TomDW said..
Totally do not agree on need to simplify the range. Quad an thruster are two different animals albeit only slightly so. So basically you czn't go wrong with either of them. I always felt my quad 84 would be unbeatable by any other board until I stepped on the thruster 92 (23 model) and that felt like coming home too, same DNA as the quad but also somewhat smoother, a bit less aggressive, a bit better planing and faster etc.. I am totally happy with the thruster as my large board, and the 25 version is undoubtedly even better and lighter. Kudo's to Francisco and his team to keep featuring 3(!) waveboards each with their specific fortes
For the past generations i guess it is true that there was a noticeable difference between the Thruster und Quad. But with the recent models i guess there's not much difference any more, despite the fin setup.
Even Francisco confirms this in his video describing the boards.
Also German Surf mag tested both and found that they are quite similar in ride an feel, only finding some small differences.
I haven't riden the recent Thruster but after my last Quad 96 form 2016 i had the 2018 Thruster 99 and then the 2020 Thruster 98 which remained unchanged for the 2022 Thruster 99. I changed back to Quad 104 with the 2023 modell and now i have the recent 2025 Quad 104. This shape is so versatile, early planing and fast (and also turning like you expect from it) that i would say it merges the former Quad and Thruster attributes. Yeah, i would even say it's a magic board (at least for me).
Now you could ask why i don't buy the new 99 Thruster. Maybe a stupid answer, but would you ask Brawzinho why he doesn't use a Thruster instead of Quads (in proper wave conditions)? I guess he would do the things he does with a Thruster too, but the Goya waveboard reputation relies on Quads. Period.