The 2001 Spesh Team Control & Master SL S-Works are tempting at £22 for a 400 gram tyre (Edinburgh Bicycle). OK, I know the SL treads are too shallow for winter, but my worry is that reviews in MTBR say that the nobbles get ripped off and the tyre can become useless within 50 miles riding. General conclusion that to get to 400g they’ve used a rubber that’s just too soft.

I’m wondering whether anyone here has got any experience of whether the batch that’s in the UK suffer from the same fault.

Depends how much road / off road you ride. If you spend all your time in the mud they will last a few months. Doing road milage on soft tyres is a real no-no. Those tyres are good for racing but stick to something a little heavier and harder for your regular riding, unless your pockets are very deep.

V. grippy, but the fastest wearing tyres I've ever used. Probably lasted for about 10 rides / races in total since mid Aug.
*Things I thought I'd never say*
"MTBR is right, you know"