some observations-yes, the gatorskin sidewall is stiffer than super supple road tires, but at a good pressure, ie lower , they still do a good job of handling rough pavement. This summer on a supported trip with lots of rough sections and also gravel sections, running my 28s at around 80 rear/75front worked really really well taking the edge off all the rough stuff and added a lot of traction on the dirt.
I have some folding 2in supremes on 26in wheels, and boy the sidewall is super thin. You would really want to think of where you ride those, on pavement its ok, but on big chunky gravelly roads loaded, I figure the risk of sidewall damage is getting up there.

which brings us to this story about gatorskins--even with a stiffer sidewall, they can be damaged. I put a new pair of 25s on my wifes road bike, and within a short time she had (I assume) ridden off teh edge of a driveway entrance or something very parallel to the dropoff and scraped a bit of the sidewall loose. I glued it down again, but what Im getting at is that HOW you ride can make a big difference to how a tire lasts. Being spatially unaware of how your (usually) rear tire is tracking up against sharp edges or large stones or whatever is always going to be hard on a sidewall.

Using super tough tires like Marathon Pluses or Armadillos will always be a plus if you end up riding loaded down all kinds of terrain, where the chances of swiping the sidewalls against sharp stuff is a lot higher.
And or if in desert terrain where those super spikey thorns are around.

horses for courses, for my predominantly pavement touring, Gatorskins have worked really well. I am keen to try a set of 32's though when these 28s wear out.