I have had a demo on both these surf legends recent offerings in the 9'6 length.
My recent review on Tom,s board drew a fair bit of heat as I noted its weight was an issue for me and did not give me the ride I was looking for. Many responders came back with comment that Tom has designed these boards for fast glide type surfing. Okay thats fair enough. Its a quality product no doubt and you are paying for it. But alas its not the board for me or anyone else looking for a board that can be snapped around when and if you want to. Unless your Tom Carroll I suppose.
A few weeks later I took out the Laird 9'6 in very similar conditions. I am not sure of what the weight difference is , if any. But when I picked it up I did not think "**** thats heavy" like I did when I picked up the TC (according to the "experts" this weight is for momentum and glide or something like that) The Laird shape is different to the TC but they do both have a similar nose with splayed rails and quite flat for the nose rider.
Well ####! me if the ride could not be any more different. Laird,s board is a rocket and loose. When I needed some speed on the wave face after take off I gave it a few pumps and it accelerated I nearly fell of the back the first time as it took me by surprise.This speed made bottom turns fast and powerful. This speed and its loose pin tail made throwing it off the lip or cutting it back not only a pleasure but an easy option if so inclined. The production of a rooster tail off the back is always a satisfying feeling and sound which this board makes very possible.
After these first few manoeuvres and moving into the next fat section that big flat nose lures you up the front for some nose riding, I personally don't nose ride a lot but I just could not help myself and even managed a toe hanging off the front. So all on the same wave I was able to rip and tear then get into some long board style riding. Something I could not do so easily on the TC which I felt laboured rather than responded.
The Laird,s absolute performance and responsiveness is a pleasure to ride, but not only that it is also very stable enabling a relaxed stand when popping around waiting for a wave. Which is, I think is a very important factor in SUP surfing and significantly increases the time you can spend in the water and allows for a more effortless wave catching experience. I found TC,s board more unstable with the rock you can get from the chined rail hull design. Another thing that I did notice was the ease that the Laird punched back out through the white water on the way out.
When I first looked at TC,s board the design was very impressive to look at and got me excited to have go with all the concave and angles going on with it. It screamed performance. So maybe I expected more or something different to what it delivered.
The Laird on the other hand is not as striking or radical in its design as the TC but it is all that and more on the water where it matters.
The Laird 9'6 certainly put a smile on my face 
. (Sorry to my Wife but I think the wallet is coming out....again) BLAME LAIRD!
I'm yet to try the TC boards but they do make you want to jump on one and have a go. Hopefully I will demo one next weekend.
As for the Lairds, I have ridden pretty much every size in every model and have had a ball on them all. The Surfer model is my pick as they are so much fun to noseride, and playing with the fin configuration changes the board dramatically too. Lots of options for different waves
