There’s a point silly… to ride more boards.
When I was at Hydro Epic we had three boards made, with identical dimentions, in different materials. I took all three out on several occasions and got a feel for the materials without the shape of the board creating an additional variable.
The boards were all 7’8" Brewer Cali Hybrids with exactly the same dimensions. Board #1 was a Hydro Epic - hollow, carbon/kevlar/aluminum honeycomb/epoxy, it weighed about 8 lbs. Board #2 PU/PE and weighed about 11 lbs. Board #3 was XPS/Epoxy (XTR) and weighed about 10 lbs.
The hollow board was much more responsive and could turn on a dime, but it had a rougher time in the chop, and it would want to drop in a little later on the takeoff since you couldn’t build the same kind of momentum when paddling. The PU/PE and Epoxy boards surfed very much alike - if I took them out at individually I’d think they surfed the same. They looked alike surfed alike - they epoxy board was a tad lighter (I could feel that) and flex was similar. After a few months the PU/PE board was beat up to the point I gave it away, and the Epoxy board still looked new - with about the same amount of time and abuse.
I totally agree that you need to build the best board you can with the materials in mind, but by doing a measurable head to head, you get a clearer picture of what the materials characteristics are. I don’t think a comparison of dissimilar boards in different materials will tell you much.
In fact we built at least a dozen Hydro Epic 9’1"s using mostly the same materials, out of the same molds, but with different flex characteristics. That was a huge eye opener. We could individually control the flex of the top and bottom from nose to tail.
The stiffest boards surfed the worst. They were unresponsive and doggy. They corked more and were really hard to get into turns.
The softest boards would initiate turns easily since they flexed and presented more rocker, but they were hard to get out of turns since they would stay flexed. The first turn was great, then it was like riding a wet noodle.
The magic boards were the ones that would flex into turns, then snap back quickly. This would cause the board to generate speed by loading and unloading - like a snowboard or skiis.
I’ve owned probably over 500 boards in my 42 years of surfing, and I’ve surfed tons more - in all kinds of materials and technologies. I think you can make boards that surf great out of almost anything as long as you design them to exploit the characteristics of their materials.
Another thing I’ve learned is different surfers like different kinds of boards. I have a magic 9’2" (Brewer). It’s the best longboard I’ve ever ridden. I’ve loaned it to friends that don’t like the way it surfs. I’ve ridden their boards and wonder how they can get any pleasure from them - total dogs (to me). Just look at what Roy is pushing - not for me… different strokes.
The Firewire technology is great. If you try one you don’t like, it’s not because it’s a Firewire. It’s just not the right Firewire for you. With the right shape, weight, and flex, I’m sure you can find a magic one. They are certainly strong enough.