Got my first chance to try the MWP on ice/snow/slush. We got a little freezing rain Wed pm followed by maybe 1/2-3/4” of snow. NWS was not predicting precip so Thurs am was a surprise. Our residential street is one of the last to receive attention from the plow/salt trucks so although the rest of the roads I ride are now clear, our neighborhood still has some ice patches. Anyway, I was a little nervous about it so I did a slow lap around the neighborhood before I decided to give it the green light. It really was weird. The street was so slick I had to walk carefully but on the bike it was as though nothing were different. If I stood on the pedals the rear would slip a little but I wasn’t able to get the front or rear to slip under hard braking. I didn’t feel like testing the front while cornering so I just took it easy. I usually take it easy anyway. I ran them at full pressure, figured I could stop and air down if needed but never felt the need. They did really nice through slush, too, and the 1/2 to 3/4” of snow was like nothing. They were expensive but I’m glad I bought em. They’re still really heavy and I enjoy them much less with a 20mph headwind - 3 such days this week - so I’ve gone back on my decision to just leave them on. For occasional and short-distance commuters I could see the logic but for me 25 miles a day 5 days a week is too much for that heavy/slow of a tire. If the roads are ok, the street tires are going back on. For me, that was the point of having a spare wheel set, so in the winter I could keep the studded tires on the spare wheels, and in the other 3 seasons keep knobbies on them for off-road stuff. I really want to try to enjoy all the capabilities of this bike. The spare wheels also have a 14-34 7s FW as opposed to the 11-28 7s cassette on the “main” wheels. It takes less than 2 minutes to flip the bike over, swap the wheels, and flip it back upright ready to roll. The spare wheels are just a cheap used set I bought off Facebook for $40 w/ tires,
they were off of some low end hybrid. It made a lot of sense to get them as they’ll fit my wife’s bike too.
As far as other versions of the Marathon, I’m not so sure I want the extra weight and rolling resistance for a tire I’ll be using every day 3 seasons out of the year. I’m already carrying a spare tube and mini pump
100% of the time. I think I’d rather have a lighter, faster tire with less puncture protection. I’ve heard Gatorskins have a pretty good reputation as a commuter tire.

Correction: this was Tuesday night going into Wednesday morning. Rough week.