I ride a hardtail for two reasons. First one being that I don't want to spend the money to get a good FS and secondly I use my bike for commuting. So for me, a hardtail is a much better all around bike. If I were riding purely off road, I would probably get a FS. I have a friend who has a FS and uses it mostly around town and he says he loves it as a commuter. Needless to say he jumps every stairs and retaining wall in sight.