When I began to use Vim, everybody was using NERDTree. So I followed: to navigate through my filesystem, NERDTree would be the answer for many years to come.

Nowadays, I mostly use a fuzzy finder to find the files I want, but a file explorer can still be useful in some situations:

1. When I look at a new codebase. It helps to have a general overview of the filesystem, to understand the structure of the project.
2. When I need to create, update or delete files and directories.

The more I use Vim, the more I try to get rid of my plugins, to use Vim’s native functionalities as much as possible. It’s easier than keeping track of 39093209 plugins introducing breaking changes too often. That’s why my interest for netrw grew overtime.