Anyone flown both of these kites? I currently have 2018 Unions and am interested in the RPM as I want to get into unhooking and was wondering how they would compare? My Unions seem to want to back stall as soon as I unhook no matter how I set the trim. I do not feel I am ready for a full blown C kite and probably wont be for some time.

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sassyk said..
Anyone flown both of these kites? I currently have 2018 Unions and am interested in the RPM as I want to get into unhooking and was wondering how they would compare? My Unions seem to want to back stall as soon as I unhook no matter how I set the trim. I do not feel I am ready for a full blown C kite and probably wont be for some time.

I have demo both back to back. Union all the way but I also foil and surf stapless. Rpm is not a great all round kite. I found a bigger wind range on the unions. I'm riding the ultras now.

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Duff15 said..

sassyk said..
Anyone flown both of these kites? I currently have 2018 Unions and am interested in the RPM as I want to get into unhooking and was wondering how they would compare? My Unions seem to want to back stall as soon as I unhook no matter how I set the trim. I do not feel I am ready for a full blown C kite and probably wont be for some time.

I have demo both back to back. Union all the way but I also foil and surf stapless. Rpm is not a great all round kite. I found a bigger wind range on the unions. I'm riding the ultras now.

Did you unhook with both of them as well? I don't currently ride in waves so i'm not super fussed about how they compare in that regard.

Why not just get a C kite? They're not as extreme as you think and will work best for unhooking.

Might also be worth checking out the V4 union if you are happy with the rest of the kite characteristics. By all accounts it is significantly better then the V3 in terms of stall. Funny how just as Airush ditch pullies in the bridles, Slingshot start sticking them in.

I know what you mean though. The V3 doesn't back-stall progressively. Much worse in that respect than the V1 union - but I do like the way it loops.

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sassyk said..

Duff15 said..

sassyk said..
Anyone flown both of these kites? I currently have 2018 Unions and am interested in the RPM as I want to get into unhooking and was wondering how they would compare? My Unions seem to want to back stall as soon as I unhook no matter how I set the trim. I do not feel I am ready for a full blown C kite and probably wont be for some time.

I have demo both back to back. Union all the way but I also foil and surf stapless. Rpm is not a great all round kite. I found a bigger wind range on the unions. I'm riding the ultras now.

Did you unhook with both of them as well? I don't currently ride in waves so i'm not super fussed about how they compare in that regard.

Yea but I'm not a free style fanatic and no longer ride twin tips.

I didn't get any back stall I had the first versions on the unions.

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bombjack said..
Why not just get a C kite? They're not as extreme as you think and will work best for unhooking.

How much of a step up would you consider moving from a Union to a Razor to be? I was under the impression that my crashes would be quite a bit harder than with a bridled c and if I wasn't going to be doing handle passes any time soon it probably wouldn't be worth it. I just don't want to hinder my progression by choosing something too advanced for me.

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weebitbreezy said..
Might also be worth checking out the V4 union if you are happy with the rest of the kite characteristics. By all accounts it is significantly better then the V3 in terms of stall. Funny how just as Airush ditch pullies in the bridles, Slingshot start sticking them in.

I know what you mean though. The V3 doesn't back-stall progressively. Much worse in that respect than the V1 union - but I do like the way it loops.

I am probably going to demo the new Union this weekend for this reason. I am just slightly put off the Unions by how much they change from year to year.

I come from a razor background and they are a weapon for freestyle and boosts, I miss them and I don't miss them. They can be a handful.

i now ride rpm and have lots more fun. Good for freestyle, not the slack that everyone craves but you get a consistent pull through the pop. you will lean a lot from an RMP.

i personally think you should start your freestyle off on a hybrid freestyle kite then when you have a good foundation and understanding of freestyle you might then want to move onto a c kite.

if you go straight into a c kite you will not understand what the pop and slack actually is and not appropriate it, you will be forever chasing more and more slack without knowing what it is.

what I'm trying to say is. Go rpm first then got razor later when you want to go huge.

My person opinion.

cheers kemp.

The V4 Unions are 100% better than the V3. They fly much more like the V1 (still my favourite kite ever) but DONT backstall when unhooking. They also have better slack than the V1.

boost is very good on them too, but I found they don't quite have the top end that the previous versions did. By that ti mean they are more grunty.

i much preferred these to the RPM's, I personally found the RPM a dull kite. Not saying it's bad at all, it's won a number of world championships - it just didn't inspire me for lack of a better term.

+1 for the RPMs . Been riding them for 3 years now after coming off Airush.

Great all-rounder with heaps of range.

The new bridle on the 2019 RPM changes the entire shape of the kite. It has a deeper c shape than previous years which seems to give it more power, better loops and higher jumps.

It has both a bungee and pulley in the bridle to help transfer the power from wingtip to wingtip as it turns.

Why not hit up ActionSportsWA for a demo.

Both kites are quite similar really.

Why dont you demo both and tell us which one you liked best.

+1 for RPM.

RPM is very refined after years of development.
Sometimes its the small things that make all the difference, like the large air Dump valves for deflation.

I really enjoy flying my RPM's

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sassyk said..
Anyone flown both of these kites? I currently have 2018 Unions and am interested in the RPM as I want to get into unhooking and was wondering how they would compare? My Unions seem to want to back stall as soon as I unhook no matter how I set the trim. I do not feel I am ready for a full blown C kite and probably wont be for some time.

Hi Sassy if u are getting back stall at all trims on an 18 union there is a flaw with your technique. This kite is one of the easiest kites to learn to unhook on.

Can you do solid pops hooked in? Unhooked and hooked with the bar fully sheeted in will make kite fly the same and produce the same power.

My tips for dealing with Stall learning to unhook.

1. Depower the kite to your normal riding trim. E.g. if u ride with the bar 6" out, pull the depower on 6"
2. Ride faster. Much faster. Your probably riding close to 15mph or less but u need to go faster. at 20mph things get scarry and crashes hurt more but everything gets lighter and easier and less stally
3. Ride off the wind more. the faster ur going the more off the wind u need to go to compensate for apparent wind.

RPM is a solid performer the unions are just at that next level in performance in flight characteristics e.g. upwind, peak lift & kite feel/control.

I had a go on the new RPM. Very spongy and the low end seemed lacking compared to other kites on the water. Found it difficult to time the boast due to normally being able to feel where the kite is through the bar rather than feeling like I was yanking on a bungee cord.

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Spitfire said..
I had a go on the new RPM. Very spongy and the low end seemed lacking compared to other kites on the water. Found it difficult to time the boast due to normally being able to feel where the kite is through the bar rather than feeling like I was yanking on a bungee cord.

Second exactly what Spitfire said. Demo'd Both and bought the Union V4 ??