2022 North Orbit Kite

King of the Big Air Kites
Committing to overpowered airs and megaloops in gusty conditions demands unwavering trust in your kite. Our iconic premier 5-strut kite delivers incredible top-end control and allows you to hold down more power than any other kite per square meter. Big jumps. Big hang time. Big wind range. This kite was designed to rocket you upwind fast, with effortless steering, extreme boosting, and hangtime guaranteed to take your breath away. Tested by nature, proven on the podium. The Orbit has your back when the rules of gravity don’t apply. For 2022 we’ve made small refinements to the bridle, so the Orbit retains its light steering impulse, stability, high-end performance, and kiteloop recovery. We’ve also further reduced the weight of the kite with new lighter-weight bladders across more sizes, so the kite feels even lighter and more responsive in all conditions.

2022 TECH:

HIGH-PERFORMANCE HIGH TENACITY RIPSTOP CANOPY
All our kites are manufactured using high-tenacity polyester yarn canopy material for lightness, high tear strength, zero porosity, and longevity.

LIGHT BAR PRESSURE

In 2022 we’ve made small refinements to the bridle, retaining the Orbit’s controlled response and fast steering, while giving the kite a more energetic feel with increased depower. Chief Kite Designer Pat Goodman has worked closely with team riders to put the kite through hardcore testing in a lot of wind. This enabled us to further improve the stability, feedback and steering behavior, and to give the kite a lighter, more responsive feel.

HIGHEST QUALITY NO-PULLEY BRIDLE LINES 

Our high-quality spliced, pre-stretched bridle lines are pre-loaded and measured before cutting to improve accuracy and consistency. This results in reduced shrinkage, reduced elongation, and improved longevity. Removing ALL pulleys from the bridle improves safety and gives the kite direct and precise handling.

We've added an extra panel that connects to the leading edge seam to ensure a precise lateral profile shape is maintained as close to the leading edge as possible, creating a smooth transition from the segmented leading edge to the curved canopy so the profiles are more uniform throughout the entire wing. The panels reduce inconsistencies in the profile, resulting in a smoother, more efficient kite, with more aerodynamic airflow and less turbulence.

DURALITE SEAM PROTECTION

Lightweight reinforcement to protect from chafing and abrasion along the struts to the leading edge. Thin foam padding is inserted underneath to form a lightweight durable buffer that lifts the kite slightly off rough surfaces and protects the stitching along the struts and leading edge seams.

KEVLAR REINFORCED STRUT SYSTEM WITH BRIDLE DEFLECTORS

For the most accurate and durable connection between the strut and the leading edge. Bridle deflectors on the leading edge prevent the control lines from snagging.

PHENOMENAL LOFT AND HANGTIME

The Orbit has a wide flattened 2-stage arc supported by a reinforced exoskeleton frame, ensuring glide that is guaranteed to take your breath away. The Orbit makes the most use of its projected area, so it has the best hangtime and power delivery for its size.

POWERFUL AND EFFICIENT 2-STAGE ARC DESIGN

Our two-stage arc design incorporates a flattened, more open arc shape through the central power-producing region of the kite, where the energy is most useful for you performance-wise. This gives you the highest amount of projected area and projected aspect ratio, meaning the Orbit has the best hangtime and power delivery for its size. Pulling the wingtips in towards the rider gives the kite more responsive steering and the smoothest transition of the profile attack angles when it's under load.

When you’re chasing a storm, the Orbit provides incredible top-end control. The five-strut design gives it an incredible amount of stability and wind range, and you have a lot more control over the canopy movement at low attack angles. The Orbit has the widest wind range of all our kites. The fixed, no-pulley bridle is a little bit longer, and combined with its placement on the kite gives us a very stable platform in all conditions.

THINNER DIAMETER STRUTS

The Orbit’s five struts are surprisingly slender when inflated, helping to keep the weight of the kite down while providing canopy stability.

NEW LIGHTWEIGHT BLADDERS IN MORE SIZES

The lighter the kite, the faster the steering, the more lift it creates and the higher you jump. For 2022 lighter weight bladders have been adopted into more of the larger sizes in the range. This additional weight reduction helps the new Orbit fly more efficiently, so the kite feels even lighter and more responsive in all conditions – and particularly in light wind. It also improves the overall static balance of the wing by reducing weight in the front of the kite. Bladders make up a bigger weight percentage than any other material used in a kite. The new bladder material is 17% lighter than in previous bladders.

REDUCED DIAMETER LEADING-EDGE WITH SWEEP

Gives the Orbit a low drag profile, making it sit further forwards in the wind window for incredible upwind performance. The high aspect ratio swept design allows more area in the center of the kite for efficiency and easy roll to relaunch.

THE FORCE TAKEAWAY:
           The North Orbit is one of the most trusted and iconic kites for the big air game. The durable construction and expert design give you a rock-solid wing that you can count on when riding at your limit. The 5-strut design and high aspect ratio of the Orbit allow the kite to sit farther forward in the wind window and is very quick and responsive through its flight. For 2022, Small minor changes were made to the bridle to allow quicker steering responses. New improved panel placement and construction that improve durability and reliability of the kite's performance. The Orbit is great for any rider looking to test their limit of going bigger than they have ever gone before.