Should probably post this straight to the Buyers' remorse thread, but anyway, tried the X97s on for the first time today, on rough asphalt and shitty, worn concrete. Boy, they pretty much felt like shit. They felt slow with no really noticeable improvement on crust handling compared to "normal" hard wheels (eg. F4 99). Powerslide was ok, but having said that, Dragons slide much better on rough asphalt.
As per rough terrain in general, gonna go back to Dragons instantly. To summarize, sadly I don't see any use for the X97s really – F4 99s will probably work just as good or even better if the ground isn't SUPER crusty.
Not trying to be contrarian or anything, your opinion is totally valid, but I've gotta say that it definitely doesn't match mine.
I actually brought both setups out yesterday, 56mm 99a F4 Conical full's (prob down to 54-ish) and 54 X97 V6 (broken in but not as worn). At the park and on fairly smooth transition there's not much of a difference for holding speed, but I'll give F4's the edge. I could happily only skate the X97's here, but given the choice I prefer the harder feel of the spits, especially on coping. The X97's are way quieter, more rubbery, more like Dragons. Grip and slide were fine on both, predictable.
On the way home I stopped at a redeveloped area a buddy had told me about, hipster yuppie apartments and shops by the university. There's a big park "commons" area with a mix of asphalt, bricks, cobbles, slabs, tiles. Grabbed the F4 equipped board first and it was almost embarrassing how loud I was clattering through there, echoing off buildings. Spits were harsh af. Ok on the asphalt but I'd forgotten how brutal they were on cobbles. Cruised through again on the X97's and what a difference, much smoother, faster, and way quieter.
I'll keep skating 99a F4's at the park, but will be grabbing the X97's for street skating going forward. One thing to mention is that I'm 40, and try to be considerate of others using public spaces. There were families hanging out with kids and I felt like a douche clattering through there on the spits disturbing their lunches, the X97's were much more reasonable. I'll probably head back there with the Dragons this week and try them too. Lots of good ledges and small stair sets.