Having only forward controls on my VROD is ok for short rides, but after a few hours on the road, keeping your feet planted wayyy out there on the forward controls gets tiring. These heel rests have somewhat solved the problem as I can rest more of the weight of my legs on the stirrups. I think they take some getting used to as it's almost 'inconvenient' getting your feet correctly situated on the pegs. To be fair, I need to try them with my riding boots instead of my athletic shoes. I believe it will be much better with a hard rubber sole boot. Yes, they are an improvement over forward pegs only and I will keep them on my Harley. I rode a bike with floorboards for 13 years before this bike and I just haven't gotten used to not having them. This is the next best thing though and might be a better solution for you if you have mid mounted pegs.
These stirrups are the genuine article. I went through two sets of imposters before giving up and getting real Kuryakin. Spend the extra money and avoid the junk.