2024 North Orbit

2024 North Orbit Kite

BIG AIR / FREERIDE

Committing to overpowered airs and megaloops in gusty conditions demands an unwavering trust in your kite. North's iconic premier 5-strut kite delivers incredible top-end control and allows you to hold down more power than any other kite per square metre. Big jumps. Big hang time. Big wind range. The Orbit rockets you upwind fast, with effortless steering, extreme boosting and hangtime guaranteed to take your breath away. For 2024 North smoothed out the shape of the LE, introducing a continuous curved arc that is slightly narrower in the shoulders and wider in the wingtips. It’s quick. The wingtips have a more bi-elliptical shape for reduced drag and faster turning speed, while a slightly deeper profile in the centre creates more lift. Changes to the wingtip inspired a fully reworked bridle and attachment point positioning, for the most stable Orbit yet. The kite feels even more reliable and forgiving in overpowered, gusty conditions yet retains its ability to fly forward and catch you in kite loops. It's intuitive. Riders of all abilities can experience the best of both worlds, without worrying about your kite’s position in the sky. It’s more responsive in all conditions. In the smaller sizes North lowered the aspect ratio slightly and refined profiles for improved hangtime and a faster, tighter turning radius for the doubles and S-loops. In the bigger sizes North updated the profiles for a more lively and reactive feel, with increased low end performance for heavier riders. North also reduced the kite's overall weight with lighter bladders now in every size. Lighter weight means your kite flies faster, sooner, because you need less wind to get the kite up in the sky. Tested by nature, proven on the podium. The Orbit has your back when the rules of gravity don't apply.

Features

• Overpowered airs and megaloops
• Phenomenal loft and hangtime
• Low drag profile for power and efficiency
• Precise steering with a massive sweet spot
• Tested by nature and proven on the podium

Materials

• N-HTRS High Performance high tenacity ripstop canopy 
• Highest quality Dacron
• DuraLite Seam Protectors
• Lighter weight bladders

Technology

Even more predictable in the unpredictable
A high-performance big air kite that is stable and consistent in a wide range of conditions, especially in the high end. For 2024 North fully reworked the bridles, so the kite feels even more stable and forgiving. The kite will not front-stall in overpowered, gusty conditions, but still maintains that ability to fly forward and catch you in kiteloops. This predictability is one of the key features of the Orbit, and it allows you to ride the kite overpowered without it getting away from you.

Extreme boosts and mega loops
Send it to extreme heights. With its dependable catch and kiteloop recovery, the Orbit always has your back. The Orbit has a very big footprint in the sky. This increases the amount of sail area working for you, making the kite super-efficient with great power delivery - which gives you incredible boost. It's also fast and responsive in the steering and flies forward through the sky quickly, so it's able to get around and catch you, climb up and give you lots of time to prepare for your landing. 

Segmented curved arc-design
North smoothed out the shape of the LE, introducing a segmented curve arc that is slightly narrower in the shoulders and wider in the wingtips. The wingtip has more of an elliptical shape for reduced drag and slightly faster turning speed, while a slightly deeper profile in the centre creates a little more lift. Changes to the wingtip led to a fully reworked bridle – in combination with moving the attachment points – for the most stable Orbit yet. North made the Orbit more stable and forgiving, without losing its looping capabilities or that incredible catch. Riders of all abilities can experience the best of both worlds now, worrying less about overflying or the kite’s position in the sky. It is North's most reliable, stable Big Air/Freeride kite yet. North is confident it will do it all, but with the added stability, it’s suitable for everyone.

Fully re-engineered bridles
The 2024 Orbit has a fully reworked bridle, engineered to be more stable and forgiving in overpowered and gusty conditions. North retained the Orbit’s controlled response and fast steering, while giving the kite a more energetic feel with increased depower. Working closely with North's pro team riders to put the kite through hardcore testing in a lot of wind enabled them to further improve the stability, the feedback and the steering behavior, and to give the kite a lighter, more responsive feel.

Aerodynamic profile transition panels
North refined the panel cuts for 2024 and removed heavy-duty canopy panels. There’s now only one panel segment instead of two, this reduces the number of seams, and helps to smooth out the profile entry, ensuring a precise lateral profile shape is maintained as close to the leading edge as possible and creating a smooth transition from the segmented leading edge to the curved canopy. The new panels reduce inconsistencies in the profile, resulting in a smoother, more efficient kite, with more aerodynamic airflow and less turbulence.  In the smaller sizes you’ll notice better hangtime and a faster/tighter turning radius. In the bigger sizes the kite is more lively and reactive with increased low end.

Lightweight bladders in all sizes
Weight matters, always. Lighter weight means a smaller turning radius. Lighter weight means your kite flies faster, sooner, because you need less wind to get the kite up in the sky. The lighter the kite, the faster the steering, the more lift it creates and the higher you jump. Bladders make up a bigger weight percentage than any other material used in a kite, so for 2024 North introduced 17% lighter weight bladder material in all sizes to help the kite feel even lighter and more responsive in all conditions. This additional weight reduction improves the low-end capabilities and helps the kite fly more efficiently. It also improves the overall static balance of the wing by reducing weight in the front of the kite.

High Aspect Ratio Design
Gives the Orbit a low drag profile, making it sit further forwards in the wind window for incredible upwind performance. The high aspect ration design allows more area in the center of the kite for efficiency and easy roll to relaunch. For 2024, North lowered the aspect ratio in the smaller sizes for more hangtime. They have a better catch and loft, more hangtime and you always know where the kite sits in the sky.

Stable 5-strut performance
When you're chasing a storm, the Orbit provides incredible top-end control. 
The five-strut design gives it an incredible amount of stability and wind range, and you have a lot more control over the canopy movement at low attack angles. The Orbit has the widest wind range of all North kites. The fixed, no-pulley bridle is a little bit longer, and combined with its placement on the kite gives you a very stable platform in all conditions.

Highest quality no-pulley bridle lines
North's high-quality spliced, pre-stretched bridle lines are pre-loaded and measured before cutting to improve accuracy and consistency. This results in reduced shrinkage, reduced elongation, and improved longevity. Removing ALL pulleys from the bridle improved safety and gives the kite direct and precise handling. 

4x Bar Pressure options for precise steering and depower
The steering impulse options are the attachment points at the wing tip for you rear bridle lines. All North kites come with what North feels is the optimal setting. 
On the Orbit, this is second from the wingtip and gives the kite a lighter, more forgiving feeling. For more direct steering and shorter depower travel, move your connection forward on the wing tip.
Setting A – closest to the wingtip, is one of the two original settings. It is the lightest bar pressure or steering impulse option. It requires less strength to turn the kite, but you need to pull the bar a greater distance to steer. It also gives you more depower travel. Less sensitive and the least responsive, this setting gives the kite a lighter more forgiving feeling. Setting A is ideal for lighter riders, and for cruising in lighter winds, when you don’t load up the kite fully.
Setting B is the factory setting your kite will be delivered with. Use this setting for light bar pressure and a slightly more direct feel in the steering.
Setting C gives a Medium bar pressure and firmer, more direct steering and shorter depower travel. It gives the kite a sportier feel but requires a little more force to control the steering.
Setting D is the megaloop setting – this gives the heaviest bar pressure or most direct steering impulse. It is the most stable choice in high winds and is recommended for stronger, heavier riders. Marc Jacobs: On the inside setting you will know exactly where the kite is during mega-loop manoeuvres - especially on the smaller sizes. With slightly more pressure you can send the kite lower during the loops, with confidence, and execute your trick properly. Ideal for heavier riders, it also supports the wingtips more on those crazy 40knot + days.

Durable highest-quality Dacron inflated structures
For uncompromised strength and durability, all of the inflated structures and the wingtips in the Orbit are constructed from the highest quality industry-proven Dacron with the best strength to weight ratio in a heavy duty application. North used a layer of markcloth to reinforce the trailing edge. This adds strength and elongation control, protecting the lighter inner main canopy body.

High Performance N-HTRS canopy
All North kites are manufactured using high tenacity polyester yarn canopy material for lightness, high tear strength, zero porosity and longevity. 

Duralite seam protection
Lightweight reinforcement to protect from chafing and abrasion along the struts to the leading edge. Thin foam padding is inserted underneath to form a lightweight durable buffer which lifts the kite slightly off rough surfaces and protects the stitching along the struts and leading edge seams. Markcloth seam protectors on the canopy also help to protect the stitching.

HyperFlow rapid single-point inflation
Ergonomic high volume single point inflation system with large diameter hose for rapid inflation and deflation. The cap and valve base geometry have been updated for more comfortable opening and closing in colder conditions (when your fingers are freezing). The bayonet style main inflation valve is compatible with most pumps - no adapter required. 

Recycled PET kite bag
Every North kite bag's durable recycled ripstop fabric meets Global Recycling Standard. Recycled materials are also used to make North's own custom webbing. It’s generously sized to fit your packed-down kite easily, with corrosion-free zippers, stash pockets and air-vents in the bottom and sides of the bag. North kite bags also have an external Control System pocket, Kite Pump attachment and ergonomic shoulder and chest straps.