I had these on my mountain bike, before I sold it. With my limited skills, it felt like safety insurance. Most of the time, if the terrain was hilly or very rooty, I rode with one foot unclipped.
Sometimes I would forget, clip at the start and then have an "oh s**t moment, when I would get to a climb and realize I was still clipped in and I thought I might have to bail. Most of my crashes occurred when I couldn't get up a difficult hill and I couldn't unclip, either.
Although, the last time I went mountain biking, I just kind of forgot and stayed clipped in the whole time, even up a steep little grade.
So different than on the road. Catrin, I am pretty sure your skills have surpassed whatever i achieved.