Hi Sean,
It’s normal for me to try a different antenna each month looking for a better compromise or just wanting to do a field test of an idea that has been buzzing around in my head. The gold standard for me is the SOTABEAMS 80/40/30/20 linked dipole. It is a bit slow to change bands but there is no ATU to carry and no toroid match required. Inevitably some signal is lost in the ATU or the toroid but the convenience in band changing might be seen as worth the loss.
Last Friday I used a tuned feeder to a 30 m half wave with an ATU on one summit and the SOTABEAMS linked dipole on the second summit. I had the same number of contacts on each.
I use an FT817 for backpacking trips - owned it before the KX2 or KX3 were around.
As Andy said there is a diversity of opinions and some hold to their favorites like a much loved child. Whatever you decide on you have made a start and should not be afraid to experiment and make changes later.
Don’t wait hoping for perfection, get out and enjoy the activity.
73
Ron
VK3AFW