NORTH KITEBOARDING COMES HOME

We Celebrate The Launch of North Kiteboarding

By Victoria Stuart

With a hand-picked team of the industry’s most experienced and respected designers, engineers and brand managers at the helm, the freshly re-calibrated brand delivered their thoughtfully refined range of kites, boards, foils and accessories to market under the North Technology Group (NTG) umbrella on the 8th August.

Kite-buffs around the world speculated if it was even possible – bringing to market a new premium brand almost twenty years into the sport? Especially with only one year to turn a blank slate into a full product range. But applauded for their intuitive, less-is-more approach to design, North Kiteboarding has rocketed, like their flagship kite the Orbit, above and beyond expectations.

Alongside the product designs, the team were instrumental in shaping a new brand philosophy that holds to our North heritage while also inspiring groundbreaking innovative solutions.

“The new North range is like nothing you’ve ever ridden before… bringing a high-quality, much needed, masterfully minimalist approach to their gear.” – Nathan Patterson, MACKiteboarding 📸 Vincent Schaap, Dakhla, Morocco

A Powerful Alliance Under NTG

North Kiteboarding’s return for the model year 2020 came about after NTG announced it would make a significant investment in its brand North Kiteboarding – bringing the design, innovation and manufacturing of its products home under the umbrella of the group and ending its third party licensing agreement. In January 2019, North Kiteboarding joined forces with world-leading accessories group Mystic BV under a new part of NTG called North Actionsports Group. This merger gave the brand instant access to one of the biggest distribution networks in the kite world, further strengthening its foundations and infrastructure.

North Actionsports Group represents a powerful alliance of world-class kiters and experienced industry innovators and leaders, determined to make kiteboarding more accessible, sustainable, innovative and exciting.

“I firmly believe creating great products is all about investing in incredible people,” says Mike Raper – North Kiteboarding Brand Director.

“At North, we are always seeking, always asking; ‘Where can there be more power, greater performance, more intuitive intelligence?’. Then, always: ‘How can it be simpler?’.

“I’m very proud of how our team has collaborated, working hard to leverage years of experience and passion and develop a high-performance range of gear.”

Working closely with the NTG’s composite engineers and designers, North Kiteboarding is excited to continue leveraging the unmatched aero and hydro expertise the Group has within its portfolio.

Engineered. Refined. Intuitive.

“We are determined to drive the sport of kiteboarding forward through unprecedented technological development and an unwavering commitment to our principles,” says Raper.

North Team Riders Jesse Richman, Jalou Langeree and Graham Howes after a foil session on the Hydro Canals captured by Content Creator Jonty Norton, with Mike Raper in the driver’s seat. 📸 Scott Sinton, MacKenzie Country, NZ

Tom Whidden, CEO of NTG, comments: “We have so much technology within our group which we can better share with our fellow lovers of wind and waves. Sailing and kiting are equipment-driven sports – when you have the best gear, being out there in the wind, on the water is so much better – in fact, it’s the greatest feeling on earth.”

Discover North Kiteboarding at www.northkb.com or join the conversation on:

Facebook: @northkiteboarding

Instagram: @northkiteboarding