So soft or Deflocked?

[Featherwurm]

It absolutely depends on the state of the pony.  I like them both ways, I think the flocking was a fun gimmick (my first ponies were SS Truly and Magic Star at the age of two) and as a kid I found it nice to touch.  Honestly I think gimmicks like this have really be lost in subsequent pony generations (I mean they all have their various appeal, but the variety of G1 in the main toy line I don't think has ever been repeated).  But I do think as 30+ year old toys some are just in such a sorry state that a deflock really does a wonder to make a pony look fresh and new again.

This Sundance I cleaned up had the most perfect beautiful flocking I have ever seen.  I took great care to clean up the incredible amount of dust she had acquired without harming her flock (didn't end up keeping her as part of my collection).  Apart from some overage of neck glue she was soft and fuzzy head to toe, absolutely lovely!:

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On the other side, I think this Angel desperately needed a deflock.  Her flock was thin, patchy, brown, the glue had yellowed and was giving her a sickly cast, and what of the flocking remained was completely pilled and matted.  She looked super sorry when I got her, but after cleaning her up I loved her design so much I ended up keeping her (which I hadn't originally planned on).

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And as an outlier, I still have all of my childhood ponies, and because they're sentimental, I have no intention of deflocking Truly and Magic Star, who's flocking definitely has seen better days, although isn't in the most terrible condition.  Since I know very well why their condition is what it is (they were well loved, and had many adventures) for me there's no reason to dramatically change their state.

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[LadyMoondancer]

I muuuuch prefer deflocked.

The flocking on the first set of So-Softs was just a bad material choice IMO.  They have so many issues from normal play, like dirt getting permanently stuck in the flocking and that white "foggy" effect a pony gets when her flocking has been crushed flat.  (I've noticed they tried to fix the issue with the 2nd set of So-Softs; their flocking is much shorter and less "furry" than the first set.  And it does make them much easier to clean.)

In general, I wish they'd used the same kind of flocking that Sylvanian Families / Calico Critters have.  It's short, soft, and you can clearly see the color / pattern of the underlying plastic underneath it.

[Broken Irishwoman]

Deflocked, definitely. To have a deflocked Paradise is a huge pony dream of mine... That being said, I would love to have one or a handful of So Softs with nice flocking as a novelty.

Unfortunately I have none though. So Soft or deflocked.

[bright rabbit 1]

Deflocked all they way

 I have out of the so sorts that’s I  deflocked are, Ribbon, Lofty, Paradise, Surprise, and Gusty. Only because the flocking was too thing and I couldn’t see their symbols easy. Out of all of them only Ribbon and Lofty still have their symbols.