North Reach 2024 review – View 10 findings of this freeride kite

On holiday in Spain we went kitesurfing in the Bay of Roses and took the opportunity to test the North Reach 2024. The wind was blowing about 18 knots. The gusts against the wind were quite strong: up to about 28 knots, which is not exceptional in the Bay of Roses. The choose the right size kite is not always easy. With my 87 kilo weight I went for the North Reach 11 meters with the North Atmos Pro Carbon board of 138 x 41. Check out my findings in this North Reach 2024 review.

North Reach freeride kite

The North Reach 2023-2024 will continue North Kiteboarding presented as a freeride kite. The freeride kitesurfing style stands for fun and uncomplicated kitesurfing sessions. The kite surfer does what he feels like at that moment. This can be anything: from nice cruising, kitesurfing through the surf and trying to break some waves, jumping and doing cool tricks. A good freeride kite is a kite with which you can learn to kitesurf, but at the same time you do not get tired of it too quickly.

Findings North Reach 11 meters

Quality: North Reach 2024 review

North is a so-called A brand among the kitesurf brands. We should therefore not have to argue about the quality and that is immediately visible on the kite. So we don't dwell on this for long. The Reach 2024 has been further developed compared to the 2023 version. According to North, the Reach 2024 is lighter, faster, more direct and more active. This all stems from made improvements in material use and the design of the kite.

For beginners and freeride kite surfers

• Fine kite for beginners and freeride kite surfing. In my opinion, the North Reach is a great kite for beginners and freeride kite surfers. As far as I am concerned, he is not very fast and can be steered very pleasantly. This is at the beginning of the kitesurfing career nice because then you are not waiting for surprises.
• Predictable. The Reach also flies tight and very predictable through the wind in the wind window. For example, the Reach does not make unpredictable speed in a gust of wind and does not go into reverse when the wind is just a little less hard. The Reach remains neatly in check and that is nice.
• Gradual strength building. When cruising, the Reach doesn't generate too much power. The power can also be dosed well by depowering. Overpowered in gusts of wind and when the wind increased, I found the Reach to pull strongly and hard, so I tightened the depower a few times during the North Reach review. Even then, the Reach was still easy to drive.
• Reliable. With the Reach you as a kite surfer can properly anticipate what you ask of the kite. Indirectly, the Reach kite performs what you ask of it. It is not a very fast kite like its brother the North Orbit and other more high performance freeride kites, but it is not made for that either.
• Sends easily. The Reach is easy to steer, has a light bar pressure and turns beautifully through the wind window. It is therefore great for changing sailing direction, for example.
• Runs up easily. The Reach easily goes uphill. Even when overpowered, the Reach can easily be depowered and walking uphill becomes even easier.
• Active control required if you want more. If you want to get more out of the Reach, you can. During the North Reach 2024 review, I noticed that a more active control allows you to make nice turns. For example from heelside to toeside or against a wave.

For advanced kite surfers

• High jumps and soft landings. Jumping high in a calm sea or calm water is easy with the Reach and the Reach ensures an easy landing with the right steering corrections. The Reach generates a very nice and high lift.
• Finding the right timing when landing. For landing with a downloop or heliloop you have to find the right timing. That will be easier with the smaller sizes. I did not find the Reach 11 meters very fast, so timing and active control of the Reach by the kitesurfer play an important role here.
• Finding the right timing when launching into white water. When I wanted to jump higher during the North Reach open sea test, timing was a challenge. Timing a jump into wilder water with a lot of chop was a challenge. Then you have less time to anticipate. In such water it is sometimes a matter of determining the right take-off option a few meters ahead, steering the kite hard, edging the kiteboard hard and pulling the bar at the right time. Big Air or more high performance freeride kites often support this very well. The Reach has not been specifically developed for this, so perhaps I should not have expected this. At times when I wanted to jump high in wild water and was a bit overpowered, I didn't get the right timing. So I was launched quite high but also forward. The result was a backstall three times when I wanted to squeeze out a nice landing.  

Conclusion North Reach 2024 review

In my opinion, the North Reach is a great kite for beginners and freeride kite surfers. He is very easy to steer and the kite is very predictable. This is nice at the start of the kitesurfing career because you are not waiting for surprises. If you are a bit further and want to do jumps, the Reach is very reliable and suitable for that. An advanced kite surfer can get a lot out of the Reach, but I found the Reach too slow and not challenging enough for that. Of course, North also has the North Orbit kite especially for this. Furthermore, the Reach is a beautiful kite of high quality.