I had some gatorskins in my possession recently but the gear ratio on the bike I was playing around with them on was so much higher and it had drops (whereas my bike has bullhorns and a lower ratio) that I never really did any gnarly skids. To me it seemed like the tires were grippin pretty well.

I do have everwears though, and they skid like I'm riding on oil. Yes, they were made for fixie people who like to skid, and have a 5mm thick tread. Or maybe its a standard tread + 5mm. Not sure. Anyway, they are pretty thick, and at least for me have lasted longer than any other similarly priced tire.

I do also like the cheap ass Continental Sport approach though. I guess someone has to do some economic study... but a new cheap tire once a month vs everwears every two or three... not sure what is better. Probably the everwear (or similar) route is the way to go. My tires still look new. I have one on the front to wear it in as well, and will throw it on the back once my rear tire gets too... tired haha.

So, the google term of the day is, Soma Everwear. I have the 26's but I would definitely go for the smaller ones. Wayyyy too much sidewall on my tires.