Yeah, I've spent a lot of time in the hard top model, but not the soft top. My plan also calls for taking it to CO and NM periodically, and I'd rather have the hard top for longer treks. And I work from home, so using the top hoist would be relatively easy when needed.you should (if you haven't already) go drive both, I found very little difference in noise between the soft/hard tops.. the thing I like about the soft top is you can put it up/down whenever you want, no hoist, no sitting at work saying damn I wish I could lose the top today etc.. Most people I know with the hard top take it off in the summer and run it for winter.. Plus 2013 is supposed to have some new-fangled premium soft top with spring assist raise/lower feature making it uber simple to put up/down and be as quite as the hard top..