any one gone from iSonic wood to iSonic hybrid carbon?

How do they compare? I have an old 2011 iS107 wood which I'd like to update and an iS130 (which I'll keep for another season). (Sadly) SB have dropped the wood option and replaced with hybrid carbon and reflex carbon

I had an iS137 carbon (2011) and hated it, 2 or 3 hours sessions felt like all day sessions, so replaced it with an iS137 wood, way softer and better for me.

Is is the hybrid carbon as forgiving (soaking up chop etc) as the wood construction? If not, I might have to look at a secondhand wood IS107.

I tried an iS107 wood (2016) recently and it was a big improvement on my 2011 iS107 wood, hence why I'm looking at upgrading but wary about carbon.

I had a 2012 isonic carbon, like you hated it... too hard on ze knees !
Went on to Patrik boards with much delight for a few years.

then, this year I demoed a 2017 107 isonic reflex (full carbon), what a change !! Smooth, forgiving, soft on the water and bloody fast !!

had to buy one ! awesome board, can't imagine the reflex being worse

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seanhogan said..
I had a 2012 isonic carbon, like you hated it... too hard on ze knees !
Went on to Patrik boards with much delight for a few years.

then, this year I demoed a 2017 107 isonic reflex (full carbon), what a change !! Smooth, forgiving, soft on the water and bloody fast !!

had to buy one ! awesome board, can't imagine the reflex being worse

Could it be because of the foil you're using?

I am interested in how they made a carbon board, then another carbon one that flexes better.

"UltraCore is Starboard's proprietary sandwich core material that's 30% stronger, 40% stiffer and 10% lighter than conventional PVC sandwich cores. UltraCore allows Starboard to build boards up to 1.2 kg lighter than our 2016 models."

OK so is it the core, or is it the PVC sandwich? Appears they use "core"as meaning anything under the outside 1mm of laminate? So they don't mean just the styro like we think of as "core", they mean - something.

"These boards are stiffened up between rider's back foot and the mast foot pressure, with four smart-carbon vectors on the deck and a full Carbon Innegra perimeter band."

OK the first bit sounds remarkably like Simmer's (claimed) carbon flex control in 2011-12, which was a strip of carbon about 20cm wide in a big X-shape over the back half of the board. Nothing new? Incidentally, that made the board great on bottom turns, so an iSonic 2017 must have great wave riding flex characteristics.

A "carbon innegra perimeter band" sounds very much like an extra rail laminate. Nothing wrong with that, but material along the rail does stiffen a board MUCH more than adding it elsewhere...... it does not make it flexier as they are talking about. So are they stiffening or flexy-ing?

"built in the most exclusive, lightest grade biaxial carbon fibres on top of our exclusive UltraCore sandwich core."

Talk of biaxial carbon that is very light according to SB in the reflex carbon has me a bit concerned, as their first use of biax just made the boards fracture at 45deg across the deck instead of straight. Fair enough I only saw a couple but they were the only new boards I saw snap that year.....
Or are they using lots of very fine fibres like 4K so there is much higher fibre density? Nah they did say lightest....

Thus, after all the marketing speak I think we have a better core foam that has enabled them to use less material. Then they put that extra material along the rail where it does its best work. Tops!

But, it is 40% stiffer and somehow that enables them to reduce the other laminates in the "reflex carbon" model to make a flexy board. Interesting how stiffer can make flexy.
Good luck.

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seanhogan said..
I had a 2012 isonic carbon, like you hated it... too hard on ze knees !
Went on to Patrik boards with much delight for a few years.

then, this year I demoed a 2017 107 isonic reflex (full carbon), what a change !! Smooth, forgiving, soft on the water and bloody fast !!

had to buy one ! awesome board, can't imagine the reflex being worse

Sean Tabou Speedster LTD

Mabee they should just make it out of good quality glass and add extra layers where needed.

Foaming additive in resin is way cheaper...................................................................

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seanhogan said..
I had a 2012 isonic carbon, like you hated it... too hard on ze knees !
Went on to Patrik boards with much delight for a few years.

then, this year I demoed a 2017 107 isonic reflex (full carbon), what a change !! Smooth, forgiving, soft on the water and bloody fast !!

had to buy one ! awesome board, can't imagine the reflex being worse

Encouraging to hear the 2017 iSonic felt smooth n forgiving. The 2016 iS107 wood I tried did feel smoother than my 2011 IS107. This got me wondering if newer carbon model had improved. From what you say, it has and maybe the hybrid carbon is even smoother.