Well - we've had lotsa threads on these strings, but I think it's time to renew the discussion.

I hated 'em at first, but was forced to keep trying 'em for the reason you mentioned; "knackered after half a gig." I hated 'em because of the feel. They felt smaller, I guess it was the coating making them slippery or something. The sound wasn't great but it wasn't bad - but the fact is the sound was the exact same "not bad" after a month! The long and short of it is, living in Texas with the blooddy hot hot summers, I couldn't get a night out of non-coated strings before I sucked all the sound out of 'em. So I've used Elixers for over a year. I've gotten used to the touch. I do like the added benefit of low 'string noise' - that is they don't make much sound when you slide your hand up/down the neck (that classic wound string scratch).

So I like 'em. I use 'em and I buy 'em in quantity on-line to save a few bucks.