How much travel do you use 3,4,5,9" ? Hardtail , Full suspension , 29er ?

Do I wish I had more travel? Not really. Out here the bike is fine. The only time I was wishing for more travel was on Porcupine Rim. I'm not sure if it was lack of travel or the fact that I had my front fork set up all wrong, but that trail was a bit rough.

Is the 1" soft tail worth it, yes. It's enough to make those long rides comfortable.

140mm rear with adjustable 100-120-140mm up front. I wiegh 180lbs and ride pretty aggressively. the rear travel on my bike allows me to ride anything within my skill range and the adjustable front end allows me to change the bike's handling on the fly. being able to change the handling of the bike is really nice. it would be hard for me to go back to a fork without travel adjustments. I don't feel like I'm ever suffering on climbs due to my set up or travel. That's what's nice about all that external tuning avail. these days. with proper bike handling going up or down is a snap. I sell bikes for a living and I talk to alot of folks that still feel that longer travel bikes are a big disadvantage and don't work or climb well. Get the right bike with decent susp. componets, set them up right and all is good. I love hardtails and big wheels as well, but ride my full susp. more than anything else. I just ride what fits my needs.