How does a giggle box surf differently than the GX and Flare?
Comparing the Gigglebox to a GX that I had some years ago at the same length:
GBX paddles and catches waves better with the beak nose and lower rocker. It's a more forgiving, stable ride with the flatter deck and the vee out the tail so it feels a little more planted and a little less lively off the tail, for better or worse. This to me is the main difference between the GBX and a more "normal" modern, concave bottom thruster type board. It doesn't have as much of that lifty, twitchy feel and it doesn't need to be worked for speed as much but it also isn't as explosive in the pocket.
The GBX does pretty well in small stuff but I think for making the most of tiny pockets the GX is better. The GBX carries much more foam forward in the foil and I find it rewards a more balanced or front footed approach. It will do snap in the pocket and it's not a stiff board but it isn't as quick to react as the GX. It rolls rail to rail nicely, but it wants to draw a longer arc and is better for carves than snaps IMO.
It handles much more size than the GX and is a beast in choppy conditions. It just plows through bumps and stays planted. There is a point when the waves are steeper than ideal and I want something with more rocker but as far as size I have ridden mine in solid double overhead ground swell and it handled well.