I think it’s meant to accommodate people who will never run in them – walking can do a number on exposed EVA.

You won’t see a huge difference in the feel of the K3 I don’t think. Only one run in them so far for me, but they feel great.

I actually don’t have too much problem with the rubber location – heel pod helps if you plan to walk in the shoe, and the pod under the big toe helps with friction at pushoff (it’s where I tend to see most of my wear these days). Lateral forefoot is highly variable – I know some people who destroy that area, but I’ve discussed the lack of rubber in this are with several companies and they all tell me that wear testing does not typically show excessive wear in the lateral forefoot. Now, that could be because their wear testers are not forefoot strikers, but I can say that even when I do forefoot strike I tend not to wear down this area. It all depends on how the foot is moving relative to the ground just before contact. I also worry that adding harder rubber in this area might make for a harsher forefoot landing…

No, have not tried the Vertical K’s. I do like the La Sportiva X-Country though.