I used gatorskins for a long time, but lately I'm replacing them with other tires as they wear out. I found them to have pretty good flat protection and a decent ride, but I had a lot of problems with sidewall failures. Almost every gatorskin that I owned developed a hole in the sidewall well before the tread was worn down. A few times they manage to sneak up on me and the tire blew out suddenly, which is never fun.

I only put about 50 miles a week on them. If you ride more, maybe the tread wears down before the sidewall (or maybe not).

Currently I'm trying my luck with cheaper tires ($20-25 range), but it's too soon to tell how that will work out.