I've had my pair of Marathon Winter tires for 4 years and they're still going strong after 8000km. I lost 1 stud the first winter due to an emergency stop where I locked the wheel and skidded, but all the other studs are fine. I paid 70 euros for the pair and consider it cheap insurance. They're not just for snow and ice, you can ride on dry or wet roads just fine. The tires drop my average speed about 5-10%, but otherwise ride like other tires (except for the crackling noise, of course). I generally put the tires on in early December and take them off at the end of February.