How necessary is it to have a full-suspension mountain bike?

Beaux: How necessary is it to have a full-suspension mountain bike?
I am about to get a mountain bike, I am planning on getting a Trek 4300. Its a hardtail bike. I plan on riding at a park by my house with alot of dirt trails and hills. Is it fine if I get a hardtail bike or is it really necessary for me to get a full suspension bike for what I plan on doing?

Answers and Views:

Answer by bikeworks
Suspension is to keep the wheels on the ground for better handling. If you are staying with rain rutted trails, cobblestone, small logs, and baby-head sized boulders you’ll be fine with a hardtail especially in hilly terrain. You’ll be much happier than your buddies with full suspension doing the same thing.

Answer by Jason
My friend hard tail is the way forward. I’ve been riding hardtail DH racing for a bit and its fine. Full sus is for wussies 😛

Go for the hardtail, full sus’s tend to be very expensive for a good model.
why get a heavy, maintenace prone full sus if you could go for a hardtail.

Think of full sus as: if you don’t have a high expensive model then theres no point.

Answer by sno f
you don’t need ful susp. simple as that.

Answer by Tom C
depends on the type of riding you do for what you say you will be riding on a hard tail will be fine any thing harder then that get a full suspension and no they are not that heavy

Answer by pmt853
If you’re going to be on dirt trails and hills then a hardtail should be just fine. Any full suspension bike will be heavier than a hardtail of similar price and on most trails you just don’t need the full suspension any way. On my Merlin Malt I spend much of the time with the front suspension locked out, even on off-road trails. For a decent quality full suspension bike with front and rear lockouts, you’ll have to spend a lot more than you will on your Trek 4300.