Looking to get a north bar so I can steal my wifes Vegases.

There's 3 options:

Wake, normal / trust and click. I do a lot of looping and i find it a bit too hard on the wake bar.

The trust bar seems ok if you dont snap those plastic things of the ends!

Has the Click bar stood the test of time now? Looping, unhooking etc? Any user pros and cons to report?

Thanks

I recently got a couple of new bars and what I didn't like was PU covered main lines. I found it made the bar bind when cranking hard. I tried a click bar in the shop and it seemed that that problem may be amplifed with a click bar due to large squarish PU main line cover. I haven't tried one on a kite but demoing a few times would be advised.

I'd say the Click bar is about the same as a regular PU bar for binding. Its really noticeable when not on the water because of the squared off profile (the slightest twist will make it tight but when its under tension you don't get this) but I don't notice it whilst on the water. Maybe the water helps to cut the friction even more?

The first model saw some people getting wear on the flag line where it goes through the line splitter (look at the wetestkites report). The simple precaution is to put a bit of heat shrink over the line at that point. They have a slightly redesigned split point this year. Haven't seen any wear yet myself but I haven't had really heavy use yet.

The adjustable height V is pretty cool. I notice in the North vids, a lot of the wakestyle riders are riding low V to get more low end out of their kites. I like mine as I can use it for non-North kit as well. Mind you, even the new Switch bar has this feature now.

The stopper ball is a plus and a minus. You can get massive bar throw but its more tricky to slide around as it can be a little more fiddly. Probably more a problem for me as I kite with gloves part of the year for the cold weather.

Its also noticeably heavier than the regular bar. I think the Vegas is 5 line so you need to remember to get the 5th line kite which is an optional extra (and not cheaply priced either).

The rinse channels are a absolute chore to open at the end of session to rinse. I'm toying with leaving them off but that increases the chance of sand inside.

Overall its a decent and versatile bar that does feel a bit nicer than a regular bar but I couldn't honestly say it was a worthwhile upgrade. I only got mine as end of season stock (after I left my old bar at the beach and it went walking off on its own) so with the discount was the same price as a normal bar. Its been worth it for me as I have moved away from North kites this year and I have been able to keep the same bar.

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weebitbreezy said..
I'd say the Click bar is about the same as a regular PU bar for binding. Its really noticeable when not on the water because of the squared off profile (the slightest twist will make it tight but when its under tension you don't get this) but I don't notice it whilst on the water. Maybe the water helps to cut the friction even more?

The first model saw some people getting wear on the flag line where it goes through the line splitter (look at the wetestkites report). The simple precaution is to put a bit of heat shrink over the line at that point. They have a slightly redesigned split point this year. Haven't seen any wear yet myself but I haven't had really heavy use yet.

The adjustable height V is pretty cool. I notice in the North vids, a lot of the wakestyle riders are riding low V to get more low end out of their kites. I like mine as I can use it for non-North kit as well. Mind you, even the new Switch bar has this feature now.

The stopper ball is a plus and a minus. You can get massive bar throw but its more tricky to slide around as it can be a little more fiddly. Probably more a problem for me as I kite with gloves part of the year for the cold weather.

Its also noticeably heavier than the regular bar. I think the Vegas is 5 line so you need to remember to get the 5th line kite which is an optional extra (and not cheaply priced either).

The rinse channels are a absolute chore to open at the end of session to rinse. I'm toying with leaving them off but that increases the chance of sand inside.

Overall its a decent and versatile bar that does feel a bit nicer than a regular bar but I couldn't honestly say it was a worthwhile upgrade. I only got mine as end of season stock (after I left my old bar at the beach and it went walking off on its own) so with the discount was the same price as a normal bar. Its been worth it for me as I have moved away from North kites this year and I have been able to keep the same bar.

Thanks, good write up

I've had a click bar for a year now & quite like it but the mechanism did jam during one session early on and I couldn't depower or power up. Luckily conditions were ok so just carried on and it was working again by end of session. I'd been at an iron sand surf beach the day before & only gave bar a quick rinse after so I wondered if some of the magnetic sand got stuck in mechanism. Since then I hose/rinse and soak after sessions as per instructions and no further jams.
The 4 line trust bar I have has a metal thing at the split that annoyingly catches lines & sometimes causes tangles if you drift launch or lines slack in waters any stage, so I mostly just use the click bar now.

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Macster said..
Looking to get a north bar so I can steal my wifes Vegases.

There's 3 options:

Wake, normal / trust and click. I do a lot of looping and i find it a bit too hard on the wake bar.

The trust bar seems ok if you dont snap those plastic things of the ends!

Has the Click bar stood the test of time now? Looping, unhooking etc? Any user pros and cons to report?

Thanks

If your riding the smaller kites a lot. I would say pros of the wake bar outweigh the cons. Put it in 6 line mode and high depower if the loops are too strong.

The other obvious pro is of the 3 bars , only the wakebar in 6 line offers reverse launch.

My north click bar is **** all the balls fell out of it after 2 times using it. On average i do x 120/200 jumps per session with down loop on most jumps and non powered little loops (as stated by big bad Borbeeee from Bunners). My sturdy thrust bar has been on the go with my trusty Vegas kites x2 years now never skipped a beat. I replaced the depower line before doing that down wonder in Gero. Just incase scrutineers picked it before hand I will give you my bran new piece of **** click bar for 300 if you want you can take up with north regarding warranty I can't be ****ed. I'm thinking of Giving up kiting anyway it's all to hard gonna just become a lazy **** that sits on the couch !!!

Not a lot of experience with the wake bar, but the Click & Trust both have pros and cons, got plenty of people on both.

One of the biggest things we've found is how much reach you have:

Tall people tend to really like the click bar as they can utilise the long throw, tune the kite with the click system and then always ride in the sweet spot with their arms wherever they find it most comfortable.

Short people, the trust bar is the go. You can shorten the throw and still have your full depower accessible on the depower rope, something very few other bars offer. Got quite a few people who use the trust bar on other kites because of this.

If you have a lot of different kites, the click bar is a good way to go as it is pretty versatile. Click bar swivel system is nice if you do a lot of looping too.

The click bar does take a little while to get used to, but give it a couple of sessions and most are loving it. Quality/durability has been really good, only major wearing part we've found is the internal line mentioned already. The 2017 one did wear out, the 2018 one they added a sheathe over the line that seems to have extended it's life span a fair bit. Just something to be aware of as it's a wearing part you can't see so worth inspecting it periodically, start of the season and before you travel etc.

have the click bar and don't like it, its a PITA to clean it after a session in cold water and semi frozen fingers and North says to turn the power mechanism while washing but when the lines are wrapped you cant do this.
Got it because i have a mixed quiver of north and ozone but I'd prefer a simple bar from any other brand i can see all parts and replace all ..anyway don't buy 2017 version or you need to replace few parts...but you can get a 2018 v distributor for 2017 bar which I've done

Do mean the duotone bars .... ?? What are these north bars you talk of ??

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eppo said..
Do mean the duotone bars .... ?? What are these north bars you talk of ??

Not yet! A few more weeks for those ones

Hi everyone, has anyone else had issues with the North Click Bar?

My 8 month old North Click Bar ripped apart on the water 2 weeks ago. The shop I bought it from has hinted that no single element of the bar failed and that they might struggle to convince North/Duotone to honour the warranty. They found a bolt was stripped and other parts with a breaking strain of 500kg came apart: the whole click mechanism came apart.

They seem to be suggesting I've done something beyond "normal use". However the force wasn't anything that any other bar hasn't coped with before, was just making a sharp turn after luffing the kite.

Just thought if others had the same problem it might help with the warranty claim...?