I had a 26″ Soul, then a Slackline and now a Switchback.
The Soul is a lovely bike. It was the best of the three for ‘riding around’ on. Great on XC rides and brilliant through semi-techy singletrack. It was just nice to ride. Having said that, I did a few Gravity Enduro rounds on it and it was more than capable. Great bike.
The Slackline was loads of fun DH tracks and techy stuff. Really good at cornering and jumped really well. It was heavier than my Soul and I didn’t think I was going to like it, but it made me grin every time I rode it. I rode a 24 solo on it too, so it’s perfectly good for big rides!
The Switchback is my current bike. The slackness has taken some getting used to in tight stuff, but now it’s awesome. It’s in its element on steep and techy stuff – the harder the better – and absolutely charges over rough ground. And despite this, it climbs virtually as well as the Soul.
I’d pick a Soul for ‘normal’ riding and a Switchback if my riding tended towards DH and tech stuff, although I’d say both bikes will cope well with either. That said, my Slackline was the one that made me smile the most and is the one I’d pick.