....You nailed it Havoc. I have ridden both Hydrofoils/MPH designs..I love the feel of a thruster because of the amount of control they have. At the same time, I love the feel of the quads and twins especially in those minimalistic templates for the out of control speed they have
Here's my .02: The MPH / Hydrofoil designs are super fun for the average guy wanting to get from point A to point B really fast. It's advantage are many: easy to ride, fast off the gate, great wave catching ability for a smaller board, and small volume - allows you to throw it around a bit....great for lined up/walled up waves that allows you to beat sections without much pumping or effort. This appeals to many.
But i have surfed it in peaky, good, barrelling waves and it has a hard time staying in the barrell...i remember stalling, changing foot positioning, and dragging both arms in order to get a cover up , but its inherent speed made it hard. Also, i find that surfing in the pocket is definitely a bit of a challenge too. And, for me the pumping that is require in traditional hpsb quads/tri's allows me to get into the rhythm and feel out the energy of a wave, which is a good thing...not just blazing fast speed.
It definitely has its place in a quiver, and would definitely get another ...but there are many other fishy types shapes that does pretty much the same thing.
win win <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />