Slingshot RPM manual

How to extend the lifetime of your Slingshot RPM?

1. Wax the center line on your Slingshot bar

RPM manual

As you can see in the picture above, wax the thick center line on your Slingshot bar. With this you reduce the wear and tear and you can save on a spare part. It is very important that you ONLY wax the thick portion of the center line, so in other words the first 10-15 cm, and NOT the thinner depower rope. Otherwise the rope can slip in the clamp and you will have difficulties to keep the depower your Slingshot RPM properly. For waxing you can use any kind of wax, cheapest and easiest is a simple candle.

2. Do not let the kite flutter on the beach

RPM manual

Like on the picture above, put plenty of sand (and your board) on the leading edge of the kite in order to prevent the kite from flying away. Also make sure to prevent the kite from fluttering in the wind. You do this by placing sand on the trailing edge of the kite. If you leave the kite fluttering in the wind, the trailing edge will wear out and will eventually break and cannot be repaired. You should also not walk upwind with an inflated kite in your hand. If the kite is not in use, deflate it and pack it up.

It is very important to understand that your Slingshot RPM kite is optimised for top performance, and therefore very little Dacron is used at the trailing edge. Dacron is very heavy and rigid and other kite manufacturers use it to stabilise the trailing edge, but at the expense of the kite’s performance. With all the Dacron, the kites of other manufacturers are heavier, and therefore don’t go that well upwind as the RPM, they have slower and less responsive flying characteristics because of the Dacron, don’t loop well, etc.). The Slingshot RPM kite has a much better performance than the kites of competitors, but at the price that you please should not let your kite flutter in the wind. This is why your RPM kite has won several world champion titles! If you follow this advice, your RPM’s life will be much longer.

3. Put a cable tie around the valve

RPM

if you still have an old-style inlet valve: When pumping your RPM kite, you will press the pump’s nozzle into the inlet valve. With any kite this valve will widen after a while the inlet valve wears out and it may become untight. To prevent this, simply put a cable tie around it. Don't tighten it too much to make sure that you can still press the plug in. The cable tie is only there to prevent widening of the inlet valve, not to make it tighter. This little trick will increase the life span of your RPM kite.

Or get a newer version of the RPM. From 2015 onwards, we have the new-style inlet valve. Much easier to pump and durable ....

4. Oh shit handles/line lock

You can grab the kite in case of emergency (in Oh shit situations) at any of these handles (provided that the kite is not attached or held anywhere else) and the kite will depower and not fly. The velcro straps (line locks) at the Oh shit handles are to fix the lines with it, when the bar is rolled up, if you like to do so. The video shows you how to wind your lines properly:

5. Pump your Slingshot RPM rock solid

You need to pump Slingshot Kites really hard and rock-solid. Slingshot Kites are built for this! They simply fly much better (actually, any kite does). A performing kite needs the wing-tip to be really rigid (not soft), but this is only possible with high quality materials, such as that used by Slingshot. So don't worry, you can pump your Slingshot Kite really hard.

6. Secure your Valves from accidently opening

RPM

Make sure the deflate valve is properly closed and secured with the velcro strap. Same for the inflate valve with the valve clip. Should your valves open and salt water gets into the bladders, these need to be cleaned professionally, which is expensive.

7. Suicide setup for freestyle riders, who do unhooked tricks

The donkey dick of the 2014 bar and younger looks like this. It is a stiffer donkey dick and there is nothing any more to hook your safety leash into "suicide mode". Rather, there is only a ring at the red oh-shit handle to attach your safety leash. If you unhook and let go the bar (or if you release), the kite only hangs on one front line, and it will fall out of the sky, fully depowered. This is what the "French Safety Standards" demand. Good for a kitesurfing beginner, but quite bad for an experienced freestyle kitesurfer, because you want your kite to fly, even if you let go of the bar or lose your bar, when doing unhooked tricks. You want your kite to fly, hanging on your safety leash, right?

rpm donkey dick

Well, you have two options. The first option is to open your release system and hang the red oh-shit handle into your chicken loop and then attach your safety leash to the ring at the oh-shit handle. In this case, when you let go of your bar while being unhooked, your kite will still fly. The disadvantage of this setup is that the red oh-shit handle is somehow in your way when hooking back in.

These "French Safety Standards" prescribe that no kite manufacturer must allow for the suicide set-up mode. So Slinghot would like to help you, but we are not allowed. But fortunately there is a work-around. But we give you this information without taking any liability and you can do this modification of your bar entirely at your own risk. We do not recommend it to you. But here is how it goes:

rpm suicide setup

Take out the donkey dick, by unscrewing it. There appears a ring, where the screw was. Get from us one of the old style (pre-2013) velcro donkey dicks. The ring is large enough to fit the velcro through there, and to also attach your safety leash. When you unhook and let go the bar, your kite will hang on your safety leash on both front lines.

The Slingshot RPM manual continues here with Slingshot RPM kite settings

Slingshot RPM manual

How to extend the lifetime of your Slingshot RPM?

Tips & Tricks