Slingshot RPM 10m 2010
Reviews / Kites
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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 safely 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 Surefire 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.
On the Water
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 really depowers when you want it too. The new bar is fantastic, we tried and tried to twist the front lines up, but the Surefire 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 the most 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 selling 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…
This review was in Issue 22 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit SlingshotRelated
By Rou Chater
Rou has been kiting since the sports inception and has been working as an editor and tester for magazines since 2004. He started IKSURFMAG with his brother in 2006 and has tested hundreds of different kites and travelled all over the world to kitesurf. He's a walking encyclopedia of all things kite and is just as passionate about the sport today as he was when he first started!
