2015 Slingshot RPM & 2016 Sentinel bar

Rider: 70kgs,Intermediate
Style: Wakestyle
Weather: Windy
Build Quality: Looks pretty rock solid
Satisfaction: Yes
Disclosure: Team rider (apply salt)
My Comments: 2015 Rpm kite review

So everyone knows about the Rpm, its been around since 2009 and has been one of the most popular kites from slingshot. So why get excited about 2015?

i was always a big time bridle skeptic for unhooking(rode an 09 rpm for a while), loving the full c kite feel, but after a frustrating winter in sydney a mate handed me the 2015 rpm and said just give it a crack. so i did and here are a few thoughts on the kite.
Whats new? The biggest thing slingshot did for the rpm for 2015 is remove the pulleys from the bridle. Seems like a minor thing but this has done great things for the kites unhooked ability. Riding both the 12 and 8 the kite feels really solid unhooked and significantly less twitchy than the older models.

The overall feeling i got whilst riding the rpm was just how easy it was to unhook, moderately gusty conditions and the kite wasn’t trying to kill me? i could still unhook, do all my tricks and then some.

If you’re trying to start learning unhooked moves c kites are a great way to consider, but if you live in crap and or gusty conditions (like sydney can be) having a hybrid C just makes life so much easier up until you’re going for air passes every trick. As always with bridled kites unless you ride with speed into the trick its not going to slack, this kite is no different, try to pass slowly and you’re gonna get smacked. so just ride a bit faster = no worries.

Slingshots big valve thing is pretty cool too, easy to use and pump up, no problems as of yet.

As always the kite remains very versatile with its 4 back line settings to adjust turning speed and bar pressure. the front lines can be changed to give better unhooked ability on the wake style setting or better boosting and free riding on the freestyle setting.

Overall i was really impressed with how far the Slingshot Rpm has come and how the super versatile kite has still got something for the unhooked riders without compromising its free ride ability.


Sentinel bar


Actually really stoked on all the changes slingshot have made this year with the sentinel bar. The new above the bar depower cleat can be moved to give shorter throw and more depower for unhooking, or longer throw and less depower for boosting big. This feature is great for female riders or people with shorter arms who have trouble getting to the depower on conventional bars. The only thing it's really missing is a stopper ball that you can move on the fly.

The end of the depower rope has one of those cool magnetic things in there that sticks to the side of the cleat. Pretty neat and can stop the tail wrapping around the middle lines and becoming a mess.

Between the above and below the bar swivels they do a good job of undoing any line crossing but it's easy to just push the below the bar one should it not happen automatically.

Slingshot finally put elastic in the bar floats!!!! Finally!

Really my only gripe with this new bar is the lack of option to put a big chicken loop on there. It gets you by, but if you're unhooking all the time you end up asking yourself why this isn't an option offered by the company that gave us the fuel and rpm.

Overall this is quite a nice bar. The people asked and slingshot have delivered.