quest TT is a great starting point for your wave riding career!"
Overall
In a world of modern baffling shapes, ground your skills first on a modern take on a classic. The forward wide point will help you to learn gybes and tacks and you’ll get to grips with turns on the wave quickly and easily. Forgiving, capable and with the ability to handle a wide variety of conditions, the Quest TT is a great starting point for your big wave career!
This review was in Issue 50 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit North KiteboardingRelated
By Rou Chater
Rou has been kiting since the sports inception and has been working as an editor and tester for magazines since 2004. He started IKSURFMAG with his brother in 2006 and has tested hundreds of different kites and travelled all over the world to kitesurf. He's a walking encyclopedia of all things kite and is just as passionate about the sport today as he was when he first started!
