I've been offered a new set of Exustar road shoes and pedals at a great price, so want to give this clipless thing a try. I can have either 'look' style or 'spd' style pedals and i nearly went for the road-based look ones (because of the longer distances i've started doing). But after doing a bit of research on here, it seems that any amount of walking destroys these cleats and i have a 100 meter walk over a railway bridge everyday on my commute. So do the spd cleats wear any better when walked on? It's a good deal, but not if i'm going to have to normal pedals again in a months time cos i've worn the shoes or cleats out.
It seems the best thing is an mtb shoe with recessed cleat, but they are not on offer.

Both have solutions available to lessen the damage while walking. You can get aftermarket rubber covers to go over Look cleats (then, you just have to carry them and slip them on/off before and after walking.) For SPD style, some vendors sell little plastic pontoons that bolt on with the cleat- you basically get a little hard plastic tread sticking out on either side of the cleat. When you walk, your weight goes on that instead of the cleat itself, preventing wear.

Road style shoes do not sound like a good idea for your type of riding. MTB style shoes with a recessed cleat are much easier to walk in than road style shoes with the slick bottoms.
However if you must use road shoes you are probably better off with a road pedal. The cleats on road pedals are much larger than SPD style cleats. This should provide a better platform to walk on and may wear slower. You can also get cleat covers to protect the cleats for road style cleats. When you do wear down the cleats on either type of system you can replace them without buying new pedals. Cleats typically run $15-$25 for a pair.
Craig

Anyone actually had SPD cleats get worn out by walking on? The edges of the cleat that engage the pedal are more recessed than the face of the cleat, so they don't seem to get any direct wear while walking.

Mine are fairly well scratched on the bottom, but they still work fine. They're wearing out faster from all the clipping/unclipping I do than from being walked on. I've used 'em I guess maybe a year now?

the brass cleats (time's and eggbeaters) will wear down much quicker than the hard metal spd cleats.

thats why even though i like the time system a teeny bit better than the shimano system i am back to the shimano cleat pedal combo. tha damn things are just indestructable, and for commuting that is a key factor!

I have a pair of spd cleats that have thousands of miles on them as well as significant walking from commuting. The only downside is that there is some degree of play both up and down and forward/backward when clipped into the pedal. It is probably more frustrating to hear it than feel it since most shoes have some play in them anyway.

I also own look style cleats that have worn down to the point that I do not trust them much much more quickly without after market protection.

My vote would definitely be for the SPD style given that you are walking a lot.

My Speedplay Frogs have a very low profile cleat that barely rubs when I walk with them. I use a mountain bike style shoe that recesses the cleat.

I use mtb shoes w/ SPD cleats or sandals w/ SPD cleats so I don't make that clicking noise when I walk. Also reduces wear on the cleats. Still haven't changed the cleats yet.

If you're walking on road shoes, nothing is going to work great, but of the two I'd give the nod to the shimanos with the permanent pontoon things. Looks are pretty near impossible to walk properly in, and having to put a cover over them is not something I'm likely to do halfway through a ride. But man they are great to ride in.

Great, thanks for your advice everyone.
I think i'll pass this offer up and save up for the recessed cleat spd shoes.

I find SPD's to be less comfortable on really long rides. The small cleat creates a more pressure over a smaller area. So, that small contact point is hotter.
Prefer Looks. But, yes, they do wear out with long walks. I put cleat covers over the cleats when I walk on them. Helps somewhat.