Tkb Review: 2019 ELEVEIGHT RS

Sizes Available: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 17m
Sizes Tested: 7, 10, 12m

Eleveight Says:

Tame any storm, ride any spot and excel in any style the RSeries is the one kite to truly stand out in every situation. It is our most versatile wing. The RS is a four line Delta-Hybrid kite with a medium to high aspect ratio. Hence it has a strong grunt, an incredible Big Air performance and covers a massive wind range. A two kite quiver is usually enough to cover almost all condition.

We designed its turning axis to sit on the shoulder to balance tip and pivotal turning characteristics. Therefore, in surf you can whip it around in a tight loop to support your next hack into the lip, in Big Airs you can loop it in a wider circle to get that explosive forward momentum. Whatever style you choose, the RS’ responsive and precise steering supports your riding.

Due to the staggering lift and long hangtime, the RS is a favorite for riders that want to go big. It is also a very comfortable kite that handles gusts, pulls you upwind and relaunches with ease. Highest quality materials such as the new X4 Ripstop canopy made by Techno Forceâ„¢ and the high temperature resin finish used in Teijin Dacron from Japan make it last and last and last.

The RS will be your best companion at every spot and in any condition.

Visit for more info: www.eleveightkites.com/products/kites/rs-series

Our Testers Say:

“Lift and hangtime for days! Great power, super stable, easy depower and great range. Excellent medium aspect kite with the lift of an aggressive delta/c-shape and the hangtime of a high aspect kite. If you want stomach dropping boosting that won’t drop you, this is it.” // Dray Murray

“Great all-arounder, powerful trigger pulling boosting machine and turns on rails. This is the Swiss Army knife kite ””boosts and loops great with great upwind ability.” // Dylan Dobbyn

“A real plow horse in terms of power delivery, boosting and hangtime. Slower turning speed, good window stability, great upwind ability and excellent lift.” // Tib Anghel

Meet Our Testers

TKB Says:

Although just one year old, Eleveight’s product designer is no newcomer to kiteboarding. The former lead designer for Best Kiteboarding, Peter Stiewe now has his own company and a complete product offering including kites, twin tips and directionals.  For our 2019 Freeride Gear Test, Eleveight sent us the RS,  a 3-strut medium aspect delta-style canopy with pulled back wingtips that is marketed as a performance freeride and all-around cruiser. The RS features a medium length single setting bridle that utilizes one pulley to change the angle of attack. There are two wingtip attachment points that adjust between turning speed and bar pressure with the stock connection point set on the fastest turning speed option. The RS uses a large diameter bayonet style inflation valve that requires no nozzle on the end of your standard pump hose for a quick and easy pump up. The first thing we noticed with the RS is its performance freeride bow-kite type feeling, with its nice light bar pressure and progressive smooth power delivery. The kite feedback felt crisp in the smaller sizes and a hair subdued with the larger canopy sizes. The RS’ turning arc is pivotal in its steering path and the steering response is middle of the road with a little bit of wind up needed. Testers found the turning speed to range from average to a little bit slower, which is what you might expect from a performance freeride kite. The standout feature of the RS is its explosive boosting power and massive hangtime yes you get both with this kite, extreme height and a long flight path. The RS feels like a performance big air kite that you can send with accelerative lift and the kind of canopy that delivers parachute-like hangtime and soft landings. When we dumped the RS in the water we found the relaunch to be really easy from nose down in the bottom of the window. With just a little bit of input into the bar, the RS rolled up onto a wingtip, launched right into the air, which is what you would expect from a delta-shaped leading edge. The RS scored high marks for going upwind well with strong pull from the edge of the window and fairly good depower even in the larger sizes. The RS is a really comfortable performance freeride option for the rider that loves boosting big airs. With reasonably good steering it’s not the ideal option for those that fly their kites aggressively, but with light bar pressure and excellent lift it’s a great option for beginner to intermediate+ riders chasing big air with massive floaty hangtime.

The RS came with the CS Vary Bar which is an adjustable length bar (42/50cm or 47/55cm) that features a single center-line safety depower system with a low V and a spectra rope depower/throw line that offers an adjustable length throw (comes stock in longest throw adjustment) and the power tuning is via a Clam cleat that features a lightweight toggle that uses a bungee integrated into the tuning line to keep the toggle from getting tangled. This year there is no sliding stopper for speed control. The bar’s center lines end in knots (color coded gray) and the outside lines end in loops (color coded red and blue pigtails) and has no line extensions. The safety system features a push away quick release with a built-in hand swivel that also acts as a QR travel shield. Eleveight’s quick release is one of the few groundbreaking systems on the market that allows itself to be reset by simply placing the open end of the loop back into the quick release body where it will reset by simply clicking back in place. The process of resetting is still a two-handed process because it takes a bit of force to push the loop back into the gate. With sufficient force this system works every time. This year the length of the center lines is not tunable like last year, but the outside lines are tunable by pressing on two little triangle tabs on the side of the bar end. This releases a clear plastic insert out of the bottom of the bar end which allows you to both change effective bar length and adjust between three knots to change the length of the outside lines (stock set to shortest line length). The bar ends feature retractable line bungees with padded bar ends that feature integrated floats. The color coding on this bar is fairly minimal some of the printing on the bar as well as the bungees are color coded, but the grip is muted colors of grey. The center insert is plastic and looks to be easily replaced after wear with the removal of two small Philips head screws. The grip has a ton of dimpled indentations for a good solid grasp, and features firm EVA and a symmetrically round grip that tapers larger near the center for what testers found to be a very comfortable feel. Overall, the CS Vary comes with a ton of functional features and adjustability in a nice mid-weight that earned solid marks for comfort and usability.

Visit for more info on the bar: www.eleveightkites.com/products/bars/cs-series