The RPM Tara Iti is a stable 10-speed driver that RPM classes as a control driver rather than a distance one. Zero turn and two fade is about as straightforward as a driver number gets: it holds the line you give it and finishes gently.
The design detail RPM points to is a smooth aerodynamic top over a steeper concave under-rim, which is what holds the stability while the disc still covers ground. RPM says its testing had the disc reaching distances comparable with speed 12 and 13 drivers, on a more controlled line. A New Zealand retailer review is more specific: practically zero deviation from the release angle, no turn even at full power, and a rim 1mm deeper than the Huia, which they position it directly above. Their comparison is a faster Star Thunderbird. As it wears, RPM expects it to become a good anhyzer disc.
That puts it in the control-driver slot — the disc for a fairway you need to hit rather than a field you want to empty. With no turn to work with, rollers and deep anhyzers are not really on the table out of the box, and the same review warns that Glow runs may not fade back at the end.
The tara iti is the New Zealand fairy tern, and RPM’s page is a conservation note as much as a product one: fewer than 40 birds remain, including roughly nine breeding pairs across four nesting sites, making it probably New Zealand’s most endangered indigenous breeding bird. RPM names its lineup for New Zealand native wildlife throughout. PDGA approved in March 2023, the newest mold in the range, and made in Strata, Cosmic, Atomic, Glow and Platinum.
How much the Tara Iti turns and fades depends on how hard it is thrown. These three shapes are drawn from the manufacturer’s numbers, not from measured throws.
Measured by the PDGA when the Tara Iti was certified. Each card names discs that share the number, so you can feel it in the hand.
