Review for EH Rippehr 2008 9.0 and 12m

Times tested: a few times
Range of wind tested: 12kn to 26kn

Good: fast responsive kite with very smooth power delivery...well built...no unnecessary frills like cam battems or one pump systems...

Bad: ...some may complain about the bar...to me it's simple and effective and works well...

Review: Kites are well made (typical EH high quality), with reinforced LE seam, protection pads in possible wear areas, full dacron wingtips, wide dacron strip along trailing edge for tear resistance, short bridles...no one-pump... effective individual stoppered valves

Have the LW9m and the LW12m, both are very sweet sizes.

The LW12m is smooth and efficient, is fast through the air and in the turns...enough bar pressure to know exactly where the kite is...50cm bar recommended though i fly it easily on a 45cm bar and 25m lines....combined with 2 boards, lightwind board and a smaller board, the kite has a great windrange starting as low as many of the big bows...its jumping and allround performance is impressive


The LW9m loves to jump......jumps are very floaty with easy soft landings...a couple of times when i stuffed up and the kite ended up way to windward of me, the kite floated back into the window with no hint of any dropping the nose....an awesome performer.

not sure of wind-ranges yet...

so far....have used the LW12m in 12knots up to 20 knots and had fun...

have used the 9m in 17 knots to mid 20's and have had a ball...

these kites are a buzz to fly...feel like they are alive...very responsive but very smooth power delivery....

last year's rippehrs are great kites but the new 2008 LW Rippehrs are an improvement in construction (more beefed up), more power, smoother in power delivery and depower and extremely stable...


Rider Profile

Weight (kg): 83
Ability: Intermediate
Style:freestyle/freeride
Preferred Water: any
Preferred Power: Good
Preferred Kite Size: 9.0
Most Used Kite Size: 10.0
Preferred Board Style: Twin-tip
Preferred Board Size: 132
Brand Affiliation: Repeat Customer
Similar gear used: EH Rippehrs last model





For pictures and more reviews click here

here's a few more pics.....couldn't work out how to post more than one pic on the review...and also couldn't get my max logon to work for some reason hence the zero posts if you are wondering...


other gear i've tried...lately...


waroo pro 11m
ozone sport 11m
07 bularoo 10m
Yarga Hybrid 11m
Turbo 2 11m
airush vapor 10m ( flat 5 line kite)

the airush vapor has lighter bar pressure (big bar) but similar speed and feel to the rippehrs when tried in medium winds despite very different design...a nice kite but the Rippehrs were my kite of choice ...

and 2 more of the 9m...

and 2 more of the 9m...

quality kite, the new sewing pattern gives more stability over the leading edge and gives extra life to the kite as opposed to the last sewing pattern.

This is actually the 08 kite, we released it early

The bar is nice and simple as you said, no wastage of cash on stupid things to get tangled in.

Kite rides superbly, I have still to try a 14, but the 12 and 9 are a dream.

is there any changes on the bar from 07 to 08?

How early in 2007 can you release a new kite and still call it a 2008???:D

well....i know what you mean....

i think its to differentiate it from a kite that was actually released in 2006....anything released in 2007 is going to be called a 2008 model nowadays....

it's really the new version of last year's Rippehrs....which were also released about this time last year....


have had a few 9m sessions since the review....it really is a hot kite..

with regard to the current new bar...

it now has side floaters....and a front line safety lease setup....otherwise very similar to last years...

Yeah, the bar is largely the same, but we have a stopperball on now - clean and simple.

There is rumour of a new bar coming, although it will not be for another 6-9 months or something, so if you have any comments or suggestions as to how we can make it better, or easier to use, PM me or put them up here so we can all discuss the ups and downs.