the main advantage of the foot stretchers (tracks) is that you can more easily share the boat with others becuase the foot rest position can be adjusted to suit your quests leg length.

sometimes, also, the same person will switch between different positions depending on what footwear they are wearing.

i am not exactly sure what you mean by the boat being responsive to pedal pressure other than that well positioned foot pads/pedals/or bulkheads help you properly engage with the hull and transmit your stroke to forward motion and or turns. so the more important point is positioning of the pedal or other brace not so much the particular mechanism (bulkhead/mini-cell/or foot-pedal on a stretcher). that said, pushing directly on a bulkhead or pedal may feel more 'direct' than pushing on minicell with a bulkhead behind it.

i like to occassionally share my boat with others on a whim....so i am a pedals on tracks person. that said, you did seem to suggest that you may be tight on room (e.g., your feet are already able to touch the bulkhead if slightly pointed) for foot stretchers. so you will need to do a bit of experimenting to see if you have enough room for your feet with stretchers with the pedal in the forward-most position. you can measure this outside of the boat but i seem to remember that you have a minimum of 3 to 4 inches from the forward most point of the the stretcher (track) to the face of the pedal when the pedal is in its-forward-most position....so stretchers may no longer be an option.