North

North Kiteboarding / North Foils — covered mainly through co-founder and brand manager Mike Raper.

• Mike Raper appears three times: North Foiling from Auckland (Ep 24), a V2 catch-up after a health scare (Ep 107), and an in-person chat at the Hatchery (Ep 129).
• Product-development view from Uli Sommerlatt, North Product Development Manager (Ep 37). Liam reviewed North kites at the 2023 North Dealer Meeting in Portugal (Ep 37, Ep 86).
• Ep 24 — corporate structure: North Kiteboarding/North Foils sits inside the wider North Sales Group (Dutch HQ, merged with Mystic ~4–5 years before this recording), alongside North Sales (performance sailing materials — ~60–70% market share claimed, America’s Cup/SailGP/superyachts), North Sales Apparel (Italian-market heritage, mid-relaunch, signed Tom Bridge), North Paddle and North Windsurfing. Brand marketing is run out of New Zealand; back-office/distribution/logistics out of Holland.
• Ep 24 — brand history: the North Sails brand was licensed to Boards & More for windsurfing in the 1980s/90s and for kiteboarding from ~2001 (creating the original North Kiteboarding). That licence ended ~2018, when Boards & More launched Duotone instead. Mike Raper rebuilt North Kiteboarding as a fresh brand from ~2018, launching August 2019; by 2023 it’s the claimed #2 kiteboarding brand behind Duotone.
• Ep 24 — foiling growth: foiling wasn’t part of North’s original 2018 business plan; development began in earnest ~2020. Foiling revenue has more than doubled year-on-year for four straight years, tracking toward parity with kiteboarding revenue within a year or two of this recording (March 2023).
• Ep 24 — foil tech (Sonar range): North’s mast-to-fuselage joint, “GeoLock,” is a patented wedge-fit connection (vs the industry-standard parallel screw-fit) designed to transfer load through the joint itself rather than through the mounting screws — Mike claims superior stiffness to competitors including some high-modulus masts, and publicly invites bend/torsion comparison testing. Current carbon mast tapers ~13.5mm to ~12mm in sections; North also makes the case for aluminium masts being underrated (cheaper, more durable, only ~500g heavier fuse than carbon).
• Ep 24 — materials: developed its own in-house wing material, “N-Wave” (laminate inside, woven outside), pitched as a cheaper alternative to a premium competitor material (transcribed “Alula,” uncertain) after finding that material difficult to manufacture with and expensive; currently exclusive to North but open to future licensing.
• Ep 24 — products discussed: Nova v3 (2023 freeride wing, ground-up redesign, designer “Dano” with Steve Kelder), SF Surf range (prone pumping/wing-surfing), HA/Swivel high-aspect wings, MA mid-aspect range, Nova Light Wind (dedicated light-wind wing, no windows). A downwind board-and-foil program is confirmed in development. Team is internationally distributed: Philippines (kite/wing design), San Francisco (materials), Florida (Steve Kelder), Holland (kite design), Raglan NZ (board shaping, Hugh Pinfold on control systems/bindings).