Da Yoda wrote:I'm trying to get some info about the ride qualities and durability of these two boards (Cypher bamboo). I'm interested if anyone has tried these boards and could even possibly compare them.
I have not ridden the Xenon, but have ridden virtually every airush board in nearly every size with a lot of favourites over the years, but the last year or two have seen some definite progress. Very fond of the new Compacts this year 2014 - they really turned a corner, though they are probably a bit fast and locked in for you. The Cypher replaced the Choptop and it was a big step forward. Still has the balance, comfort, light and high load practicality of the choptop, but it hugely more capable on the rail...
I bought a 5'4 Cypher for myself, and it comes to the beach on every trip. I have played around with a lot of different fin setups (settled on stock quad) and had it out in a wide range of conditions, i enjoy it a lot…
It's a good mix of stability under load, and has that loose but corky feel (depending on fin setup). Though it lacks rail length it's surprisingly dependable under higher loads, but does feel minute underfoot. Surprisingly efficient, good upwind, it's a more mainstream freestyle waveboard as opposed to a small high wind board. Flotation and stability with just a few knots of boardspeed is excellent for the size - it's very easy, which makes more challenging stuff easy too.
Durability wise, I have been selling these in the UK for 3 years now and not had a single failure, so you pay for what you get. They are certainly not heavy either..