Review by The Kiteboarder: Prime
“Excelled in all areas with really smooth upwind ability through the chop and great edging/carving with easy to use pop. If you can only have one, take the Prime — it rips!”
- Tom Moore
The Kiteboarder says;
This is the first year for the North Prime twin tip, featuring its rounded outline and pulled in tips that give it the shape of a super user-friendly freeride/progression board. The bottom shape is simple with a slight single concave and a constant rocker that doesn’t look very aggressive. From the first moment, it is clear that the Prime is the quintessential freeride board geared for comfort and ease of use. When you pick the board up you will notice it has a nice medium light weight for an entry-level board, just don’t compare it to the featherweight Atmos Carbon series because that sets a very high standard. The Prime’s tracking isn’t quite as locked in as the Atmos; its grip is a little bit looser and easier to manage. It feels a little less intense in managing its edge and eats up chop with its pulled in tips and rounded outline. The Prime features a softer flex pattern that makes cutting upwind in the bumps feel really smooth and luxurious. When it comes to load and pop, serious freestylers will notice the softer flex pattern but casual freeride kiters will find sufficient stiffness to load and an easy release for sent jumps. The rounded outline into the tips make this board super fun and easy for transitions, as well as riding toeside and easily transitions and maintains turns while carving. Its rail doesn’t feel super locked or require aggressive inputs from riders which makes it the ideal beginner and intermediate fun freeride cruiser.
The Prime comes with two insert options for adjusting the stance width and the Flex twin tip bindings feature three holes on each side of the strap for adjusting your duck stance. The footpad has a nice rubbery grip with medium-plus density, featuring slight contours under your heel and arch and a subtle toe bump to keep your foot planted. The strap is a dual Velcro adjustable strap with an overarching cover and the strap mounting points can move forward or aft to shift the strap more over your toes or deeper over your arch. The underside of the strap feels noticeably soft with no seams and a knitflex material. Overall, the Flex offers a solid balance between clean design and a good amount of adjustability while keeping the system clean and functional. Testers gave the Flex solid reviews for comfort and liked the bindings for their precise connection to the board.
“Light user-friendly board that is playful and excels in all conditions with great upwind drive, smooth tracking through the chop with an easy to control edge.” - Dan Lerer, tester for the Kiteboarder.
Check out the review here.
