Quick A: No. Remember that weak_ptr and * are both valid non-owning pointers. Use * when you know the pointed-at object will outlive this pointer. Use weak_ptr when you don't know whether the pointed-at object will outlive this pointer, and the pointed-at object is owned by shared_ptrs.

For more good information, see the top answer to this question yesterday on SO:

Smart pointers + cycles + “->”

Sometimes I'm really sure that I want to have circular dependence of pointers, and every object on cycle should be able to use his pointer (so it can't be weak_ptr).

My question is: Does this mean that I have bad design?

What if I want to implement graph? Can I use smart pointers? In graphs there are cycles, but with weak_ptr I can't use "->". What can I do?

I read some articles, reference and topics on StackOverflow, but it looks like I still don't get smart pointers. Really, why doesn't exists some variant of weak_ptr with "->"?