Is North Sails clothing worth it?+
It depends on what you value, because opinions genuinely vary. Some owners praise the garments as well-made and durable, while others feel you can find comparable technical gear elsewhere for less. The brand's real strength is its authentic sailing heritage, so you are buying into a name that actually built the sails before it built the wardrobe.
Is North Sails good quality?+
Reviews are mixed, with many customers calling the pieces durable and properly made while others report inconsistency. The clothing draws on the company's deep engineering background in performance sailmaking, which informs its technical and nautical pieces. As with the apparel, buying the specific garment that suits your use rather than the badge is the smart approach.
How does North Sails sizing run, and how should I fit it?+
The sizing tends to run Italian, so several shoppers recommend going a size up from your usual. Because the range spans technical sailing pieces and lifestyle wear, fit can differ between lines, so checking measurements for the exact item is wise. When in doubt, sizing up is the more commonly suggested safe bet.
What actually is North Sails, the sailmaker or the clothing brand?+
At its core it is an international sailmaker, and the clothing came later. North Sails designs, engineers, and manufactures sails for racing and cruising sailboats from 8 feet to more than 200 feet in length, and it licenses the manufacture of clothing and windsurfing sails. So the apparel you see grew out of a genuine performance-sailing business.
Who founded North Sails and when?+
North Sails was founded in 1957 by Lowell North in San Diego, California. An engineer by training, North brought a rigorous, methodical approach to sail design, aiming to build sails that were simply faster than the competition. That engineering mindset is the founding DNA of the whole company.
What made Lowell North's sails so influential?+
He treated sailmaking as engineering rather than craft alone. North began testing the strength and stretch of his sailcloth to remove variability, introduced computer-driven cloth-cutting machines for consistency, and pioneered computer modelling of sail forces and structural loads. In 1977 he used a laminated Mylar and Dacron sail on the 12-metre Enterprise, a marker of his materials-first approach.
Is North Sails really the biggest name in sailmaking?+
Yes, by a wide margin. North Sails is the world's largest sailmaker, with annual sales of $150 million in 2011, and its sails are used by the majority of competitors in the Ocean Race and the America's Cup. Under owner Terry Kohler and president Tom Whidden, the company grew to roughly 80% market share.
What are North Sails 3DL and 3Di sails?+
They are the brand's signature manufacturing technologies. 3DL, introduced in 1992, lays aramid or carbon fiber yarns and polyester film over a computer-controlled mold and thermo-forms them into a finished three-dimensional sail. 3Di, begun in 2009, uses pre-impregnated carbon and UHMPE tapes consolidated into a seamless composite sail membrane.
Where is North Sails made?+
Manufacturing is spread across its global operations, which span 29 countries. Its advanced 3DL sails, for example, are made in facilities in Minden, Nevada, and Sri Lanka. The company is vertically integrated, with its North Cloth division producing the woven and laminated sailcloth itself.
Who owns North Sails now?+
North Sails is part of North Technology Group, a marine-industry conglomerate that also includes Southern Spars and EdgeWater Powerboats. In 2014, Oakley Capital Private Equity, a UK firm founded by Peter Dubens, acquired a majority stake in North Technology Group. The Southern Spars link lets North Sails engineer integrated spar-and-sail packages.
Why does North Sails feel so authentically nautical?+
Because it is. Unlike fashion labels that borrow a sailing look, North Sails has been engineering performance sails since 1957 and supplies the boats at the very top of the sport. The clothing carries that lineage, which is why its nautical and technical pieces read as the real thing rather than a costume.
