We repair about 10 kites a week on average and see this trailing edge wear. I wouldn't say it was a design fault just wear. Older kites have to wear somewhere and the RPM goes here! If they were to reinforce all this area it would increase the weight and take some performance from somewhere else.

We also see this type of wear on several other brands of kites too and not just Slingshot. Some kites wear and tear themselves in two, some fail on the stitching and burst and some have major strut issues...All wear. We would all love our kites to last forever but they don't. We smack them into the water at 40 mph, bash them into the sand, roll them into the waves and generally try to destroy them. I would hate to have to design something to be light and agile then withstand every thing I throw at it

The trailing edge problems are really easy to fix and we add an extra 50-80 mm of dacron across the whole edge (not just the split area) and this sorts it and gives a worn kite a new lease of life. A professional repair then looks like the original design of the kite and you are into new rip stop. Sorted...

So by repairing the RPM you take some performance ?!
I sold my BanditDos to a friend, he replaced the bridal lines once and that's it. The kite is almost 4 years old. My Bandit3 was sold to another friend of mine, he never had to replace or fix anything, Kite still flies great.
Some brands do a better designing and testing job than others...

There are plenty of close to 10 year old C kites that are still flying without any repairs. Doesn't mean they are built any better than their modern counterparts.

You can't compare a kites durability based only upon how old it is. It matters a great deal how many hours it has had on the water (there are a lot of occasional flyers out there!), and how it is treated... Leaving it out in the sun, or flapping on a windy day, or slammed into the water many times when learning / doing freestyle will surely shorten its lifespan and make repairs more likely.

...geez, I WISH I got to kite once a week! Damn. I unfortunately don't have the free time or the wind for it.

Definitely noted that you guys who live at windy places are harder on gear. That's why us east coasters (U.S.) never by used small kites from the Gorge, and the folks out there shouldn't buy used big kites from us!

same trailing edge issue on my 10m RPM

Same with my RPM 2009 10m.

I had it reinforced, works just fine. Repair cost about $50.

During 2009, 2010 and halfway through 2011, I kited 2 to 3 times a week

Im on a 2009 Fuel - still rocks.

mine was some months old, kite 2 times a week. Never leave kite flapping. damage was at least 50 cms. Had to reinforce all the trailing edge cause there was small rips in other parts. Its a shame cause the kite is good

now that is the spirit!

enough of those slingshot pimp posters. at last the truth.

funny how i've never heard of trailing edge wear on any other brand. i noticed when my kite is on the ground the fluttering parts are usually the cloth near the central strut about one third from the trailing edge. but of course kites are different.

and finally talking about the quality of material and stitching. among the biggest brands the slingshot and the ozone are most crappy built kites imo. once i tested the new rally, first of all it was soaked with some sticky silicone goo so the sand was all over the cloth after the deflating. the stitches were sloppy and made with huge overlaps of the panels...

This is a well known problem with the RPM, although I think it is more to do with the way it flaps due to its design than build quality. Reality is letting your kite flap in the wind will destroy it what ever brand it is eventually. RPMs just seem to whip themselves to death alot faster. Although I would not say Slingshot have the best build quality on the market