Hi guys !!
I finally sold my North Rebels and now I'm considering to get a new quiver of North Neo kites for wave riding only.
I used to have a quiver of Rebels sizes 6,9,12. This quiver worked perfectly well for me - I was able to kite under all conditions I found in Australia, Asia and Europe (fyi i'm 75kg riding medium volume surfboard).
Now that I'm getting the Neo, I'm thinking if I should follow the same quiver (6/9/12) or move 1 size down.
For Neo 2017 owners, what do you guys think about this quiver 6/9/12?

I'm also considering if I should get the Neo for sizes 6 and 9 and a Reo Ozone for size 12, as I found reviews stating the big sizes Neo are really slow. Any thoughts and reviews on that?

Cheers everyone!

I've been on Neos for a while and recently traded in to 2017 6,8,10 Neos. I love them but am not sure about the 10.
It's a lot slower than the 8 which is to be expected but I'm not convinced it's the best kite for light wind wave riding. Though I don't really know what would be better either so that's not much help!

It's great having a quiver of the same kites, but I think there may be better options for your light wind kite.

Hi Pat,

I arrived in WA on Friday, with a full van of demo north gear.
I have 7, 9 and 11m Neos as well as a quiver of pretty much every kite north make.

We have demos planned, through our local dealers and i will also be at the beach whenever people are keen to try gear.

I'm personally 75kg and ride the 6m, 9m in Neo and 12m in the Mono.
The mono has all the same characteristics as the Neo, but is a lighter build and has less struts, so it sits better in light wind. (i have one in demo also)

Let me know if your out and about kiting, mid week, or keep and eye on ACTION WA and WA SURFS facebook pages for demo times.
Happy to bring some gear down for you to try.

cheers

Josh

JBFletch said..
I'm personally 75kg and ride the 6m, 9m in Neo and 12m in the Mono.
The mono has all the same characteristics as the Neo, but is a lighter build and has less struts, so it sits better in light wind. (i have one in demo also)

Thanks for the invitation Josh ! Unfortunately I won't be around for the demo session.

Regarding the responsiveness of the Mono 12m, comparing to the Neo 12m, would you say the Mono is quicker than the Neo?

I haven't considered the Mono for my 12m in the next quiver, as I have received so many positive feedback from Ozone Reo 12m kiters (they were all amazed how fast it turns for a 12m!).

Cheers !! Pat.

Hi Pat,

I'm here for 2 weeks (next 2 weekends) so hopefully you can make it to one.

Personally i don't ride the 12m much. The 9m is super responsive, and seems to buzz around were i need it and you can work it pretty hard to power it up.
I reckon i can get going on a WHIP and 9m in 18knots.

Both stores in WA have demos, so even if you can't get to one of the NORTH demo days, swing past and grab a store demo kite and go for a spin.
Its the best way to know for yourself. Opinions of others only go so far.

cheers

Josh

... thanks!

NitrousOxide said..
I am also thinking of going 5,7,9m in the Neo's. I have a 14m Core section LW for those desperation days but if i'm honest since riding the Tomo boards I rarely want bigger than my current 10m (Naish park 2014) and I'm 95kg dry weight.

Going to try and demo the Neo back to back with the Naish Slash and pick between the two!

I'd be interested in your decision/comments once you trial those two.

The Section is a great kite but has taken a bit of getting used to and I still don't have it completely dialed in. I am mainly on Naish parks from 2014 riding 90% strapless surfboard and had 12,10,8m and being 95kg I struggled a little bit in the typical east cost seabreezes of 14-17 knots. I bought the section in an attempt to get me out in those slightly lighter days and still be able to wave ride. I have since realised that part of my problem was having a less than ideal board for my weight in light winds.....Firewire Vader 5'5" and i can ride my 10m park down to 16 knots.

But the 14m Section is a far better wave kite than the 12m Park. It turns as quick, has a slightly better bottom end drifts far better. And has a top end up to the point where I am using my 10 and if I had a 9m with a good bottom end (Neo or Slash) of about 18 knots. With the line extensions you get an extra 1-2 knots bottom end so can stay upwind from 12 knots, but it gives it a bit more of a park and ride feel and it becomes very slow making it less useful as a wave kite. So for me it fills in the 13-17knot gap nicely and is a lot more lively than any other big kite i have ridden.

But the couple of sessions I have found it has come into its own have been in big swells with a little bit borderline winds. I took it out in a solid 6 foot (double over head swell) in 16 knot winds with strong sweep and rips at Merewether beach and the drift and extra low end meant I could enjoy an otherwise impossible session - I was the only kite out.

The other 50% of sessions on it have not been as much fun - but for me that is pretty good from my experience of trying to kite waves in light winds where 1 knot makes the difference between flying along on glass and sinking

Its still a big kite and therefore isn't super quick in the turn and it doesn't have the bottom end of my old 17m Contra, but it does drift and you can whip it around kite-loop it in onshore conditions. It doesn't overpower me like the contra did so it goes upwind well. So all in all as far as lightwind wave goes i'm pretty pleased with it but still struggle to use it in truly light winds (Which is probably because I need to lose 20kg more than the kite itself)

I had rebels for years then neo 2014 2015 4 5 7 9....sold them ....too slow .
bought religion 9 6 in june ....much less power than my previous neo but decent turning for waves.
tried two days ago new 9 neo after one hour with my rel 9.....about 15 17 knots .
found neo a real wave kite now ....good turning ,very different from older ones .
turns like a wave kite should do.
had impression of much less power and less upwind quality so maybe this year the suggestion of buying one size smaller must be cheked carefully before spending so much,but I had new north bar ...no much confidence....seemed setted for higher winds ......queue for trying.....to try again better.

Hey Nitrous,

Thanks for the reply. That's a pretty positive report.

I been toying with the purchase for a while but hate big kites, but I hate just missing session more. Recently my biggest kite was a 12m Catalyst which I found wasn't enough to get out in the really light stuff but way to close to my 10m. It was pretty pleasing to hear that it drifts that well and you can loop it etc. At 82kg's I think it should be perfect for those many 15kn borderline days!

Thanks' mate!

Side note,.. does anyone have an old 14m Section for sale?

All of the north kites (including the NEO) for 2017 have had canopy redesign.
The segmented panels, means that the canopy is more stable and combining that with flatter tips, the new neo flys a little faster and turns more responsively.

I wasn't a fan of last years 11 or 12m and have a had a few rides on the 2017 11 and find it better and not so (big kite feeling).

Best way to know, is to demo tho.

Shoot me a msg if your heading out.
Ill bring the quiver down for you.

cheers

Josh

Hi Patkite,

Your 6/9/12m is fine. Maybe a 5m if you go out in +28 knots (surfboard)
The 2017 North Neo didn't changed a lot vs 2016. Instructors in our school said the 2017 felt a bit softer.
Written review: www.kitefinder.com/en/kites/1612/north-neo-2017

You can find a video Neo/click bar review here. It was in very light wind foil conditions, but you can see its performance.
Video Review: