Slingshot is proud to announce its second generation RPM. The RPM is changing kiteboarding with its innovative 3 strut “Open C” canopy design. It delivers limitless high end performance options for all conditions. Excel your riding regardless of your style. Discover what the pros already know. The RPM is the one kite that allows for top performance while executing un-hooked freestyle, wakestyle and surf style.
used the kite for a year now and really love it. not so good in light winds but when they have some power in the kite, they are great.
they come stock with a pretty short lines, which i found great for looping and wave riding, but pretty annoying for most other uses. put some line extensions on to make the lines around 25m and use the 'wake' setting for anything other then waves. you can't go wrong!
Unchanged from 2009 model except the bar; this kite rocks. My favorite size is 8 but with a 10 i ride from 15 to 30 kn (i weight 75 kg).
kiteloops are easy but powerfull with the 1à and become funny with the smallest sizes. i found the limit at 35 kn with the 8, but maybe it was my brain limit!!!
the kite works better in 23 m although if it's sold with 20 m lines. just ask your reseller 3m lines that SS can give you.
The very best kite I've ever used so far. Just does everything perfect.
The bar is awesome with an incredible safety system that you can re-run and keep kiting with no swimming back like other top brands kites I have had before. The lines are thicker and looks undestructibles. 20m lines for 8m! The swivel does work and I've never had a loop on the front lines. The Trim system is great below the bar and easy to use. The unhook/re-hook is easy thanks to the bar is designed. You always have the loop in the right position to hook-in back.
The kite designs looks nice with the colors and it's unique at the beach with plenty of color combinations (more than you can imagine).
The bridle is simple and small. The performance is incredible; great stability, perfect speed and feel. The customizable bar pressure is great.
The best choice for the year!
AT A GLANCE
The RPM from Slingshot has been pushing the boundaries of what can be done with a hybrid kite for just over a year now. It is one of the few bridled kites used by a top 5 PKRA rider. Youri Zoon has demonstrated that this kite really can be a freestyle machine as well as a freeride weapon. When you consider he could easily choose the Fuel as his ride that says a lot about the RPM. The kite was originally released quite late in 2009, and not a lot has changed on the kite for the 2010 version. The bridle is the same, the panel layout very similar and the kite features all the usual triple stitching and reinforcement that Slingshot is famous for. The biggest change for 2010 is the completely redesigned bar.
THE BAR
New for 2010 the Comp Stick control bar addresses some of the issues found on the 2009 bar. Probably the biggest change is the chicken loop, for a couple of years now Slingshot have been running the same design and while it worked perfectly safety there was an issue with unhooking. Because it was a pull release it was fairly easy to activate it when grabbing the chicken Loop to hook back in. This year they have adopted a push release system and it works really well. The trim rope is also thinner and has a tighter weave so wear issues on that should be reduced. The centre line safety system remains, although a new addition is the sure-fire spinner. This device allows the front lines to truly untwist. It is the first time we have seen a system like this that really works and it is very impressive. Only time will tell how sand and salt affects it, but the kite we were testing wasn’t new out of the bag and had been on demo a while and it was still working really well despite a few weeks of abuse. All the other usual Slingshot features are there, o’shit handles, 800lb front lines and the active stopper ball.
IN THE AIR
The RPM uses an open C profile; essentially it is a C shape kite with an arc that has been opened out. The manufacture of the leading edge, the full suspension bridle, the panel layout and the profile all, combine to ensure it holds its shape in the air and the kite is certainly solid. It is fairly high aspect and looks long and thin compared to some of the kites on the market today. Delta haters will be pleased to know this is about as far from a delta shape as you could get. The performance is impressive, the kite really penetrates the edge of the window pulling you upwind and the open profile and lightweight three strut design combine to give the kite a really impressive low end. The high aspect nature of the kite allows the top end to be almost limitless and the kite realty depowers when you want it too. The new bar is fantastic, we tried and tried to twist the front lines up, but the sure-fire spinner always did its job. The top end performance of the kite is very similar to last year; it boosts high, unhooks nicely and is very well behaved. There are no nasty surprises here, you can take your eye off the kite and pull your moves without worrying where the kite will end up. The bar pressure and feel in the turns combine to give you a kite that flies with precision around the wind window. Kite loops are impressive with the kite delivering a smooth pull all the way through the turn.
FOR
The RPM packs a mean punch; it can mix it with high performance C shapes and still win. The new Comp Stick Control bar is a very welcome upgrade.
AGAINST
The kite itself is almost unchanged from 2009, and while it was a great kite then we would find it hard to recommend upgrading your 2009 version for the 2010, just upgrade the bar. Of course if you don’t own an old RPM then you will be laughing!
OVERALL
Loaded with performance and a range that impresses, the RPM is about as solid as kites get, predictable and stable with the potential to scrape the sky...
Another 5 hrs on the kite this weekend and it just gets better and better. The low end power is just amazing i started the day on the 10m and a 133cm kiteboard wind about 13 knots. I had to work the kite a bit but once i had apparent wind in the kite its just a park and ride kite. The wind picked up to max out at 25 knots. Still same kite and didn't even touch the de-power trim on the kite and the RPM is still flying perfect, smooth, and makes you feel at ease in 25 knots.
Re-launch again is super easy just pull on the line and up the RPM goes.
As for the Bar I've said it before and ill say it again... Well done Slingshot. It is 100% better then the 2009 bar. Unhooked... one word... DREAM! The kite does not move back into the wind window when you unhook like most kites and at the same time it does not move forward towards the edge of the window and lose power. It just sits there with power.
Super nice kite the best kite i have flown in 2010.
S2AS Team
