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Naish have released their latest Pivot plus a brand-new control system, the Sync bar. We spoke to designers Ewan Jaspan about the Pivot and Noah Hoffman about the Sync.
Photos: Andy Troy, Frankie Bees, Ryan Quinn, Samuel Cárdenas
You’ve brought out the Pivot Nvision and Psycho Nvision in the last year. How does the standard Pivot fit in alongside these and who should be buying the latest version?
The Dacron leading edge and struts construction of the Pivot has been in the line for many years, and we have been working hard over the last two years to upgrade the kite in all aspects from performance to construction. So to the question of how it fits in, it is more how the Psycho and Pivot Nvision fit around the Pivot. The Pivot is our mainstay, do-it-all performance kite in the lineup. The Pivot Nvision is the Aluula airframe version, which takes the Q-Series Pivot and supercharges it in all aspects. The Psycho is our performance Big Air kite, dedicated to twintip Big Air riding. So who should buy the Pivot Q-Series? The rider who wants a kite that not only gives great quality, but also a versatile weapon for all conditions, more suited towards twintip riding. If you have the money to upgrade to the Pivot Nvision, you obviously get all that, but in a lighter and more responsive package, but that takes nothing away from the Q-Series.
Hang on a second, Q-Series what?! Please explain.
The Q-Series is a way to delineate the difference between our new Nvision line and the ‘regular’ kites. One thing we pride ourselves on at Naish is the quality and craftsmanship in our kites, which is why it pained us to refer to the non Nvision kites as ‘standard’ or ‘regular’ as they are really high quality and second to none in terms of build and performance. So the Q in Q-Series stands for Quality and will be tagged onto all kites plus other products that also come in an Nvision construction, so that the buyer, retailer, importer and us at Naish can easily name the product without confusion, and reinforce the quality of the product.
A major change with the latest Pivot is the Profile Lock Seam and Load Seam. What does this mean for the kite’s durability and performance?
This year we focused a lot on new construction features. The Profile Lock Seam is a seam that runs along the deep point in the profile of the kite, where there is a lot of load on the canopy. This keeps the profile locked and tight over time, meaning that over your sessions your kite still feels brand new, and eliminates the feeling of ‘bagging out’.
The new Diagonal Load Seam is an extra load seam to the head of the side struts on the Pivot. In previous seasons we had this seam only run to the center strut of the kite, but now having an extra one helps distribute the steering input (as the seam runs from the steering line attachment) throughout the kite, and also keeps the canopy tighter over time.
You’ve also updated the bridle system and lines. Tell us what you’ve done here and why.
New to this year we have TLS 400 bridle lines on the Pivot. These lines are super thin and minimize drag through the air. Another benefit people also don’t talk about as much is the aid in water relaunch. The thinner lines break through the surface tension of the water easier, so that last bit of the kite relaunch, which can be tricky in light winds, becomes far easier to break through. We also used a new construction for the bridle point attachments which is cleaner and stronger than before, giving the kite added durability and higher-end finish. Lastly we worked on perfecting the bridles across the range and ensuring that perfect tension was achieved across the kite.
Are there any other changes you’d like to point out to our readers?
We have added the bladder cap construction to the Pivot, which was designed to withstand the higher stresses on the bladder in the Nvision kites. This is a clean, rounded wingtip and strut-end closure system which evenly distributes the pressure of the bladder, eliminating any places for the bladder to blow out from, and allows higher pressures in inflation. The ends are also very easy to access allowing for repairs (rarely needed!) to be done with ease. A few of the sizes have also had some changes to their profile. Last year we went quite efficient and shallow in certain sizes/areas, but this year we have achieved the same forward drive, with a deeper more powerful profile through bridling and profile curve changes.
Who was involved with the redesign and testing of the new Pivot?
It is always a team effort to bring a new kite to the market. I am the lead on the product, but work very closely with Des Walsh, his son Tim, the whole team at Naish, our importers, team riders and retailers. Des is an endless wealth of knowledge and his kite testing is second to none. It is so important to have someone to bounce thoughts off and give a different point of view, as sometimes you find yourself down a rabbit hole and you need someone to bring you out with another viewpoint. Talking to people and getting everyday riders to test this stuff is also so important. Another group that play a great role is our team at the factory at IKP. They work tirelessly with us to try new things, help innovate and ensure we have the highest quality product available.
Now that the latest Pivot is out, can you give us any hints as to what you are working on next?
I am currently busy working on the next Boxer, and something that people are very excited about, which is the Q-Series Psycho. Other than those two, there are always many projects on the go, from testing materials, new shapes or learning things to further our knowledge as a team. We have a great thing going on at the moment at Naish, and I’m sure you will be pleasantly surprised over the coming years as to what the team will produce, not just in kiting, but across the board.
Thanks Ewan. Noah, there have been a number of innovative bars to the market recently. What makes the Sync different? You’ve patented some parts, right?
Like some of the other bars on the market we decided to produce the Sync bar with an Auto Swivel function. What separates our Auto Swivel system from others is the first of a few patents on the bar: the Anti-Lock Bearing. The bearing is located in the bar center and decouples the steering inputs from the depower, thus preventing the main setback with Auto Swivel systems – where the depower locks up at high steering angles. The second big innovation that was also patented was the all-metal, one-click quick release utilizing metal springs. For the Sync control system, we developed all new molds meaning that we were able to design every piece with the same goal in mind to make the bar as efficient as possible, adding strength where it is needed while keeping the bar as sleek as possible.
Tell us more about the quick release. You’ve included a spring rather than a bungee – are these tricky to implement in a salt water environment?
It’s funny you ask; a lot of people’s first impression is concern about the corrosion resistance of the springs which was the easiest part of using springs in the system. If you think about it there are lots of metal pieces on lots of the equipment; for our sports we just needed to ensure to pick the correct material. There was a lot of thought that went into the design of the quick release with the main focus being long-term safety. While there is nothing wrong with the function of the bungees typically used in quick release systems, over time with use and exposure to UV and salt environments they eventually cease to function properly. We went through a bunch of different styles of springs before we landed on the final versions and then tuned that to be perfect. The springs are designed to only operate in the elastic range of the material meaning that there won’t be change to the release forces. The quick release functions with two metal springs: a coil spring responsible for the return of the collar and a constant force leaf tension spring which aids in the reload function. Another benefit with using springs instead of bungees is we were able to keep the entire quick release very compact. For the same input forces the metal springs can in comparison be much smaller.
Are there any other key features of the Sync we should know about? What type of flying lines have you used for instance, and how have you updated the grip and floats compared to your previous bars?
Like I mentioned earlier we started from a blank sheet of paper, we updated the floats and grips to have a new sleek look, eliminating some of the bulk while keeping some of the function we loved from the torque control systems, like the easy backline adjustment, integrated line winder bungees and ergonomic grip shaping with a 15% offset. We wanted to make the Sync bar the best on the market, so we are using top of the line SK99 lines from Braidtech. We decided on a hybrid line set with stronger frontlines which hold most of the load and thinner backlines to cut down on drag. The SK99 braid is not only super strong but it’s also very stiff which gives a very direct feel when flying your kite making it easier to progress with your kite skills.
How did you decide on the throw length? And are there different chicken loop options?
For the Sync bar we decided to vary the throw length between the two sizes of bars. So the 55 width has the same length as our previous bars which we feel is perfect for just about everything. We also wanted to offer a compact option for those who had trouble reaching the trim system on our previous bars, so the throw on our 50 size is 8.5cm shorter than the standard 55. Both the 55cm and 50cm come with our standard loop. But we made an additional option which we call the micro loop. The micro loop keeps the bar even closer to your harness hook. This also includes a metal rope slider piece making it so you can go straight to the line on your rope harness. While the standard size loop works for unhooking we are also working on a larger loop for the freestyle/park purists like our kite designer Ewan.
Does the new Sync work with the whole kite line up? Is it suitable for all kite disciplines?
The Sync bar works with all of our kites with the exception being the Torch (our five-line kite). The bar works great for all disciplines and makes all different conditions awesome as well, whether you’re kite foiling in 12 knots or going to the moon in 40. A big part of my personal design approach is incorporating a large range of usability for products; we understand the cost of our sport and want to make sure that when you invest in our products you know you made the right choice.
Talk to us about the ISO compliance process and what’s involved to get certification?
I think to talk about this it’s best to understand what the ISO Standard is. In addition to a lot of little formality details the ISO 21853 Standard sets a range for the forces required to activate your release in a range of different loads and conditions. While they sound very similar a system being ISO compliant just means that it is built to specifications of the standard; to get certified you have send a batch of systems to be verified by an external source. During the development of the Sync bar we designed every piece to follow the standard and had a test bench at the factory and conducted countless mock ISO tests before we were sure that our systems functions properly.
How long has the Sync been in the development process and who has been involved?
We began on the Sync bar development right around three years ago. Besides my colleagues in the kite department, we involved team riders, schools, importers and shops all over the world throughout many rounds of on-the-water testing. We wanted to give the test samples enough time to uncover any potential issues and resolve them. Because of the countless tests done in lab and the abuse to all the test samples we were able to develop an all-new industry leading system and are looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks!
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