...but is it true that RPs are no longer being manufactured?

I heard that myself...from a prety reliable source. Better not lose the ones you have, because those things are the bomb!

If they're the bomb, and there's a "bomb proof nut placement", does that mean they won't fit?

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302691269&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441772083#

Honest question: Is/would loss of RP so important these days? Arent there plenty of small nut alternatives?

Never owned RPs, but my favorite small nuts were HB curves - which I dont think are available either.

I think you are right, Mark, that there are some great designs available now for small nuts and that RPs may not be the best alternative. Hence the poor demand and eventually cessation of manufacture. I still occaisionally use one and carry a couple all the time with a few other small brassies. With such small gear the fit must be exact or it is worthless. I could wax poetic about the boxier shape and all but demand speaks for itself.

I've always found the HB brassie offsets the be the best of the very small nuts. I think they are made under a different company name now if they are even still made.

http://www.yosemitegifts.com/hboffsets.html

This was the last site I knew was selling the original HB type offsets. DMM also makes some.

I thought Metolius? bought the molds for the bigger HB offsets. Chip is right about the Yosemite guys selling the small guys.

Both the Yos gift store and DMM got the license to sell the brass offsets. I got mine from the Yos shop a while back when they were the only ones selling them, but apparently DMM has finally tooled up and is now selling them as well.

DMM Bronze Offsets

The DMM catalog calls them brass and says they're cast from silicon bronze, guess the MT site can't tell what they're supposed to be either.

Edited to add:
DMM is also making the Alloy Offsets... "based" on the HB offsets. I seem to recall some discussion that said the newer DMMs weren't using the same dies and thus were slightly different sizes.