REVIEW PROFILE
Manufacturer: EH
Model: Ripper
Size: 14 m
Year: 2007
Skill Req'd: Intermediate

Overall rating
Build Quality
Performance
Stability
Turning
Wind Range
Versatility
Water Relaunch
Bar Setup
Safety System
Value For Money

Started Flying Kites : October 06
Weight : 75 kg (70 when I started … lol)
My Level : Trick wise a beginner, Physically Average, Emotionally Intermediate and an Advanced gear reviewer
14m Ripper : Intermediate to advanced
Used for : All round … but mainly Kitesurfing

I had decided I needed a light wind kite … something to get me up in 10 – 15 knots. I had tried a few big kites and all of them were so incredibly slow that I simply didn’t enjoy flying them …. at all. I had heard that the EH Ripper had been getting good reports made about its larger canopies so I thought … ‘Bugger it’ … and got one ….. I bought the kite new in about August 07, not long after I received it the 08’s were released (which I wasn’t very happy about) …. Owning the ‘latest’ kite and having it ‘superseded’ in a matter of weeks is a bit deflating. Now all of this put me in a bit of an ‘Anti’ EH frame of mind which in turn made me a bit extra critical of the kite in our early days together. I have now flown my Ripper maybe 50 - 60 times in light to moderate winds, statically, Landboarding, Buggy riding and Kitesurfing so I have pretty much explored most of what it can do.

Overall …. It’s a very nice kite.

Like all my reviews (2 now .,.. lol) I’ll start with the bag. Its excellent for the trip home as the base of the bag unzips to allow for the ‘lazy man’ inflated strut pack up method. The whole kite easily fits into the bag with no problems at all. There is a heap of mesh sewn into the bag which allows for good air flow and promotes drying of wet canopies. The bag is a little lacking in catering for carrying anything other that the kite. There are 2 pockets on the outside of the bag, 1 to put the bar and lines in (which it barely fits) and the other …. Tiny as well. I have to pack my pump, harness, rashie etc inside the bag with the kite … something I would prefer not to just incase of damage to the canopy. Other than the lack of pockets/clips the bag has been made well, with no shortcuts on the materials and stitching. EH may have decided to reduce the external pockets etc to cater for traveling kiters in which case the bag is very suitable …. Different strokes for different folks.

You can’t help but notice the ‘heavy’ build of this kite. It is not flimsy in any place, in fact the only part of the kite that first appears a little on the ‘light’ side are the lines. Now these lines are all Dacron, which after a little reading … is a country mile from flimsy. This stuff is super thin, lightweight and massively strong. The bridle is very basic, with only one pulley transferring steering load to front lines. There are 2 settings for adjusting steering speed, I definitely prefer the fastest one myself. There are self rescue handles sewn into the canopy (Which I have used and they work) The canopy is simple and sturdy, all the wear points have been sheathed in extra material … especially the tips which are double skinned pretty much anywhere they will contact the sand.

The pump. There is no pump leash attachment point which I think is silly … as they are such a handy part of a kite. You can still secure your kite to your pump with the bridle lines but I am always concerned about unnecessary rubbing. Pumping the kite up is a bit of a chore … that old leading edge is huge and takes a lot of air !! The valves all have one way ball style seals … make sure you keep them clean or sand will get inside and make it hard to get it to snap shut without leaking.

Launching and Landing. I am a big fan of self Launching and Landing and I feel that it is an essential skill that should be mastered by all kiters. Whenever I buy a new kite I make sure I get this process as wired as possible in the first few sessions ….. The 14 Ripper disagrees with me ! As good a kite as it is, and as much as I like this kite …. (IMHO) It is NOT a good self lander and is even LESS of a good self launcher. (I do not stand/sand when I launch … I park LE down and turn one wing tip to the wind) Do yourself a favor (if possible) and only ride this one with helpers around to save yourself some grief. Self launching in less than 12k is a canopy grinding wrestle most of the time and self landing …. Make sure you Get it right … cause if it rolls over it does like to invert and generally get into a bit of a down wind mess.. and if she fills ... weeeew hooooo ! Re-launch in the water is done C kite style. I have had some good wrestles with the old girl whilst learning this one as well. If you haven’t re-launched C style you want to learn in shallow water first. It is a very different method to re-launching a bow/sle and can be quite difficult to come to terms with if you are treading deep water with the kite down for the first time……especially in swell.

Once you get the kite up in the air …… straight away you can feel it has a more constant pull than most Bow kites. The Ripper is a super flat, high aspect kite and even at a whopping 14 m2 this kite is quick. Much quicker than I expected ….. turn speed is quick and it is quick to react to bar input (not spongey like some larger kites) and it is quick through the window. There is little flutter from the canopy even when sheeted out. Though the kite still ‘looms’ above you and still has that ‘truck like’ feeling when it delivers it’s power …… it definitely has the flight characteristics of a much smaller kite. It doesn’t have a lot of sudden ‘pop’ when you load it up (even in higher wind) What it does have is solid torque, as it lifts you is does so smoothly and powerfully, the way it reacts to pilot input from the bar gives you confidence in the kite.

Trimming the kite is done above the bar via the usual 2 straps which have a heap of adjustment in them. The bar only has a short throw and is so easy and comfortable to set for powered bar in riding or cruising bar out riding. Due to the short throw you will have to adapt your riding stance to suit, less ‘sheet and cheat’ and more edging for the Ripper …. (Unless you like Tea Bagging) I find that for my weight the kite is best suited to 6 – 15k in the Buggy or on a landboard or 10 – 18 k in the water. Pushing into higher wind range is good for getting air, but I find myself regularly on the ‘edge’ of control so I usually ground her and go for a smaller kite.

The Quick Release …. Hmmmm …. I don’t like it. It has a little red ball that is connected to a pin. Pull the ball … pin comes free … kite released right ? *chuckle* Try and find that ball in an ‘instant’ … underwater … lofted … skull dragged … I won’t even bother as I have tasted the drag car forces generated from a malfunctioning kite. You don’t have time to find, or feel, or look …. You can only react. I have removed the EH Quick Release and fitted a jerk off style. Retrofitting was boosted by the fact that I set up my bar to flag (as EH show in their Ripper manual) and when I tested it, it failed to work properly…. I re-tested it and I got the same results (Bungee knot snagging inside bar). So then I set it up on the OS handles as a ‘flag’ … even worse …14 m2 and $1850 of my hard earned dollars in a semi powered loop fest (I dont think so) I re-rigged the bar to a single front line flag … and it drops like it should. I approached EH on their forum about the snagging line but I was unsatisfied with their answer …. kinda fell through the cracks. So … off with the EH QR and on with the Naish QR.

In summary …. I am very happy with the Ripper. Happy Days

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