We use cookies to improve your experience. To find out more or disable the cookies on your browser click here.

AVAILABLE ON

AV BOARDS NUVOLARI 119 2022 TEST REVIEW

09/08/2022
by

AV BOARDS NUVOLARI 119 2022 TEST REVIEW

VERDICT

If this Nuvolari is the standard across the AV Board range, then we’re certainly keen to try more! Fast, exciting and supremely comfortable, it has definite slalom leanings, and is not cheap at this price without a fin supplied, but what price do you put on performance and drag-race enjoyment?

THE LOWDOWN

This is the first time we’ve had a chance to try an AV Board, the brand’s name being the namesake of its founder and shaper Aurelio Verdi. From a chance meeting with Roberto Ricci back in the late nineties, the Tuscany shaper rose through the ranks to become the Italian brand’s Design Manager within two short years. And not only can he be credited with shaping some of RRD’s most popular designs (such as the Freestyle Wave), but also some of the fastest boards ever produced, with Antoine Albeau using just such a board to set the world record in 2015. AV Boards was founded in 2020 and is now brought into the UK by Seasprite Sports. The Nuvolari is a new freerace range for 2022, sitting next to the brand’s Modena slalom series. This 119 is the middle in a three-board lineup and is said to have a more freeride nature, with inboard strap options to enhance control in choppy seas. Produced in Vietnam, there is a pronounced gradient to the rear deckpad, raising the toes of the rider, whilst the deck grip is certainly aggressive at first touch. And we were interested to see how it felt underfoot once on the water. The outline and shape of the Nuvolari is quite unassuming and conventional, with parallel rails, a rounded nose and pulled in tail. There’s plenty of dome to the deck, small cutouts in the tail and like the Modena, it comes without a fin supplied, so was tested here with a 38 cm F-Hot RWS carbon fin.

BRAND CLAIM

“Coming from the experience on the Modena Slalom range, AV-Boards developed a new FreeRace range, the outline featuring a narrower nose and tail compared to Modena boards, to enhance comfort and easier gybing.”

PERFORMANCE

From the moment you step on the Nuvolari, its heritage is clear to feel underfoot: this is a fast board with definite slalom-focussed blood coursing through its veins! Deliver power and it needs little encouragement to release onto the plane. As for the non-slip, it feels fine in bare feet – no more aggressive than any other new board. As you step back to find the straps, there’s another large hint of its intent – the raised angle of the back pad. With the straps placed in an outboard position, it takes a conscious step out with the back foot to locate the strap and seat it comfortably – unquestionably the domain of the more advanced rider. We are sure the brand will argue that the inboard strap options open the board up to the less experienced rider … and this may well be the case, but the dome of the deck, angle of the back strap and performance of the Nuvolari encourages a more committed style of riding. And my gosh, once your feet are in position, it is worth the effort – the 119 is incredibly comfortable underfoot. Push hard and commit power through a locked in stance, and the performance comes … yet you feel you can maintain this style for a sustained period, such is the level of comfort. Fast on all points of sail, when driven off the wind it really flies on its fin, but unlike a slalom thoroughbred it has a very settled and controlled nature, never feeling like it is getting away from the rider. All this performance does mean it needs to be partnered with a sail that can keep up with it, whether a no-cammed freerace sail or fully cammed engine. Neutral and balanced on both feet, it simply encourages the rider to hunt down its peers, safe in the knowledge that the Nuvolari is less energy-sapping to ride than almost any other board in the drag race. And when it comes to the corners, it almost feels a shame to break this stance and comfort, the back foot again requiring a good step out before being transferred to the leeward rail. Entering the turn with speed, the board’s rails bite smoothly, its narrow tail helping to maintain control through harsh chop and projecting the board out of the turn with speed.

WEBSITE www.avboards.com

AV BOARDS NUVOLARI 119 2022 TEST REVIEW

 

VITAL STATS

Price: £2199.99

Volume (Quoted): 119 L.

Length: 229 cm

Width: 71.0 cm

1ft off: 45.3 cm

Bottom shape: Vee in the nose, becoming vee with subtle double concave by the shoulder, the double more pronounced in the mid-section and remaining present through to the tail, the vee diminishing by the front straps.

Weight (Naked): 7.5 kg.

Fin: No fin

Sail Range: <8.5m.

Sizes Available: 106, 119, 132.


OTHER BOARDS IN LINE UP

FANATIC BLAST LTD 117

GOYA CARRERA 118

JP AUSTRALIA SUPER SPORT 122

RRD FIRESTORM LTE 120

SEVERNE DYNO 3 124

STARBOARD FUTURA 77 WOOD SANDWICH

TABOU ROCKET PLUS 113 TEAM


BACK TO TEST OVERVIEW

 

 

You must be logged in to post a comment.