Hot diggity dog I think Surly just came up with my dream bike. Or frame actually but it'll build into a dream bike.
The frame has all the bells and whistles I've been been looking for in a frame lately now that the switch from my mullet LHT to a fully disc brake bike is getting nearer.
I was somewhat on the fence on thru axles before I tried them. But when I did try them I became an instant convert. So much better than QR and not really that big of a deal in a tourer as catastrophic wheel failures likely also wreck the frame too. So thru axles are a definite bonus.
Increased stack height is a massive yes in my book. My current 62cm lht is a bit on the low side and in size 62 stack is increased by 3cm which is exactly what I've been been looking for. Salsa Fargo on the other hand is already too high with a stack height of almost 700mm.
Tire clearance of 47mm with fenders is about perfect. Now that I've had the chance to try various tire sizes from 32mm to 4.8" I've come to the conclusion that 47mm is pretty much a perfect size for general touring. Wanting a 47mm tire was the reason I was starting to lean towards a 650b frame but those are hard to come by with reasonable stack heights.
Looks for me is a non issue and always has been. My current lht is covered in tourist stickers and looks like an absolute fredmobile anyway. I plan to ugly up the next frame in a similar fashion. More eyelets means more versatility, less screws is my spare parts satchel, more room for jerry rigging an emergency repair, more options for bike packing (with 45mm tires my LHT can do pretty gnarly singletrack).
Shortening the chainstay is the only thing I don't fully endorse but then again the LHT/DT has always been pretty long in the rear when comparing to the competition so I don't really see a detriment. I have size 47(eu) feet and bag clearance has not been an issue with my current lht. I've got room to spare.