It wears pretty well! The stitches with the yarn passed in front are pretty flush with the surface of the sock bc of the ribbing, so it doesn't seem super vulnerable. But I have only made this pattern once before and I have been a little ginger with them because it was souvenir yarn that I really like. Overall, it feels safe as long as you keep a slightly tight gauge.

I actually found the back-up relatively smooth and quick - took maybe half an hour to download all my posts once I got it set up. The instructions were pretty good and straightforward.