Video: A Hardtail is the True Trail Weapon

 What a pile of shit! Sooooo many epic edits that have used a DSLR. E.G: vimeo.com/100561260

 that's not a bike vid, that's just a series of landscape shots. And look at the dusk/night shots, camera can't handle them, image is ugly.

 It's the whole purity thing. It connects you more to the trail. It's also cheaper than a full sus. Can't say i'd use one for more than street riding or dirt jumping

 In the right conditions they're like a nitro powered scalpel. They're more responsive to not just pedaling, but also weight shifting, etc. You can boost off of anything at a miliseconds notice. Yeah, they're less forgiving so you have to back off of some of the bigger stuff. But the tradeoff can be worth it. Def worth having one in your quiver if you can afford it.

 not uncomfortable with the right technique, a good fork up front, and low pressure in the tires. you can definitely bash through some chunky trails if you keep yourself flexible and make good decisions about line choice.

 On a smooth trail they are definitely faster than a full sus. Hence why most XC racers ride hardtails. As @dfiler said, they are more responsive particularly with regards to acceleration and they climb a lot better too.

 Best feeling in the world ripping past people on there 160mm fullys or even dh bikes on a hardtail. Plus its kinda fun to try and jump and hop everything

 Have you ever picked a difficult trail for more challenge and fun?
Btw I see as It's like having two-seater convertible as a second or third car. Not comfortable or practical but hell of a fun.

 I couldn't afford a decent full suss so went the HT route, yeah it's more physical etc etc but your on the limit much more often. Man handling and using body language on the trail,if you ride rough trails you need to carefully scan and pick lines and commit yourself more than if you had 6" front and back travel.each has their own pros and cons I suppose. If I had a choice I'd have the best of both :-)

 I ride a 120mm ht and can easliy lose my buddies on their 6" fullys on Certain trails,the reactions will be good when I'm ripping around an upcoming enduro!

 It's not uncomfortable, your body and riding technique adapts. You spend more time 'at the limit' and although mach 9 is at a lower speed you end up making up a lot of time riding clean and can keep up with most of your buddies on fullies... if you're a decent rider. A good build and modern geo and you can smash on almost any trail. Also every stick is a jump and a hardtail frame is 1/4 the cost of a fully. They're great.

I can't say i mind the 'omg he just rode that on a hardtail what a badass' comments from randoms, even though 90% of the time the hardtailness is totally irrelevant.

 Comments like this so funny to me...I can't imagine *not* having a hard tail. So simple, so much less to faff with, responsive, lighter, cheaper to buy & maintain...strikes me as kinda weird (I guess in a nostalgic, I'm-getting-old sorta way) that someone would go right to full squish when starting out in MTB.

Even so, hard tails are so much *more* than "entry level." For those without one...what do you ride to the pub or beach, screw around on in the yard/car park with the kids practicing wheelies, manuals, and hops, taking laps around the campground loop between turning the brats, pump tracks and dirt jumps, loan to a buddy, explore the town? If nothing else, I'd feel like a complete nit if I did all that on a serious 5-6" travel trail machine. The hard tail is less serious and so somehow it's more fun, easier to relax and enjoy being on a bike. It's psychological, I know, or maybe I'm just simple-minded. That's not to mention all the reasons previously stated, what with the challenge of difficult sections and choosing lines and riding them perfectly and all that. At any rate...how you gonna say a hard tail isn't practical? My approach has always been utilitarian/silly-fun hard tail FIRST...then comes the fancier second or third as finances allow. You can be the nit running garbage out to the transfer station in your souped-up two-seater 'cause it's the only ride you got. I'll be gooning at the gravel pit in my trusty 4x4, laughing all the way.

 Cool. Thanks for sharing.