Hi All,
I've bought two North Evos 2014 (12m and 9m), the kites are very stable, however I found them very very slow and unresponsive. I had a light wind session today, even tough I could water start, it was hard to keep track because it was so difficult to steer it up and down fast to power the kite. I just gave up the session.
Has anyone else experienced this?
My kite is in the "factory setting". I'm using a quad control bar, with 24 meter lines. The back line adjuster is set to the red knot (default), this is the one before last knot. The adaptative tip is set to the medium setting.
I too found my 2013 Evo to be slower turning than my Rebels. I have learned to be a bit more aggressive with the Evo - love the forgiving nature of the kite though, it's allowed me to try things that I would not have been able to on a more responsive kite.
The wind was around the low end of the kite (12-13 knots most of the time). I've used the 12m once before with good winds. I was so amazed on how stable the kite was (wherever I parked it, it just stayed there) that I didn't even care about the responsiveness. Then I had a 9m, used a couple of times (two or three) with good winds and the lack of responsiveness began to bother me more. Then I had this last session (all sessions I used the same bar and lines).
I don't know, I don't believe North made a kite with this characteristic. The product description states: Direct & responsive steering. May be my back lines stretched? I should give the soft setting a try also.
Select to expand quotePaul1 said..
Your kite is unresponsive due to lack of wind.
Not really. It comes down to bridle design and in combo with your bar set up and lines. Unfortunately North like most brands don't tell you how to adjust bridles properly. They all tend to focus on the bar and lines being even, which is not always ideal.
You sort of have to rely on the "default" setting and if it performs badly, then you're on your own.
I don't know what the bridle points are like with North, but try different attachment knots along the rear lines and leave as much front line as possible (ie: don't tie them too high up towards the kite).
The balance between front and rear bridles are the key for that sweet spot and having a faster responding kite.
sorry to say but its lack of wind - I have a 2014 9 & 11 and these kites are not slow or unresponsive - i use medium setting and quad control , 24 &22 lines
i have found the 11 needs at least 17kts to start coming to life
Select to expand quoteburnsy11 said..
sorry to say but its lack of wind - I have a 2014 9 & 11 and these kites are not slow or unresponsive - i use medium setting and quad control , 24 &22 lines
i have found the 11 needs at least 17kts to start coming to life
WTF!? Your 11 needs at least 17knots? There is definitely something wrong there. I can fly my 12mt in less than 13knots, and that's in the tropics even where the wind is less dense.
There is a guy here that flies his 9mt Griffin even in 12knots! And he's powered and going up wind.
Select to expand quoteGalo said..
The wind was around the low end of the kite (12-13 knots most of the time). I've used the 12m once before with good winds. I was so amazed on how stable the kite was (wherever I parked it, it just stayed there) that I didn't even care about the responsiveness. Then I had a 9m, used a couple of times (two or three) with good winds and the lack of responsiveness began to bother me more. Then I had this last session (all sessions I used the same bar and lines).
I don't know, I don't believe North made a kite with this characteristic. The product description states: Direct & responsive steering. May be my back lines stretched? I should give the soft setting a try also.
It's likely your kite was back-stalling due to poor line tuning combined with light winds.
The first thing to do is to tune your lines making sure that the front lines aren't longer than the back lines. You can also try changing the adaptive tip setting see if it makes any difference. But if your lines have never been tuned I'm willing to bet your lines are out of tune.
All quality lines for reputable kite manufactures (such as North) are pre-stretched before delivery. Lines SHRINK, they don't stretch as most people think. Your front lines don't shrink as much because they are always under load, it's your back lines that had shrunk over time so it's likely you have to lengthen them.
As other said...a 12m Kite in 12-13 knots is too light anyways unless you weigh 40 kilos or use a light wind specific board.
Christian
Select to expand quoteLoftywinds said..burnsy11 said..
sorry to say but its lack of wind - I have a 2014 9 & 11 and these kites are not slow or unresponsive - i use medium setting and quad control , 24 &22 lines
i have found the 11 needs at least 17kts to start coming to life
WTF!? Your 11 needs at least 17knots? There is definitely something wrong there. I can fly my 12mt in less than 13knots, and that's in the tropics even where the wind is less dense.
There is a guy here that flies his 9mt Griffin even in 12knots! And he's powered and going up wind.
at least 17kts to come to life...... - not merrily mowing the lawn on a fridge door or SB
agree with most of the comments on here, I'm riding 2014 EVO's on standard settings and they work super well, they loop fine wether your pulling power loops or non powered, plenty of hang time and after riding Rebels for a few years I find these to be way more responsive and with hang time that is so close to what I use to get on the rebels.
Had a session in the waves tonight, 18 - 23 knots and the 10 was doing exactly what I wanted, parked nicely and was there when I wanted to cutback etc.
I too find them very forgiving when you throw a roll, loop or transition and your timings are off, they are quick responding and allow me to correct most errors and land safely.
if all the above suggestions fail, get the guys in the shop where you purchased to have a look
I guess everyone is different j bought a new 12m evo 2014 and did not like it at all was not me so sold it .
Then bought a dice and loved it etc
I flown both the Evo and the dice both I find slow and kinda boring to use. If you want a freeride/wave kite look no further than the new ozone reos
Im interested to know what bar setting you are using .. I presume your on the outside setting ?
We use evos to teach and I wouldnt put a 80kg + student on a 12m in less than 16knts
I demoed 10 kites last season before finding what I loved and what suited my style.
Biggest thing I learned was how different kites are to fly. ( You really have to ignore the hype and sales pitch and get it on the water for a decent run in the correct winds for the size of kite you are flying. )
Also any kite in strong wind felt fantastic. Sounds like you're struggling in light winds, but some kites still feel good in those conditions.
in light wind its certain that evo is slow try it in normal winds and you will love it
i think its the best kite in the market for learning till early handle passing
when i was a rookie i wanted a quick kite now the slowest the better it is 
Thank you all for the inputs. Good to hear different opinions. antlanglands, yes I'm using the outside setting, never used the inner setting, what difference does it make?
BTW I've stumbled upon this article: www.progression.me/blog/dont-blame-your-kite-she-might-just-need-a-little-tuning/
I will try some tuning and keep you posted. I guess I should try to shorten the back lines right? Someone mentioned to lengthen them, so I'm a bit confused.
Also going to have more sessions with stronger winds.
tune your lines :
all 4 or 5 lines should be equal when the bar is pulled down and depower rope is all the way out (full power)
the adjustments for the rears will be under the floats on the rears...should be knots up the leaders so adjust accordingly .#
you may have to add a knot if its not quite right.
Just to update, I've checked my lines, and my back lines was longer than my front lines. I've adjusted and the kite is responding much better :)
BTW, there is a nice Tom Court video explaining how to check lines legth.
Select to expand quotepgh said..
tune your lines :
all 4 or 5 lines should be equal when the bar is pulled down and depower rope is all the way out (full power)
the adjustments for the rears will be under the floats on the rears...should be knots up the leaders so adjust accordingly .#
you may have to add a knot if its not quite right.
The inner setting on the bar makes the kite turn slower , good for smaller kites and doing wake style
Mate, have the same kite, started kiting in may and had the same problems you probably have all the info you need from comments above but ill star anyway. Stuff I figured out: Out the box the back lines were two knots too short which meant I was stalling the kite just flying it in light wind and it was hell too relaunch, aswell as I only kite in shallow onshore I wasnt checking if all the struts were fully inflated because I wasnt using the clips to clip off this leads to some struts being slightly clipped off and slowly inflating from the main LE after I thought I was done pumping (I call this flying a pap snoek) lastly I was trying to go out in 13-15kn because I am too keen (I weigh 85 pies) tropics wind. The solution: went out last week in smooth water with prop inflated kite, lines tuned and set to hard setting aswell wind 15-17kn and had a absolute blast screaming past dudes on 13s well upwind finally loving the kite.
