Anybody have problems with the zipper blowing out and shreading the bladder on rpm's.
i baught my 2013 rpm in febuary and within the first 5 rides it blew out at the start of a session mid air. i hadnt even crashed it wasnt even wet yet. it was fixed under warenty. but it happened again yesterday. still only 5 months old.
just wondering if i have a lemon or if this is a common problem?

I had a similar issue with an 8m RPM 2011. I bought the kite 2nd hand though from an x-team rider and the kite was practically new barring the plastic wrapper it would have come in.

It blew the zipper and leading edge out for no reason as we were bringing in down to land after my first run on the water and so I had it professionally repaired only to have it blow out again after inflating it.

I was told that the Dacron could have had a weak spot in it and should have been covered under manufacturers warranty which I was unable to claim on because of year model.

Send it back and ask for a replacement.

Bombproof construction? lol
not even pump proof

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NeTRaVeR said..

I had a similar issue with an 8m RPM 2011. I bought the kite 2nd hand though from an x-team rider and the kite was practically new barring the plastic wrapper it would have come in.

It blew the zipper and leading edge out for no reason as we were bringing in down to land after my first run on the water and so I had it professionally repaired only to have it blow out again after inflating it.

I was told that the Dacron could have had a weak spot in it and should have been covered under manufacturers warranty which I was unable to claim on because of year model.

Send it back and ask for a replacement.

did you end up getting another rpm?

Hey mate,

i?ve been flying the RPMs since 2010. Never had this problem. But i also work for a kiteschool and there we had lots of Slingshot Z, where this happened. Doens?t matter which year it was...2012...2013...same Problem. And i do have lots of friend, who are riding the RPM too. Never headr about this problem. What did the shop said about your problem? Which kitesize it it?

it was a 10m. it also blew every hose off over the 5 months i had it. i recon i must have been pumping it up to hard maybe? but ive had heaps of other kites in the past and nothing like that happened. and i wasnt pumping it any harder than any other kite ive had. fingers crossed my new one is all good.

maybe just double check your zip is done right up as this will cause a blowout

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pattiecannon said...
Bombproof construction? lol
not even pump proof

If a brick layer can lay bricks
How come a plumber can't lay plumbs?

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TurtleHunter said..

maybe just double check your zip is done right up as this will cause a blowout

yeh after the first time it happened i was paranoid about the zip so i checked it every time. the second time it happened it blew out from the bottom of the zip because the zipper slider was still connected at the top but the whole bottom part was blown out all the way to the canopy from just below the top of the zipper.

But I love my slingshots! This is a worry!

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glendog said..

TurtleHunter said..

maybe just double check your zip is done right up as this will cause a blowout

yeh after the first time it happened i was paranoid about the zip so i checked it every time. the second time it happened it blew out from the bottom of the zip because the zipper slider was still connected at the top but the whole bottom part was blown out all the way to the canopy from just below the top of the zipper.

so your not so paranoid about checking the zip now

The one-pump connecting hose blow out problem could just be a factory error from either over-sight of not attaching the cable ties OR, more likely, not having them crimped up tight.
Its a rare occurence in the overall scheme of things but definitely happens across almost all brands as an isolated 'fault'.
I would never put up a new kite without checking the cable ties. Its an easily spotted, once-off check you should include in the pre-flight check of your new gear
We do it in-store now as routine on all new kites. Only ever found 1 kite with cable ties missing & 1 kite with 1 tie not fully crimped.

We used to stock SS here at KSS and have never seen or heard of zippers failing. Still rate the RPM as one of the best kites out there.
Maybe just a one-off or maybe a batch issue?
Factories (again across all brands) have been known to slot in non specified components - often resulting in batch problems despite the best of intentions of the manufacturer.