G'day all,
has anyone tried the North 2014 Team Series 140 x 42cm board? Can I have your opinions how it rides?
cheers,
Robbie 
Puetz,
I can only talk for the 134 at this stage, but it has stiffer tips than last year and i'm not positive but it seems to have a little more rocker in the middle. First session was in 25+, choppy gusty ****ty stuff. Board felt a lot more comfortable than last years and I felt i could wipe off speed a little easier. 2013 I always felt i was trying to slow the board down - you've got to remember this is designed for their PKRA guys to go hard in competitions so that's to be expected.
Second session was nice 9m weather about 20 knots and dropping, on flat water. Felt exactly like what I wanted for that day; big pop, light in the air and soft landings.
Third session was on the 14m Vegas in very little wind. Board gets up and going super early because of it's relatively low rocker (comparing to a freeride board like an XRide) and light weight, didn't feel bogged down and stuck to the water, which is probably what you're after in NT!
Lovely board this year, light and aggressive for freestyle riders yet comfortable in the freeride arena. Epic pop, smooth landings - my choice of freestyle flat water board this summer.
Drew - WA Surf
... thanks Drew, just what I wanted to hear! 
I was actually asking for my Son who killed my beloved Sky Pro 138 which I believe the Team series decended from. I've always loved a stiff board and loved Sky Pro which was very stiff with very flat bottom so made it nice and skatey and I know it was not in the design brief but I loved it in big surf as I could carve big turns and not loose grip!
Cheers,
Robbie 
ps can you give me your opinions on the 14m Vegas, can I assume it was the 2014 14m you used ???
Select to expand quotePuetz said..
ps can you give me your opinions on the 14m Vegas, can I assume it was the 2014 14m you used ???
Yep it was the 2014. I was on 24m lines in sub 15knots. This feels like it has a bit more grunt than last years 14m Vegas but it's not like the Vegas is a grunty kite. On the TeamSeries it was super stable and easy to unhook and pop - no massive bar pressure or anything that some 14m trucks come with.
I then jumped on the 5'2 nugget and that was something else. The only other rider out was on a 17m Zephyr and a twin tip and she was not that powered. By this point it was 10 knots and i was cruising around fine. This was the first session on the 14V, just looking for another 13-15knot day so i can get proper time on the twin tip but i'm pretty happy with it so far.
... thats great, thanks again Drew.
I suppose you didn't try the different front line connections point yet (wakestyle/freeride), which one did you have yours on?
How was the upwind of the 14m?
Did you ever try the 2012 14m Vegas, can you compare it to the 2014?
cheers again,
Robbie
Select to expand quotePuetz said..
... thats great, thanks again Drew.
I suppose you didn't try the different front line connections point yet (wakestyle/freeride), which one did you have yours on?
How was the upwind of the 14m?
Did you ever try the 2012 14m Vegas, can you compare it to the 2014?
cheers again,
Robbie
Haven't tried wakestyle yet on the 2014's.
Upwind seemed okay but it's a C-kite, it's not exactly going to hunt the edge of the window and let you point like crazy. Didn't have any trouble going upwind.
Never tried the 2012 14m, sorry.
Drew
Hey Robbie, if your still looking for a board to put boots on, check to see if North have improved their plastic rail system on the new boards, the previous years was not the best with bindings.
Select to expand quotejuicerider said..
Hey Robbie, if your still looking for a board to put boots on, check to see if North have improved their plastic rail system on the new boards, the previous years was not the best with bindings.
They are persisting with the rubbish track system, even on the Gambler which were pretty much disposable last year. They claim that the system is now 50% stronger but +50% of crap is still crap. I know guys that have gone through 3 Gamblers riding boots. I wouldn't wan a trip ruined by busted inserts. If you want to ride boots, get a board made by a company that makes wakeboards (LF, Slingy) or a Tona.
Having said that, if you're 50kg, you probably won't break it. The Team series is sure to be a good board but I wouldn't put boots on it or North's "Wakestyle" board (total BS claiming).
Any kiteboard track system is crap. Look at slingshots asylum. Got two mates that have that board and both boards have suffered from the channels cracking. They just can't handle any edges. Look elsewhere dude, seriously
Yeh piss that track stuff off for sure. Hey robbie I had the 2012 Vegas it was horrible compared to the 2014 I flew not long ago. They said they learnt some lessons from the Neo and incorporated them...well that's marketing but its a much much better kite now. I hated my 2012.
Select to expand quoteeppo said..
Yeh piss that track stuff off for sure. Hey robbie I had the 2012 Vegas it was horrible compared to the 2014 I flew not long ago. They said they learnt some lessons from the Neo and incorporated them...well that's marketing but its a much much better kite now. I hated my 2012.
That's interesting. I've owned 2010, 2011, and 2012 Vegas' and chose not to buy newer as I didn't like them as much. I find the 2012 Vegas to be excellent but I've only got the 12m. Keen to try the newest one as long as the new bar isn't a self destructing POS like last years.
I am pretty sure you would find a post from 2012 where Eppo was raving about how good was the Vegas over the C4 and blahblahblah. But apparently now it is a piece of crap... That is why I do not pay attention to his reviews anymore....
It is no secret that the tracks were failing on the north boards last year, but the only track failures they had was when riding boots. They have changed and reinforced the way the boxes are put into the board for 2014, which is why the Gambler has been delayed this year. We've been assured that the new boxes are stronger already and its the best chance to stop failures with boots.
I'm not saying it's perfect, but inserts pull out as well so it's a bit harsh saying the new track is going to suck (in comparison to inserts) before anyone has given it a solid beating to test it out. I've seen plenty of "wakestyle" boards with inserts ripped out, so that's not the be all and end all of the issue.
On the 2010-2012 Vegas vs the 2013-2014: A lot of people have said to us that they prefer the older Vegas because it seems to have a bit more freeride characteristics built into it. They completely redesigned the kite in 2013 and in my opinion, it was a bit more biased towards the freestyle crew.
With the bar, they've made a **load of changes based off the issues from last year: grip peeling, bar end plastic parts failing, centre insert distorting. It feels solid this year, only time will tell.
Drew
