Postby Strekke » Sun May 20, 2018 7:07 pm
From my experience testing the Firewire boards (own Vanguard & Vader, tested Evo):
Vanguard (thruster): earlier planing than Vader, easier to ride through the lulls, tracks very well upwind, more stable than Vader, a bit faster than Vader. Chopwise OK, especially if you ride it on its edge. Turns are wider and require more input, so the board is less playful than Vader.
Vader (quad): definitely still early planing / efficient upwind board compared to other/regular surfboards, but its efficiency is not as easily unlocked as the Vanguard's. With the right technique still very efficient board though. More rocker than Vanguard so a bit slower and does not carry through the lulls as well as the Vanguard. But probably a bit more comfortable in chop (minimal difference with Vanguard I think). Not as stable/easy as the Vanguard, a bit of a more advanced board. However, it turns a lot nicer/tighter than the Vanguard, supersmooth and superfun slashing and carving. Ride it as a thruster and it slows down the board a bit, but gives you great grip for carving tight turns without sliding out - good for riding in really powered conditions. My standard setup is quad though.
Evo: only tested it once. Good low end with early planing because of its volume. Turns nicely (but probably not as nice as the Vader; not sure though). Because of its volume, I remember it as too bouncy in the chop for my taste. Only tested it in its smallest size though (too small for me) - maybe in a size up its less bouncy in chop.
So if you're going to ride sometimes underpowered and want an easier stable board with wider turns, go for Vanguard. If you are going to ride always nicely powered with awesome tight or wide turns with or without sliding out, and don't mind a bit of a steeper learning curve, I'd say go for Vader. Evo would be something in between I guess, but with a bit more volume so more float & bounce in chop (I think - have only tried it once, briefly).