Cores do a lot of work. Snow ski cores, even more. Core selection is integral to the ski design and can perform many functions. Advantages from a good wood core are many, including stiffness.Eric, you I am sure are familiar with the purpose of the core? It is simply to bond the top and bottom structural members together, right? Not to provide stiffness itself. For instance, it was not too long ago that Atomic was using foam rather than wood in their SL skis.
I personally build with foam. That's an engineering challenge. Note that carbon is rather weak in compression and clever tricks are needed for durability with carbon (or glass). Reinforcement with Boron fibers is my expensive fix. But there are many other ways.
I find that the proper foam core will outlast a wood core. Also, the performance is more consistent over time. But the failure can be a clean break. Loved my Atomic SLs - until they broke. Still loving my Goode Carbon 74s.
Eric