I also have a review/opinion on the Pepi’s Noodle insert.
Having now run it for a few months, trying different tyre pressures and a few different style of trails I can confirm that it’s definitely not the same as a CushCore XC. The CushCore adds a sort of progressiveness to the “bottom out” of the tyre, the Pepi just doesn’t. It does an excellent job of keeping the tyre on the bead and protecting the rim from contact with the ground.
I thought it was all just marketing guff, and I’m not sure yet whether I’ll go back to CushCore and pay the extra 70g weight penalty, but there’s definitely a difference between CushCore and the noodle varieties!