Maximum wing-foil suitability - the Volare can definitely be certified for wing beginners, heavy wing surfers and gusty light wind areas. The 130 litre volume offers plenty of buoyancy, but it feels like it melts away significantly after take-off. The result: you stand up effortlessly with the wing in your hand, slip into the front strap and stand stable and balanced. Thanks to the beak-shaped tail in the typical wing board design, the board is easy to pump with your legs for support, even at low speeds. In the air, the board, where the volume is mainly in the thickness, appears small, compact and responds well to pumping and steering impulses. The board already encourages you to jump and try out tricks, but offers plenty of volume for stylish "bobbing home" as an alternative to floating on the usually much smaller, radical wing-foil boards in the under 100 litre class.
In the world of windsurfing, the board makes somewhat higher demands, although it would not be particularly difficult to fly. There is enough space on the deck for jibing, it is easy to edge with a sporty foil and the straps are positioned as a balanced compromise for a good mix of manoeuvre and speed. Due to the very compact trim, you stand more with weight on the front foot, a typical foil position, less like classic windsurfing. Foil freestylers in particular favour this stance. Although the three straps supplied are very suitable for wing foiling, the new "double strap" hanging together at the front cannot be fitted in the outboard windsurfing positions. The board looks small and sporty with the sail, but is easy to edge and control with the Starboard Supercruiser foil. The carrying handle is very slippery.
surf conclusion: Here you will find 100 per cent wing suitability plus 80 per cent windsurf foiling. Packed into a small-looking board with plenty of safety volume, which even allows for safe turning thanks to the mast track positioned far back.
Wing foiling
No SUP surfing
No windsurfing straps included; handle
Technical data I-99 Volare
- Weight: 7.5 kg*
- Length: 205.0 cm
- Width: 72.0 cm
- Volume: 130 litres
- Finns: none
- Price: 1489 Euro
Stephan Gölnitz
Deputy Editor in Chief surf
Stephan Gölnitz comes from Bochum and had Holland as his home windsurfing territory for many years before moving to Munich in 1996 for the job of test editor at surf magazine. The materials engineering graduate worked as a surf instructor on the Ijsselmeer during his studies and competed for several seasons for the Essen sailing team in the Surfbundesliga and the Funboard Cup. He completed a traineeship at surf-Magazin in the test department and since then has actively accompanied almost all tests on the boom and for more than 10 years also as a photographer. Stephan has covered many thousands of test kilometers, mainly on Lake Garda and in Langebaan, but also in Egypt and Tobago. He gets his hands on over 100 new sails and boards every year as his company car. Privately, he prefers to surf with a foil on Lake Walchensee or “unfortunately far too rarely” in the waves. SUP is Stephan's second passion, which he pursued for several years at numerous SUP races. Today, he prefers to paddle on river tours with family or friends - even for several days.
