Grubscrew

Are road shoes generally wider than MTB though? Not as far as I've been able to tell. Perhaps better just to seek out the widest and most comfortable shoes you can find and not worry about their intended discipline. No point in limiting your choices. Once you have the shoes you can worry about the required pedals.

Yeah it's probably a personal thing, shoe flex just isn't a thing for me, likely because I walk barefoot 80% of the time. A while back I was trying on some road shoes, when the salesman started talking sole stiffness I told him that it's all just marketing wank. The look on his face was completely incredulous, I don't even think calling Merckx overrated would have elicited more horror. But to get back to the OP, if the choice is between not riding your bike (due to lack of availability of "MTB" shoes), or gunning it with some skate (or safety) shoes... It's a no-brainer.

LOL, I've been eyeing those exact safety shoes for my next pair of flat pedal shoes, Rebel Lo-Tops. Was actually thinking of posting about them too, but as I've not tried them yet I'm not in a position to comment. Good to hear that they're working for you, I'll certainly give them a go, if they don't work for me on the bike I'll just use them in the workshop.

So in your experience, how far can you ride with skate shoes compared to MTB specific shoes? I have zero issues riding skate shoes over 50km, and I'll argue that if you're riding much farther than that then flat pedals are not the best choice in any case. Secondly, I'm really surprised that you've had grip issues with skate shoes as I find them extremely grippy, as they should be, since grip is paramount in skating. Maybe you just had a bad pair.

Just grab some skateboarding shoes or anything similar with a flat continuous sole. Not having to faff with narrow, overpriced, cycling specific shoes is basically the best feature of flat pedals.

Another excellent local product, slightly more costly, but much less likely to draw ridicule from your peers.

No jokes. Cheap and available everywhere. Comes in a variety of flavours. Makes your bike hella fresh. (Not to be used on tyres or brake discs obviously.)

Easy one to answer. Do repeats on a smooth Strava hill segment, alternating between locked and unlocked. Compare times. Draw your conclusion from there. One man's gold is another's dross.

Currently have a set of Speed Kings on my gravel bike and they are fantastic. Fast, good grip (on road, wet or dry), and great puncture resistance. My previous tyres (Clement X'plors) averaged about one puncture per 1,000km, my Speed Kings have only had one puncture in the last 4,000km under the exact same conditions. Still plenty of tread left, will possibly get 10,000km out of them. Highly recommended.

Yeah it's a common problem with multi-tools, not just the bits that are too short, but the bulkiness of the tool will often jam up somewhere. Best is to carry some normal loose hex keys in the sizes you need, they are cheap, small and light. Get the chrome plated ones, the black oxide ones don't endure regular sweat and sports-drink contact well. I also standardise my bike to only use hex, so no torx, flat, phillips or whatever else. This negates most of the need to carry a multi-tool in the first place. That being said, my vote for best multi-tool currently on the market goes to Farr's MT13 (or similar, as this tool can also be found under other brands).

Continental Speed King 700 x 35c tyres mounted on quite wide rims (25mm internal). Measures 37mm in height and 40mm in width.

As long as you're not a brand snob, you can get some from Mr Price Sport. Mesh-like material, should be cooler than just using normal cycling shorts for underwear: https://www.mrpsport.com/en_za/cycle-inner-tights-1405710017

SeaSucker.