North Nova Freeride wing launched
by North Kiteboarding & North Foils 18 May 06:39 PDT
Master of the lumps and bumps, glide upwind, roll through tacks, float through gybes or lofty jumps with bonus hangtime. Whatever goal you're chasing, the Nova will send you there faster.
The Nova Freeride V4 is a balanced, easy-to-use all-round wing with an impressively large wind range, low-end power, high-end stability, and light, intuitive handling. For 2024 North has introduced its ground-breaking new Carbon UDi Technology into the wingtips, stiffening the airframe and enabling it to snap back into shape faster and improving response time.
Designer Dano See has also refined the draft position and depth, making the wing even more balanced and user-friendly. The new radial load diffuser and N-X6 Trailing Edge panel ensure more even tensioning and a tighter canopy for enhanced performance.
Brand Director Mike Raper says the premium material technology used in the Nova V4 ensures this wing leads the way in industry performance while providing fantastic value for money. "You get a lot of bang for your buck, and you'll struggle to outgrow the wide range of benefits this wing offers."
North Foils Product Manager Uli Sommerlatt believes the new patent-pending Carbon UD tape placed inside the leading edge is revolutionary: "We've positioned anti-deflection unidirectional carbon tapes inside the leading edge in strategic high-load areas to provide additional wingtip stiffening while keeping the wing lightweight and responsive. North Sails is renowned for using this technology in their podium-proven 3Di race sails, and we've taken the same material and implemented it in the Nova Wingtips.
"To ensure the wing remains stable at the top end, we've tapered the leading-edge diameter to the wing tips. The increased stiffness of the frame and tension of the trailing edge give the wing more low-end power. But then, on the high end, the ability of the tips to flex away allows that excess power to bleed off in gusts when needed," says Uli.
"The Nova makes riding in surf and gusty conditions feel easy, and I'm confident riding in light winds or when the wind drops." - North International Team Rider, Francesca Maini.
"The Nova is perfect for fun light wind days or super windy days - it carries just the right amount of power - making it easier to get up on the foil and find the perfect sweet spot." - North International Team Rider, Marley Franco. Photo: Franck Berthuot.
Nova - Freeride Wing
Red Sea 1.9, 2.5, 2.9, 3.5, 4.2, 5, 6 m
Marine Green 2.9, 3.5, 4.2, 5, 6 m
Pacific Blue 2.9, 3.5, 4.2, 5 m
Features:
Instant up and go
For 2024 we've refined the profile - changing the draft position and depth to make the wing even more user-friendly. The refined profile section gives the Nova maximum low-end power, and instant up & go. Moving the centre of lift ensures there is always a smooth laminar flow attachment from the LE to the TE (no turbulence), and the wing retains lift
through all angle of attack changes. This means fewer micro-adjustments in your hand positioning and a lighter feel for effortless transitions. When you do a tack, it pulls upward, enabling you to glide through the eye of the wind effortlessly. It also contributes to the Nova's excellent loft and hangtime.
Structurally balanced freeride Shape
Engineered for stability in gusty winds, the Nova's progressive swept outline makes it easier to handle, more stable when riding and efficient upwind. Less shoulder, more sweep and more aggressive turn-in at the wingtips give the wing its stability. 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.
Carbon UDi Technology
Anti-deflection uni-directional carbon tapes are placed inside the leading edge on strategic high-load areas to provide additional wingtip stiffening while keeping the wing lightweight and responsive. North Sails is renowned for using this technology in their podium-proven 3Di race sails. We've taken the same material and implemented it in the Nova Wingtips. To counteract the increased frame stiffness and to ensure the wing remains stable at the top end, we've tapered the leading-edge diameter to the wing tips. 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.
New N-X6 Trailing Edge Panels
For a wing that lasts longer than one season. Engineered specifically for use in the highly loaded TE area, the durable and lightweight N-X6 panels help to maintain shape hold over time, provide greater TE tension, dampen flutter and help to create a cleaner release with minimal drag. The lightweight, low-elongation trailing edge panels on the Nova are made from N-X6, a new high-performance, stretch-resistant wing canopy material specifically designed to handle higher loads. Symmetrical 6-yarn reinforcement is woven into the fabric every 10mm, both in the warp and weft direction, ensuring the material is ultra-low stretch with ultra-high tear strength.
New radial load diffuser for even canopy tensioning and reduced drag
The radial load diffuser provides reinforcement at the end of the strut and wingtips that helps to distribute tension more evenly in defined load directions, ultimately creating a cleaner canopy with less distortion, which results in reduced drag.
Maximum Low-End Power
The Nova gets you up and gliding in the lightest of wind with minimum effort. Its profile depth, outline and the stiffness of its airframe are all optimised for maximum power.
Refined wide-angle window positioning
New LiteVision strategic positioning helps you see downwind and improves safety on the water, while keeping weight to a minimum.
Intuitive rigid handles with soft EVA handle bumper
Board damage is a thing of the past. We've positioned a soft, lightweight EVA bumper on the leading edge of your rigid handle, providing additional impact protection for you and your equipment. Place your thumb on the indent for improved depower handling. Our rigid micro-trim control handles ensure a more immediate response and intuitive transitions than
a soft handle, for instant control and reduced hand fatigue. 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. The added freedom in your hand placement lets you choose the best feel based on the conditions, your arm length, and your body size.
Optional carbon handle upgrade
Carbon Wing Handles can be purchased as an alternative handle option. The Carbon handles will lighten the weight of the wing, and where alloy would bend slowly, carbon reacts much quicker for a faster riding response.
Dual hyperflow inflation valves
There are two main valves, one on the LE and one on the strut, with an interlinking valve and hose. This enables you to inflate the strut to a higher pressure than the leading edge and deflate your wing quickly.
Lightweight bladders
We've chosen a lightweight bladder material, and strategically double-layered this in loadbearing areas, such as the handles, valves, nose and wingtips. 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.
N-HTRS high-performance canopy material
The Nova is constructed from a high-performance, high-tenacity ripstop (N-HTRS) canopy material, with a lightweight and durable Dacron LE and Strut. Combined with the N-X6 reinforcement on the trailing edge, this provides the perfect balance of weight to strength where needed.
Durable and lightweight dacron airframe
Chasing a stiffer airframe, we've used an ultra-strong high-tenacity Dacron for the inflated structures, resulting in less deflection and movement and a stiffer overall frame during flight. 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. The Carbon UDi Technology further improves the rigidity and response.
Kevlar strut connection
A biaxial kevlar (aramid) fibre layer provides internal strength and reinforcement to the connection at the XL-T Joint between strut and leading edge. It is bias cut, so it can flex around the curvature of the strut, with a tight and accurate fit.
Comfort knuckle guard
The water-resistant custom-moulded EVA knuckle guard under the front handle protects your fingers from abrasion when depowering.
Double-swivel wrist leash
The Nova comes complete with a wrist wing leash, for fast wing retrieval. The highquality elasticised webbing leash with a bungee 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.