North Mode Wing Review

Want to know more about the 2023 North Mode? Check out the Hydrofoil Academy Australia's review to get all the details of this wing foil wing.
hydrofoilacademy.com
hydrofoilshop.com.au

[@GunnarBiniasch]

Hi. Nice review. I just wanted to pop in an answer your question about if we did it on purpose to make it such a good allround wing. To start with, I never understood why people would say that a wing that is good on the race course would not be suitable for a beginner or freerider. When I was asked by Steve Calder what I needed in a race wing, I said I needed wing that was easy to control at speed, had good lowend to get small foils up and flying in light wind, have a large windrange, be light, and have easy handling. It also needed to be able to pump really well as this is very important on the racecourse as going deep downwind and high angels upwind involved pumping the wing hard. So all the things that are needed on the Racecourse make it a really good choice for all other usecases too.

[@stkl23]

Gunnar what is the wind range of the 5.5?

[@GunnarBiniasch]

@@stkl23 For me (88kg) it's from 15 knots until 30 Knots with an HA550 Foil for racing. For freeriding I use a HA850 from about 12 knots onwards with the 5.5.

[@stkl23]

Can you translate that to Axis? I ride the 1300/1310 in low winds and the 1099 in the upper 4bft range (inland germany - no consistent winds…)

[@GunnarBiniasch]

@@stkl23 Those are big foils, you you should be able to get going in quite light stuff depending on your board ab level. The 1310PNG combined with a 5.5 work for me with a 65L board in 10 knots easily.

[@stkl23]

Thanks!

[@bdwelle43]

Nice review guys, and the wing looks great. I have to say though, for those of us who are used to using

[@hydrofoilacademy]

Good point! They are bringing out smaller sizes in the coming months...watch this space!

[@3421Greg]

It would have been nice to actually see the valves. I am assuming they are the standard kite valves that require no adapter. We heard the velcro ripping but didn't get to see anything. I would have liked to see the wing unfolded and re-folded into the bag. It’s a pretty significant part of the use of a wing. Clearly the long bag, long handles, windows and battens require a specific folding method. You should show that. I would like to hear about how the wing handles with age. Many high end wings show some bagging in the trailing edge in a relatively short time. I assume there’s a cosmetic change (it looks bagged) and a performance change (it handles differently) with age. I want to know how long the Mode would retain its premium performance with use.

[@hydrofoilacademy]

Hi Greg, thanks for your comment. Valves are the standard North valves. It's a very slick valve system with a standard inflation connection (same as takoon, duotone, armstrong, ...) Folding the wing: You basically roll both sides towards the centre strut then turn it around when you fold it, due to the hard handles. The battens are short and you fold the piece of canopy holding the battens once again over, super simple. It's super simple but I recon we'll produce and additional video about this ;-) Aging: Lets see how the Mode goes; Time will tell. But I recon the experience of North Sails being in the watersports & sailing business for decades will contribute to retaining its quality over time. Additionally wingfoiling is well and surely getting out of its infancy and most brands who have been around for the last couple of years seem to ramp up the quality, functionality and finish of their products. Greg, please always feel free to reach out for questions or info. Windy greetings !!!

[@defenderoftheadverb]

I can't hear Chris. Are you transmitting in sterio? I can only get one channel. The usual thing is to use mono. That works for everyone.

[@hydrofoilacademy]

Sorry, yes the audio is not great in this video.

[@asquared01]

Nice review. This looks like a very well-considered and designed wing. I hope the build quality and longevity match the design. The 4.2 and 5.5 sizes are a great idea - what wind range does this give you? What is the upper end of the 4,2? 25-30 knots? Price-wise, I thought it would be higher, so good on North for positioning it like that. Also, I like the looks, the white works for me too. Almost as nice looking as the Strikes ;)

[@hydrofoilacademy]

Apologies for the late reply. I'm confident you got a wing sorted by now but still wanna reply to your message. For me the 4.2 Mode starts at 20knts and goes easily to 32 knts. I use the 5.5 from kind of 11knts to 22 knts.

[@asquared01]

@@hydrofoilacademy nice, simplistically it sounds like the 5.5 is good for 10-20 and the 4.3 is good for 20-30 knots give or take a few knots and of course, depending on the board and foil combo.

[@hydrofoilacademy]

@@asquared01 Yes exactly. Let me know how you go 🤞🤙

[@smytharmstrong8543]

You talked about most aspects of this wing (speed and upwind) but how does it perform in transitions -- gybes and tacks? Thanks.

[@hydrofoilacademy]

Thanks @smytharmstrong8543 for bringing this up ! I have been flying the 4.2 & 5.5 and both wings have a supersmooth handling in gybes and tacks. As most wings, it might take the rider 5-10min to get used to the new handling characteristics, but once you found the sweet spot for every manoeuvre the Mode handles incredibly precise, efficient and smooth. I find the sweet spot for tacks by holding the front bar right in the centre. The wing also performs supersmooth in other moves as duck-, heineken jibes & 360ies,. In case you are in Sydney, come & say hello & grab one of our test wings for a test session 🤙 Chris

[@smytharmstrong8543]

@@hydrofoilacademy Thanks for the reply. I'm also curious about the canopy material. It looks like the material at the rear of the canopy (maybe the last 30 cm. or so) is different than the rest of the canopy material -- looks perhaps a little thicker. Could you please comment.

[@GunnarBiniasch]

@@smytharmstrong8543. Hi. No, it's the same material throughout, but the pannels are rotated so not all alligned the same direction. This is to distribute load tension througout the canopy.

[@secondlife7976]

Could you please tell about 7m, is this ok as a light wind wing to handle wider range of wind? I’m 175lb , 100 liters board and 1850R north foil . Learning to fly, with windsurfing background. What speed range 7m can handle for me?

[@hydrofoilacademy]

Thank you for your message ! The 7m will get you going dependent on your technique from 7knts onwards. I'm 157lb and I use the 7m Mode a lot in super light wind conditions. However the new North Nova 6m is a great alternative for me as the sail is smaller. However I'm lighter to yours and I'm winging higher performance gear. I therefore recommend you to go with the larger 7m size which will get you onto the water more often and will allow you to perfect your technique.

[@JohnOhLoverOfLife]

Noice review guys- what harness lines do you recommend? 😊

[@hydrofoilacademy]

Thanks, I use the Mystic fixed windsurfing lines and absolutely love them.

[@sense184]

What brand are the harness line in the video?

[@hydrofoilacademy]

Mystic fixed windsurfing lines. I have found them to be the best.