No question that carbon fiber beats out aluminum for vibration damping. I have seen it, my CF tripods are way better in windy conditions than my first (well built) tripod, a large aluminum Manfrotto tripod (055 series). Wood. Well, there's a reason why today's surveyors use wooden tripods - these are heavy, weather resistant (treated wood), damp vibrations very well - perfect for obtaining precision readings. Some commercial film makers using massively heavy camera rigs, and some large format / ULF (> 8" x 10") photographers use wood tripods, and gosh are they pretty (See Ries brand tripods made in USA, Berlebach made either in Germany or Switzerland, I forget which). But, I like to hike, and I weigh 50 kg (110 lb), so I am going to prefer lighter tripods for field work.
I use Feisol carbon fiber large (CT3472) and medium (CT3442) systematic-style (no center column) tripods. The large one is needed for longer (and heavier) telephoto lenses on lens feet (mostly the 400 mm birding lens and the 180mm f/2.8 macro lens, the medium one is used for landscape, macro up to 125mm f/2.5 lightweight lens, general use (fine for 70-200 f/4). I have been happy with them. There may be better CF tripods out there but these cost twice as much as the Feisol, and my results are fine with the Taiwanese Feisol tripods. Good tripod use practices are at least as important as the difference between mid-level and top-level tripods. I don't skimp on tripod heads or quality L brackets / lens feet. Arca-Swiss p0 and Z1 ball heads, Custom Brackets half-gimbal (fits onto ball head flipped 90 degrees, using ball head base pan for pan and gimbal for tilt), and sturdy but not very refined Manfrotto 410 geared head with Arca-style clamp replacing manufacturer's QR system.
Can you tell? I am a tripoholic.