North Speedster

Any reviews on the new North Speedster? Which board do you have?

I'm looking at it for a first foil. I know North didn't nail it with their first attempt, but the new carbon composite seems great and I'd prefer buy something that lasts rather than a cheap or beginner one.

North speedster is rubbish imo. Of all the aluminum mast foils I have seen and I like the axis the best. Board shape good for learning with board still in water, foil easy to ride but still pretty slick though the water. Three mast combo, I rate starting on short mast 350-400mm riding board in the water with the foil carrying some of the load. Once you get board out the water with some control you have to move to the longer mast straight away as it's hard to ride short mast out of water (you keep surfacing). Most importantly get someone who is pretty good on foil to ride anything you purchase and tune before you get on. You can waste a lot of time learning on a poorly set up foil.

I know someone who has the speedster and learnt very quickly. I had a go on it and thought it was good.... it needed a little more speed than my JShapes to start flying and tracked a straight line more solidly/ directly .
I tried it with the cork ply board which worked fine but the new board with volume looks really nice and I wouldn't mind one myself. Coincidentally my friend learnt on the ply board then gave the volume board a go and preferred the ply, which is really about being comfortable with what you're used to. The only downside with the foil is that the material North use is not repairable if you get a chip or crack, but with appropriate care I can't see an issue (but never say never).

I agree with the above comments regarding what constitutes a good beginners foil. I've looked at the North Speedster. It looks really nice, but is very sharp. It also appears somewhat fragile to me. Fragility and learning to foil aren't a good combo. I can only comment on my Slingshot Hover Glide as it's the only foil I've tried. I found it very easy to learn on due to the short mast system and it's very stable once up on the foil. It's a medium aspect wing and flies at low speeds. It's also a strong foil that can take the knocks dished out by a beginner.

I think you will be better off on a mid aspect wing like a Zeeko Carver, Hover Glide or the Axis. The larger surf wings would also work well for learning, but these may be a bit too focussed in their application initially whereas the others will give more all round performance as you improve. Good luck with your search and have fun. It's truly addictive.

Select to expand quote

probabli said..
On the videos North plug the speedster as being virtually indestructible because its made out of the same stuff they make their fins out of. The North reps are throwing them at the ground and they seem fine, although there was an issue with the fuselages which North did a recall for.

I'm a big north fan (ride dices and a jamie) and they normally make good quality kit, but it seems slingshot and liquid force might be the way to go.

You shouldn't discard Zeeko from your picks. There is a reason why they are highly rated.... The cost of a Zeeko is not much more than a Naish, Cab or LF but you'll get a lot more bangs for your bucks. I saw they have announced a new entry level/intermediate model that should be be released within the next couple of weeks so it might be worth waiting for that one.

The best thing about Zeeko is that it will be a long time until (if you ever do) outgrow this foil.

I find that most mainstream brand put some nice photos and videos of their so called premium product but they rarely go into the construction details.

A mix of alloy and carbon is probably the worst combo a manufacturer could come up with unless they go to the extend of adding a galvanic isolation (google for galvanic corrosion).

Some of them use aluminium extrusion for their fuselage while the better ones will mill a solid block of aluminium.

Some of them weight 3kg while others weight up to 6kg...

If you are a big fan of North, maybe get their board and look into which other foil will be compatible with that board. Pretty sure all plate mounted foil will fit but make sure the distance between your front strap and your front wing will work with the foil you want to go with.

Check out this review of the white and green foil from Gunnar Biniasch who has reviewed most of the foils available on the market. Have look at his other reviews for comparisons:

-upMbK6nSfIaUS5&index=21

Yeah , we are not seeing much comment on this foil anywhere

A friend was up on the speedster foil with learner wedge in about 20 mins , and having long runs after about 45 mins .
That speaks for itself I guess

I learnt on jshapes freestyle and love it and the cruzer foil as well , but it was not easy
Had a small go on the speedster foil with the learner wedge and found it easy to ride . Very little front pressure needed . I didn't have any probs with cuts ... think that is just a function of learning
Found it tracked nicely
Found the cork board a good platform once going but missed a bit of volume when starting , as the board tends to sink a little when you tip it over to get your feet on it ... but I am used to the volume on the jshapes too ...

Would love a go on the speedster without the learner wedge to get a proper feel of the thing in comparison to the jshapes as i didn't really spend enough time to have a real opinion on it .

Any comment out there from someone who has spent a bit of time on this foil, and has some foiling experience ?

Select to expand quote

weebitbreezy said..

Kamikuza said..
Another vote for Axis, the aluminum foil is just over 3kg and IIRC the foil and board are under 7kg. It's a good first foil -- no bad habits, tough and fast enough if that's your thing.

Mine will be up for sale when I get around to taking pictures, because after all this time, I've decided what I want to do is noodle around slowly floating on the swell, so I'm going for a big wing set up . . . I'd keep it, if I could, in case I feel a need for speed but the big wing is no slouch.

Did I hear you right there. The Aluminium freeride foil (red thing with g10 wings) is circa 3kg. Thats pretty good! My old carbon Moses silente is around that kind of weight. Hmm. I wonder how abrasion resistant those g10 wings are.....

I did weigh everything once. Ah there it is: 3.8kg so closer to 4, sorry my bad.

Pretty good. The locals here ride the estuary and they get run aground a lot. Scratches but no breaks...

Disclaimer - i do work for a shop

I have ridden the North Speedster extensively. I have also ridden a KFA Mako a fair bit, Ridden numerous home made foils including my own, i owned a few of the Zheekos as well as the Naish foils. I have been foiling for 3 years.

As a comparison of all kite foils, the North Speedster is the best feeling foil out there. Its low end is really good and the only reason you would want a higher top end is if you were racing. It has amazing lateral stability which can be attributed to its winglets (upturned wings on each corner). It is amazing for carving and gives you complete control the entire time, whereas other foils would want to slide out on you especially when heading downwind when you are directly on top of the foil.

The only time foiling becomes dangerous, is when you become afraid of it. If youre landing on the foil it is usually because you are going too slow and allowing the foil to control you. So much of it is a fear thing that you need to get past!

With all of that said, i have been prone & SUP foiling for twelve months now. Because of this, my desire for a high top end speed has diminished and i ride surfing foils on my kite and much around on the small days in the surf. If you are a complete beginner with limited kite skills (and still insist on wanting to foil before you are ready) i suggest you get a surfing foil as they are nice and slow, stable, and easy.

The speedster is an awesome foil for its intended use and at an extremely good price point.

Of the four comments above who seem to have actually ridden the speedster, three are very positive and one very negative. Not a bad rate I suppose. Considering the price is so competitive and the 'wedge' assists learning, I reckon I'll pull the trigger.

Select to expand quote

probabli said..
Of the four comments above who seem to have actually ridden the speedster, three are very positive and one very negative. Not a bad rate I suppose. Considering the price is so competitive and the 'wedge' assists learning, I reckon I'll pull the trigger.

Personally I think that if you can't find an unbiased review from someone who actually own one and has been able to compare with the benchmark in the category, it probably means that there are better choices out there....

From my 3 years experience of foiling, I find that there isn't a "do it all" set up. Zeeko have 4 different wings, Axis have 2 and knowing that brand, chances are that they will have more in the year to come. Changing your front wing is like having a complete different foil for $300 or so.

Someone has mentioned that you can't repair the carbon compound thingy.... G10 and FG on the other hand is an easy and inexpensive fix.

North is new to this game and after the massive **** up they had with their potato peeler design (which they claimed to be the best one back then...), I would question whether they will develop other wings or not.


It is interesting to see that most experienced manufacturers have gone away from the winglets as well...

Select to expand quote

snalberski said..

oldbones said..
you can lead a horse to water

I think exactly the same thing when I tell people how much better than the entire plethora of aluminum masted foils my full carbon JShapes is, for only a couple of hundred more.

That doesn't sound right to me . . . going to check the prices . . . NZ$3,300 vs NZ$2,400 were the prices I found for a complete set up. What's your definition of "a couple"?

Select to expand quote

probabli said..
Cheers for the advice guys.

scotty100 are you able to surf and kite on the same foil? I've seen that cabrinha have a board they say you can run as a kitesurf board as well as a foil board. If i could actually surf it on days with no wind that'd be a huge plus, but I'm guessing you need a different foil for surfing as the speeds would be much lower than when you're being towed by a kite.

If your referring to the Double Agent, yes you can use it as a kite surfboard or kite skim board without the foil, but it is built using twin tip type construction and very thin so you would struggle to use it as a normal surf board. Great for learning to foil though.

Select to expand quote

snalberski said..

Kamikuza said..

That doesn't sound right to me . . . going to check the prices . . . NZ$3,300 vs NZ$2,400 were the prices I found for a complete set up. What's your definition of "a couple"?

I suppose it depends on the deal you get but even if you pay full amount 25% more for a foil that's 100% better makes economic sense, to me at least.

This statement is completely off the mark. Although I ride a carbon and I like the fact that my foil is lighter, easy to maintain or repair, I can safely say that the equivalent alloy version is not 100% better and it certainly does not make me ride better in any way.

The reality is that if you want to get your Jshape foil set up with a speed crossing wing, a wave wing and a freeride wing, not only it will be almost impossible to travel with it (each set up has its own plane assembly), it will also set you back for about $4000 excluding the board... Some alloy with the same configuration are around $2000 and easier to travel with.

Select to expand quote

snalberski said..

And how valuable is your opinion about a JShapes foil

About $900

Not one of the brands being discussed and compared, but thanks for your input.

Select to expand quote

snalberski said..

Kamikuza said..
Not one of the brands being discussed and compared, but thanks for your input.

Try reading from the top. The thread asks for assessments of the speedster. I discussed it and compared it to my current foil before the trolls started self justifying their questionable purchases.

I like the assumption that I haven't been following this thread I guess cos I didn't post till this last page...?

Regardless, the LF still wasn't one of the brands being discussed in the latest rounds of conversation

I mentioned the prices because when you got yours, I was looking for a new foil and went looking at Jshapes and their prices too, and found them to be more than I wanted to spend by a large margin. Didn't you buy direct and get a discount?

And I got to demo mine, so it was an easy sell after that