I have the 30gb ipod video (last years model.. but the only changes have been good ones.. a couple extra features in the software and I think slightly better battery life). I'm a clumsy bastard. I don't think durability enters the equation, personally. At the end of the day for the same price you're either getting 8gb in a tiny package or 30gb is a small package. I don't see the difficulty in choosing personally. I guess it also depends on your listening habits though.. if you tend to just listen to certain albums a lot, maybe the nano would be fine. I'm constantly jumping all around my entire library however, and I only keep full albums. So therefore the 30gb was no contest. Battery life has never been a problem for me. I plug it in every night when I get home.. If I forget, it lasts me through the next day (with my listening habits anyway). I've never really used it for video either, but having that option certainly isn't a negative.
Also, Apple releases a new updated ipod every 6 months or so. If you're afraid of the latest and greatest coming out and making yours "obsolete" then you'll never get anything. Why buy 2007 campy parts.. 2008 is going to be "Better"! I still have a 1st gen 5gb ipod here that works just fine (all that bad press about crappy ipod batteries be damned.. it keeps going and going...). The only reason *I* upgraded was for the extra capacity. And you know what? iTunes 7 works just fine with it, and iTunes 8, 9, and 10 probably will too, because Apple are Good People.
So yeah, the only benefit I can see from the nano is umm.. maybe the slightly better battery life? The video is portable enough for a jersey pocket, durable enough for me to repeatedly drop it on a low-pile carpet over concrete floor at work and have it keep rocking, enough battery life to last a couple days of regular listening in a pinch, and 3.75x more capacity.
</end apple shill>
edit: definitely my longest bikeforums post evar. I'm such a ****ing nerd. Keith, I'm likely going to come by tomorrow so if you have any questions for me feel free to fire away.