Harley Benton Coated Phosphor 012 Anti Rust

So first of all, I'm not being fair. I'm comparing these coated strings to Elixir Nanoweb and Attune coated strings, Martin Lifespan 2.0 and D'addario XS - all of which a much more expensive.

But at the same time, I think that those are the ones every guitarist with some experience with strings will make. And an increasing number of acoustic guitars are nowadays sold with either Elixir Nanoweb or D'addario XS strings, so even beginners will maybe buy these and think they are comparable.

They are not. Not in tone and not in longevity.

They last longer than uncoated/treated strings, but not by much. I play everyday, and for me, the other mentioned coated strings last around 3-5 months. The Harley Benton coated strings lasted me only a bit over one month.

I have tried them twice, so it's not an isolated experience but two.

Tone was kind of "meh", and they didn't settle in to sound better, as Martin Lifespan 2.0's do after 3-4 days. The Harley Benton sound meager/thin, even though it's phosphor bronze - they lack the boom and punch that others have. Compared to certain uncoated strings such as Ernie Ball Earthwood, there's absolutely no comparison in tone - since the Earthwoods beat any coated set of strings by some margin. And the Earthwoods last around 3 weeks for me, so it's not that far off in terms of longevity.