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2022 North Navigator Kiteboarding Bar Review (Raw)
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- čas přidán 29. 04. 2022
- A raw review of the 2022 North Navigator bar based on my own impressions after about 4 days of use. Made this because I didn't find any non-North, non-store reviews of the bar. Bar was purchased from Real Watersports in NC with my own money and opinions are my own alone. If you are considering this bar check out video, and especially the last section to make sure you're OK with that center line unswivel as I found it to be a deal-breaker. I had hoped it would loosen up with use but see no evidence of that. I was told by Real that the swivel is operating "as designed" so I don't have much hope that this will be resolved.
Apologies in advance for the wording mistakes and the "umms".
Kite safe and have fun!
I have the bar for 2 months as I have switched all my kite gears from F One to North.
When I received the bar I had doubt about it as it did not have bearing, not auto untwist and the ball shape under the bar to grab for manual untwist.
After 1 session I had 0 concern anymore. The bar works perfectly, untwist is really easy as there is some teflon in it, and as it is a low V center lines it stay untwisted - contrary to my F One Bandit with high V.
May be I would have liked a stronger elastic for the depower line - so it would be super short when not elongated.
Anyway if the bar is good enough for Jesse, Marc, Nick and Cohan, I believe it is good enough for me 😆
Awesome review! great to hear all the positives and negatives. That swivel mechanism is definitely a deal breaker for me too.
Best review. I was wondering about this bar and I will never buy it. Auto untwist should be feature nr1 on a top bar. Foiling or kite looping I think I should untwist 100 times per session.
Tested yesterday just for fun with a reach. This bar is pain in the ass. Impossible to untwist. Horrible depower
Thank you for your honest review! It is so rare in kiteboarding.
I have the 2020 model and it has worked really well for me for the past 2-3years, save for one big issue.
I really like the simple design, low V (you can turn it to high Y with an accessory), good grip in my hands, bar length adjustment, simple click easy reconnect, interchangeable chicken loops, line quality and line sections combo. North would have been smarter to install universal pigtails sure, but those are pretty cheap anyway. Trim line dangling is annoying yes and it looses elasticity over time so it will get longer and dangle more. The previous version of that line was much better, it shrunk more but maybe didn't last as long and eventually I would end up with a long dangling line. The swivel is not smooth, there is no auto-untwisting your lines for sure but it is not hard to do it by hand. That was an issue at the beginning for me but it forced me to do more rotation on my weaker side so I turned it into a positive.
Now after a few years with this bar here's the only reason why I'm looking for another bar now: The depower line that runs inside the black tubing snapped on me twice, and there's no way to tell it is about to fail because it fails inside the tube. The first time I actually noticed a slight elongation before it broke. Second time it just broke on a very light wind day. The second time, I was using the replacement line sent by North under warranty. What can cause a line to break, inside a tube, where there's no friction? It looks like the splicing making the loop that comes out at the top of the tube is failing.
Too bad I really liked that bar but that makes me feel uncomfortable now.
@North_Kiteboarding, I hope you are reading this.
no need to buy anything to change the line set up just changethe pigtail point between center and rear lines
The lack of an auto untwist doesn’t bother me too bad since I usually just loop the kite the other way again to get it untwisted. But I don’t have the same problem with it being difficult to do by hand so definitely not a deal breaker for me.
The depower is certainly the most annoying thing about this bar. Hopefully in the future the clean up that design. As far as quality goes it is top notch. Full season in already and the lines are still stiff and you couldn’t tell it’s even been used once. I do take good care of it and rinse with fresh water immediately after packing up so that may have something to do with it. Overall I’m happy with the price and quality. Will be used for years to come.
No auto untwist on the Center lines is most definitely a deal breaker,
Good review
I didn't get the bar width settings: when you flip the toggles from + to - the bar, visually, remained with the same length. Could you clarify, please?
Hi. Thanks Ford the video 👍
What harness are you using on the video?
Hi, excellent review. In your opinion, which is the best bar these days? I've to buy one and I need help.
great review. line quality is great too. what kind of spreader ring are you using?
Why front lines aro so much longer then back lines? Asking because i tested line lenght of mine (2021) after, i guess, 30 session and the front are 5-6 cm longer than the back lines.
thank you
I think you are de powering way too much if the foam loop is hitting your knuckles especially since the de power line has the elastic. If you de power too much the kite will also not fly as intended.
Hi, I get your gripes with the bar. Try to trim your backlines before you sell it, your lines should be equal. Right now you need full "depower" for proper trim. It should solve your reach problem and the kite should fly much better. If you ask me, get the reedin bar they have perfect auto rotate
Thanks for the comment. I got rid of the North bar shortly after making this video. I ended up with a Slingshot bar that has the same autorotate as the previous version of the Reedin. I actually wanted to get the Reedin but it was not available locally and i needed a replacement quick. The Slingshot was a short drive away and quite a bit cheaper since it was on sale.
North lines should not be equal...that's how they are supposed to be.
Good review
You scared my out of buying this