When I first encountered these strings, all I could get were light guage which felt lighter than what I was used to, and didn't down-tune very well. Otherwise, they sounded great, lasted much longer, didn't squeak, and felt comfortable under my fingers. I would have kept using them if they had been available in a medium guage, which I understand they now are, so maybe I should revisit them. Breakage was never a problem, but never has been for me, my guitars are all set up very well by the builder, Marc Beneteau. My only complaint, aside from cost, was the hassle of replacing the unwound strings as frequently as ever before because they were no better than any other. A small stock of D'Addario plain strings was at hand. The Elixirs were great for recording and performance with a mic, due to the reduced string noise. Probably cost effective in the long run, I am however a musician, and my "live-for-the-moment" financial planning doesn't often provide for a hundred bucks worth of strings at a time. (With taxes, I payed almost $25 a set. You can guess where I live.) The other benefit I found was they were very tolerant of weather changes, and were great for playing outside on damp nights. For me, I guess this is a glowing recommendation. However, I do not have acidic skin, I wipe off my strings periodically, and I'm using great instruments. Change any of these factors and I might not feel the same. Peace, Mooh.