Ever had a nice, soft warm salt bagel with a long hard pretzel on a muggy, humid day? Maybe open a can of good tuna on the side? Mmmmmm.
I take em both ways:
Soft: Right out of the oven at a Philly Pretzel Factory, with plenty of salt.
Hard: Herr’s Extra Thin.
Neither available in Arizona…
I was thinking licorice.
It’s not about size, it’s about flavor. :o Right??
I was thinking pasta.
I don’t care as long as it’s smeared with something delicious.
Snyder’s Hard Soughdough pretzels that are big and twisted are the best of all time
http://www.snydersofhanover.com/products/sourdough-pretzels/sourdough-hard-pretzels.html
Thin, hard, and twisted (or the stick variety is also all right.)
Gimme some o that pretzel crack!
So I guess I like em broken.
Uhhhhh … submarines? :dubious: 
This. When I was in grade school in Philly in the 40s, there was a store across the street from the school that sold them 4 for a nickel. They were on a strip and each one was fairly small. Still 4 of them was a fair snack. Always with mustard. My aunt who grew up in the 30s told me they were a penny a piece before the war.
I also like the hard rods. And the small sticks. And any other form.
I’m completely biolar about this. I adore the abovementioned Snyders. Even bettah when you have some Pub Cheese spread to dip them into.
On the OTHER hand, since I’m a Philly native, a soft twisted pretzel with a bit of Goulden’s Spicy Brown is kind of heavenly.
To me a normal hard pretzel pretty much looks exactly like a normal soft pretzel, except it is hard. I like dipping the hard ones in ice cream. I only like salt or a little mustard on the soft ones. The rest of my family has to have cream cheese. And as some others have said, to me the soft and hard are not in competition.
Not a fan of baguette or ciabatta. I like long, soft eclairs and long johns (not that long john.)
I prefer them soft and twisted, but they must be salty either way. Cinnamon-sugar, etc. are an abomination unto gawd.
Trader Joe’s carries short, hard, dark pretzels (pumpernickel?). Perfect with beer, so I take 'em to my church’s Men’s Group (where half the guys are home-brewers).
Pretzels and fresh-brewed espresso stout… mmmm…
Disagree about “the best of all time.” Sourdough is supposed to have two properties in order to be called “sourdough.” It has to be sour, and it has to be doughy. Hard sourdough by definition is a contradiction in existential characteristics.
The way they make them at the german bakery. Hard crust, soft on the inside, with salt on it.
Warm and soft with spicy mustard. Especially on a crisp, cool morning.