I also ride a hard tail. I have ridden Wal-Mart bikes and bmx as a kid. I have never been scared of going down big stuff, and I am not near a pro by any means, and really call myself a newb that has balls. I just got a REI Co Op drt 1.3, salesman sold me on it, but I talked him down 200$. A lot of guys I ride with have new $3k full sus bikes and they cannot keep up with me. esp down hill, on climbs one guy will catch up and sometimes pass me (he is a cross country runner, I’m a freshly quit smoker).
I wouldn’t ride a full sus right now even if someone gave it to me. I love my bike, when flying down beach mountain in NC I don’t hit the brakes and love the hard core feeling of all the bouncing and hardness of the ride. I don’t know a lot of other bikes as I never road them, but hard tails are just fine. If you are a new rider I’m sure the bike has a lot more then what we got to push them
its not the bike its the rider as I have been told many times. same goes on dirt bikes (that’s what I am used to). I plan on riding this bike for couple years. I have had this bike for 3 months now, and I’m at 150 miles of non beginner trail riding. I have a lot to learn about proper riding technique before I need to upgrade.