North NOVAPerformance Freeride2023

Structurally Balanced Freeride Shape

Less shoulder, more sweep and more aggressive turn-in at the wingtips give the wing its stability. When you’re riding, your front and back arm pressure is even, not backhand-heavy. The wingtip geometry and balanced dihedral also prevent oscillation side-to-side when gripping the front handle, riding downwind swell, surfing, or simply walking towards the water.

Maximum low-end power for instant up and go

It's now more in line with the wingtips, which helps to generate more lift in the front of the wing. The increased curvature in the profile section gives the Nova maximum low-end power, and instant up & go. Changing how the air-foil shape/section profile develops across the span of the wing has made the wing smoother to ride, because more curvature at the front of the profile allows for a more forgiving angle of attack. We’ve moved the centre of lift further forward ensuring there is always a smooth laminar flow attachment from the LE to the TE (no turbulence)– so the wing retains lift through all angle of attack changes. It’s more user-friendly and has a generous sweet spot. This means fewer micro-adjustments in your hand positioning and a lighter feel with uplift for effortless transitions. When you do a tack, it pulls upward and enables you to glide around effortlessly without any tail drop. It also contributes to the Nova’s excellent loft and hangtime

Stiffer, more responsive airframe

How they're tapered makes the LE stiffer in the center and allows the tip to reflex and dump any excess power. The tapered wingtips also reduce the swing weight of the wing. It reduces drag from the wingtips, which also helps with the stability. And allowing the tips to bend slightly, keeps the trailing edge tight. The tension of the trailing edge and overall skin tension gives the wing more low-end power. But then on the high end, the ability of the tips to reflex away allows that excess power to bleed off. So you actually have a bigger wind range now than in 2022.

Cleaner canopy and trailing edge tensioning

We’ve minimised flutter and created a clean trailing edge release with reduced drag. From front to back and from wing tip to strut, everything's tight. TE TENSION. To increase the trailing edge tension, we’re using a sailing term called take-up. Basically, where it's loose, we pull the seam together to take out that excess shape where it's flapping. It's like dressmaking, you know, like making your pants fit. We do that in the software, rather than manually, so we don't get a hook in the trailing edge. A hook in the trailing edge creates drag, making a wing very backhand heavy and stall a lot.

Revised panel layout

The new canopy layout gives more stiffness to the canopy and allows the load to be transferred through the canopy more evenly.

Lighter materials for reduced overall weight

Double layering has been around since the get-go with kites, but winging creates more wear on the bladders, because of the direct load where your hands are. We’ve used two-ply bladders in the Nova before, but we’ve been able to reduce the size of the double layers significantly to lighten the load, by strategically targeting areas where the bladders need more reinforcement. The new tensioning in the TE requires just a two-ply of canopy and string for support, replacing the Dacron tape and EVA battens that were providing structural strength in the 2022 Nova TE.

New wide angle window positioning

Intuitive Rigid GripLock Handles

The two long handlebars are wrapped in a soft EVA grip for comfort, and enable you to slide your hands into optimum trimming positions to control the wing’s pitch, yaw and roll, while keeping your body positioned perfectly over the foil. More freedom in your hand placement lets you choose the best feel based on the conditions, your arm length, and your body size. For 2023 we've introduced an alternative handle accessory in the carbon wing handles. These can be retrofitted to all of our rigid handle wings. The Carbon handles lighten the weight of the wing and improve reaction. Where alloy would bend slowly, carbon has a much quicker reaction, like lightning. So, the carbon handles also make your riding experience a more reactive.

Dual HyperFlow Inflation Valves

N-HTRS High Performance Canopy Material

Strategic STPU Scuff Protection

For 2023 we’ve also introduced a small STPU bumper on top of the leading edge for added protection.

Comfort and security

The high-quality elasticised webbing leash with bungy cord core provides greater forgiveness and helps to soften the jolt when your wing escapes. A waist belt with wing leash and optional quick release board leash attachment is also available as an accessory. 

Durable and Lightweight Dacron LE/Strut material

The lower stretch material keeps the shape clean and undisturbed under load. We've also built stiffness into the design through the load distribution on the frame, and strategically placed a double-layered LE reinforcement in the load-bearing area of the strut to LE connection.

Kevlar Strut Connection