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2016 Ben Wilson Surf Aeneema 8m/9m Review

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morhall
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2016 Ben Wilson Surf Aeneema 8m/9m Review

Postby morhall » Tue Dec 29, 2015 11:39 pm

TLDR; Living up to the marketing hype. Great all-around surf kite, especially for onshore conditions. Has the BWS DNA of smooth power and excellent drift.

Not much first hand info out on the latest kite from BWS so I thought I would throw a review out there.

I've been riding BWS gear for 3+ years now, so I'm a fan already. Started on the original Noise series. They were smooth, good power, stable, but slow turning. I switched over to the Noise Pro in 2014. The 8m is my goto kite in Central California. The 8m covers 90% of my riding with a handful of 10m days and a rare day on the 5m. I'm probably about 180lbs with a wetsuit and harness and my normal board is 5'11" 19.5 and reasonably full volume.

The Noise Pro was much quicker turning and a more direct feel without the rear bridle of the 2012 Noise series. In 2015, the TDZ variant came out. Principally a bridle upgrade that got rid of pulleys and changed the feel of the kite. Tad more bar pressure, but even more forgiving of slack line drifting.

The Aeneema came out in late summer and I ordered a 9m. Word was that a size larger might compare favorably to the 8m Noise Pro. After a few sessions and being a fan of the kite, an 8m became available that had been shipped to a customer instead of a 9m. I jumped on that deal while I could.

All my BWS kites have been good build quality and durable so far. The Aeneema seems to be built the same. A few crashes in overhead surf have left me with an intact kite so I think the quality of construction is still present. The kite does not have many wear patches on the leading edge. I am careful about self launching on a beach with shells or rocks.

I'm riding these kites strapless with a long throw bar and no depower adjustment. Elimination of the chicken loop and a longer throw gives me all the depower I need and simplifies the bar setup, even with short arms. It's just a regular BWS bar modified by Adriano at bigwavekiterepair.com with a new center line and release setup.

The kite has a newer style large inflate/deflate valve. Standard opening, the same as an inflatable bed. They also have a small valve so you aren't SOL if you forget your pump or the large attachment. A bit of wax on the large valve fitting helps it seat, but the large opening is really nice for pumping up and you can buy a replacement pump at probably any hardware store.

Compared to the Noise Pro, the leading edge diameter is much smaller so inflation goes pretty fast. Roughly half the volume of air between the Noise Pro 8 and the Aeneema 8. The bridle setup is simple, no pulleys and a direct steering line attachment. Very little to wear out and break.

The kite is extremely sensitive to proper line length. All four lines should be equal with the bar fully powered up. I was using old bars with the new kites and discovered pretty quick that my bars needed adjustment. Oversheeting will result in a backstall. Properly adjusted to prevent oversheeting and the kite does not backstall under normal conditions.

Launching the kite is straight-forward. Easily rolls onto it's side and self-launches. At this point, good launch/relaunch behavior is something I just expect. Relaunch in the water is about the same. Not as automatic as some beginner kites, but plenty fast and simple. I've only been to the beach once after dropping the kite in the waves.

Flight Characteristics: The Aeneema is a quick turning kite. The 9m felt about like my 8m Noise Pro. Quick and responsive, but not outrageously fast. The 8m Aeneema felt like a 7m or 6m kite when I first flew it. Very quick, turns on a dime without stalling.

The thinner leading edge likes to be flown faster than the thick airfoil of the Noise Pro. This is a little different, but manageable. Like all BWS kites, power delivery is smooth and bar pressure is fairly light. The kite likes a couple of pumps/cycles to get going. It does not have a large amount of low end grunt, the power just comes on and builds smoothly. Anyone used to a very grunty low end is going to feel like the kite doesn't have a lot of power. I'm riding my 8m when others are on 9/10m kites. There is plenty of power and upwind ability there.

I never had a problem with upwind progress on the Noise Pro, but the Aeneema sits farther forward in the window. Probably 10-15 degrees forward. This makes it easier to project upwind and accounts for the ability to ride a smaller kite than many. I mostly ride the 8m now that I have it. Requires a bit more work, but I prefer a smaller kite any time I can ride it.

The Aeneema performs best when you let the bar out a little on the upstroke. Just a couple of inches will let the kite fly upwards at a faster speed and you'll see an improvement on upwind performance. The original Noise flew this way, the Noise Pro is more willing to just let you grab a barfull and go. If you do insist on pulling to full power during the upstroke, the kite doesn't backstall, but a little reduction in the angle of attack definitely produces more power.

With the better upwind performance and snappier turning, the Aeneema is my preferred kite for more direct onshore conditions. Never was a problem with the Noise Pro, but it simply performs better in direct onshore.

The power can be instantly shut off by extending the bar all the way out. Drop in on a wave and just let the kite float depowered. Even when upwind/onshore I find I can get rid of power and better get into the pocket. With a normal bar and a depower strap, the on/off nature is still quite effective. Despite the ability to dump the power if needed, the overall power response is smooth and typical of BWS kites. No getting yanked away from your board by a gust.

Drift: Can't review a surf kite without talking about drift. Although most sessions aren't in groomed sideshore waves where drifting really matters. For real world drift, you know, where you cut back in onshore conditions without turning the kite first and suddenly find your lines slack. These kites are amazing. Even under very slack line conditions they retain a bit of steering. And usually will just gently settle until you reengage. It makes focusing on riding the wave much easier. The large depower range also shows itself in drift mode where you can let the kite float high overhead.

Pure down the line drift is excellent. Side onshore conditions see the kite drifting just out in front of the wave. The Noise Pro would drift right over the top of the wave or even slightly over the back. Your wind angle and mileage may vary, but so far this is a great kite for side onshore barrels as it keeps the lines clear of the lip. I haven't worked side-offshore yet. Overall the drift of the kite is extremely forgiving and gives plenty of room for recovery.

Things I can't talk about too much. Boost/Jumping/Glide, I use the kite to tow into surf. My jumping ability is marginal and generally limited to clearing whitewater or short hops. It seems to jump easier than my older kites and with the quick steering I have recovered a few landings that I otherwise might not have. A friend rode the 9m strapped and didn't seem to be having any trouble getting some decent air.

The 8/9 combo is more useful than I expected. I figured I was going to sell the 9m, but I have found it often works well when I would have pumped up the 10 TDZ. Overall the wind range seems a little smaller on the Aeneema than the Noise Pro. I typically ride the 8m from about 16kts up to 25kts. Then jump on my 5m Noise Pro when it starts to howl beyond that. The 9m is comfortable from 13-24kts I would guess. I have ridden both in lighter and stronger winds than is preferred, but they are pretty standard as far as wind range is concerned. Whatever size you currently ride, you can probably hop on the same size Aeneema and be comfortable. Go down a size if you don't mind working the kite, up a size if you want to just park it and go.

Word on the larger sizes 11/13 is that the 13m is a great light wind kite. Personally I don't ride anything bigger than a TDZ 10m so I probably don't have an 11 or 13 in my future. 11kts is light enough for me most of the time since you start to outrun the kite on the waves.

If you're looking for a new kite, definitely find someone with an Aeneema to test out.

Morgan

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juandesooka
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Re: 2016 Ben Wilson Surf Aeneema 8m/9m Review

Postby juandesooka » Wed Dec 30, 2015 7:34 pm

Great review, thanks for taking the time to write it.

I have enjoyed my Noise Classics, just upgraded to the recently obsolete Pro's and getting used to them. Will consider the aeneema's once the new model is released. :wink:

I want my kiting to focus on surf, so that's why the surf kite...but being realistic, half or more the conditions don't allow for it, so an all rounder is probably smarter.

Good tip on wax on the boston valve inflater....I haven't used mine because the nozzle kept slipping out. I will try that.

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Re: 2016 Ben Wilson Surf Aeneema 8m/9m Review

Postby Alorthiois » Tue Jan 12, 2016 8:38 am

Quite comprehensive review of the Aeneema, thanks Morgan!
Tried myself the 9m during 2 days this week-end (txs to Cornershop - Clichy - France): side shore on day 1 (15-25 knots 1.5m waves), and on shore on day 2 (15-35 knots 0.75m waves). I usually ride my SS Rally's 2012.
It took me some time on day 1 to get used to this kite and I've only began to get some fun of it at the very end. The good tip from your review Morgan is "don't pull down the bar too far"!
Day 2 was magic: I knew how the kite was working and then tried to reach its (my) limits.
Surprising how it forgives my mistakes of bad window positioning in the bottom turn : it should have thrown me away with its power and instead I was able to put it back correctly in the window to complete my surf move. Just great for still learning to surf.
Then the wind went up (too strong): The trim is working very well as it really increases the wind range of the kite: it does not impact the quality of the kite. You still can go upwind as if you didn't take any trim at all... And same for surfing, you can still surf in 35 knots with this 9m as if it was a 6m kite.
And finally the wind went down to 15 knots as I was in the waves very far from the beach : I just removed the trim and was able to make it very easily upwind to the beach as if it was a 10m kite.
I've tried to make some errors on purpose: the kite can not stall overhead (as the SS Octane (another kite from Ben himself) did...), nor did the kite fall down while riding full back wind without working the kite (I usually have to work a minimum my Rally to keep it well positioned in the window...)
I wish you all great sessions for 2016!
Amaury.

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Re: 2016 Ben Wilson Surf Aeneema 8m/9m Review

Postby pixelpedro » Thu Dec 21, 2017 7:17 am

WOW great review morhall, quick question:

Does the Aeneema run true to size, I heard that the noise, noise pro and the TDZ you had to get 2 sizes down (I think) like if u wanted a 12/10/8 quiver you needed to get the 10/8/6 is that still the case (If it ever was)?

Tnx.

p.s. looking for an inexpensive and good used one to try out.

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Re: 2016 Ben Wilson Surf Aeneema 8m/9m Review

Postby juandesooka » Thu Dec 21, 2017 5:57 pm

pixelpedro wrote:
Thu Dec 21, 2017 7:17 am
WOW great review morhall, quick question:

Does the Aeneema run true to size, I heard that the noise, noise pro and the TDZ you had to get 2 sizes down (I think) like if u wanted a 12/10/8 quiver you needed to get the 10/8/6 is that still the case (If it ever was)?

Tnx.

p.s. looking for an inexpensive and good used one to try out.
I can't speak to the aeneema's, but can say that the Noise were sized 2m "bigger" than the Noise Pros. If others were out on 10m, I would need 8m with Noise. But the Noise Pro are sized more "normal" compared to other kites.

It feels like the brand has been fading into obscurity lately, with the designer leaving and losing Alldredge, I wondered if they were going to put up the shutters. The brand was always a bit of a hidden gem, but most of the time now when kiters see these kites, the response is "BWS? Never heard of them". However, interesting to see BWS are now promoting a new edition, AE2, and have abandoned the Undertow bar in favour of a re-branded Ocean Rodeo Stick Shift bar. I wonder how it will go? BWS was first to market with wave kites and the surf-first attitude ... but now every brand has a wave kite, so what's the niche or competitive advantage?

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Re: 2016 Ben Wilson Surf Aeneema 8m/9m Review

Postby WH Lithuania » Fri Dec 22, 2017 12:12 pm

I can confirm that Aeneema 8m is more or less like other 8m wave kites. I ride it as my main wave kite. Sweet spot is around 10-12 m/s. for my 85 kgs.

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Re: 2016 Ben Wilson Surf Aeneema 8m/9m Review

Postby dbone » Fri May 22, 2020 5:07 am

Anyone with issues on the aeneema2 regarding flight issues?

I had the noise pro. 9m, excellent kite.
Before that, rode Naish kites since 1999- they were two line kites at that time- actually it was a wipika, then a naish(pre chicken loop) - We made our own safety eject systems with various shackles to flag out...

Then rode 21m gastra’s -flexifoils (two lines) then 4 lines— finally- cults, bolts and helex before moving to Noise Pro - a 9m.

Aeneema’s were next. And fairly happy. 8 m was great, 11m sluggish.

Moved to aeneema2. Noisepro 9m was stolen..

Anyone fly these?

Been kiting since 1999 and consider myself a very good kite master- those who learned and flew two line kites know.....

I know of others with a issues of these not flying “right”.

I don’t drop kites- in any condition- i know how to react and adjust....

Drop this thing too many times (twice- and launching has issues)
I think the possible issues were the center lines were stretched and uneven- the Ben wilson bars
used a thicker (and stretchier line) than the thinner lines.
But i think you need to adjusts the center lines to go less then equal to the back lines to give it a de powered starting point- center lines shorter than back lines from the bar...

Any comments?

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Re: 2016 Ben Wilson Surf Aeneema 8m/9m Review

Postby BudhaNl » Tue Jul 21, 2020 8:37 am

The issues that you have with the Ae2 might be more related to the lines & bar than to the kite. I am also wondering/interested in the Ae2 as a pure wave kite and hope there's someone who can shed some light on them from personal experience. They're going for pretty good rates now so I'm looking at the opportunity to have a few 100% wave-dedicated kites and a separate one for going out on twin tip.

Experience with the V1BE, esecially the 11m, and the recently developed MAV are welcome as well.


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