Like I said, I'll make them as long as they are comfortable to carry. Mine already are crap wood and I don't mind the bit of slipperiness. I can always put the non-slip skid pads on them. I covered my steps with them and it was easy and works.

I hate the pavers. I'd have to lay all the sand down and set up the paths. No thanks. I want to be able to roll them out and kill some grass and roll them back and possibly construct some planting beds after I've killed some grass. I want flexibility in where they go. If the deer decide to shit up an area that I want to go hang out in, I want to just lay them over the deer shit. Nature is great until you realize there's deer shit everywhere.

I won't go for any of the long lasting woods. I don't want anything I build to outlive me and I'm not going to be walking back there after the next 10 years. If I am I'll make some more.