First let me say that, like others posting on MimMac 1.7, I have limited experience with backup applications. I've used previous versions of MimMac and used CarbonCopyCloner a couple of times to create a bootable external disk.

1. I agree (so far) that MimMac is not easy to learn to use. I blame myself mostly - I have not had time to do repeated experiments and this app is one which self-teachers should spend time on.
My main "complaint" so far is that choosing the options available for file incremental backups has resulted in duplication of ALL files, rather than just the ones which have "changed" since the last run. But this DID work in previous versions - I must be missing something! (Probably failed to write "note to myself." And need to study Instruction Manual some more.)

2. I chose MimMac originally because it was more usefull than CCC - it could perform file backups as well as clone my System. I have a large archive of pictures & graphics which needs at least weekly backups. As I say, previous versions proved quite capable and I'm sure I'll "get it" when I run MimMac again - with more attention.

3. One thing I always wanted to know about backing up systems to create a bootable drive was: Does this REALLY work in reverse, say after wiping the Startup Disk and "cloning back" from the bootable external disk. This is important and my "objection" to all the backup info I could find was that everyone seemed to assume this would work with the apps being discussed.
It's NOT obvious to those who've never tried it and it's a 'do or die' experiment which leaves a small chance of having to "start over" - reinstalling and updating from whatever software restore disk you may have.

I'm happy to report: Last week I used the erase-mirror feature of MimMac 1.7 on my Startup Disk and it worked very well. The benefit (added to the security) is that the "new" Startup Disk is now completely defragged, 42,000 (combined total) file and disk fragments are GONE.
Note: Repairing permissions b4 & after - using Disk Utility - seems to be needed whether or not MimMac is set to do it.

This resolves the 'arguments' about the safety and feasability of defragging journaled OS X drives. First, - journaling DOES NOT eliminate the problem of fragmentation. Second - by mirror / cloning to the Startup Disk, fragmentation is eliminated (or reduced by 99.99%). For this alone, I would keep using Mimac.

4. Support: When I first tried MimMac 1.7, it "duplicated" rather than incrementally updated all my Home Folder - this meant I had to delete all the older files, and some of those were locked, requiring "force empty" of the trash and making the whole process time-consuming. I then tried to revert to an older version and found that older versions don't work anymore.

That's when I sent in a bug report on 1.7. I am very positive on the support for this app. Benjamin Timm responded 3 hours later, he gave me a quick, accurate explanation of the problem and suggested a couple of "fixes" which were easy to follow. *[Note that "quality of support" is dependent on "quality of feedback" which users provide developers of any application.]

5. Cost - few people would argue that MimMac is costly. At $10 it's cheaper than SuperDuper (I can only judge by user comments that it's 'worth it') - and only a fraction the cost of "big name" backup applications which are even more difficult to understand and use. MimMac is worth $10 and potentially much more.