Use as wide a tire that will fit within your bike's frame/brakes. Consider using belted tires. Keep them pumped up and brush off the tread cap periodically.

Installing Tuffys can be hard without practice. The narrower the tire the more challenging it gets. The Tuffy is a two dimensional ribbon that needs to be placed in a three dimensional trough. It likes to reposition itself and ride up the sidewalls. The skinnier the tire is the more reluctant the Tuffy will be in fitting above the tube and under the tread cap consistently. If the installation isn't straight the first time the strip will take a set and never be straight again. I've seen MANY Tuffys that snake back and forth.

The other issue with Tuffys is that they can cause the flat you're trying to avoid. Where the ends overlap can chafe on the tube and cut/sand a hole into it. They add a chunk of weight and harsh rolling too.

When i have to install then i remove the tire completely from the rim. I place the Tuffy in the tire doing the best I can to keep it straight. I put the strip's mid point at the location of the tube's valve. With the tube partially inflated (not yet expanded but a touch more then typical) and starting at the valve the tube gets placed in the casing, on top of the strip. Work around the circumference placing the tube in the casing and working the strip to keep it centered and not pushing the tube out of the casing. Then when complete mount one side of the tire onto the rim. Check for the strip being centered. Try to mount the second bead, deflating the tube only as much as needed. When all is mounted on the rim add a touch of air, enough to have the tire take shape but remain soft. Then roll the wheel/tire along the floor to compress the tire a little bit all around the circumference. Then fully inflate the tire.

With luck and some skill the strip will be as centered under the tread cap as possible. Andy.