Recordable CD's can conceivably be much more robust, but in practice, my experience has been that they aren't. Even with delicate care and nothing touching the surface, after few months and/or a few plays, most recordable CD's I've had begin to skip. I'm sure someone can point to examples of recordable media that is a little more durable than that, and possibly some decks that are better than others. But I think the symptoms I've described are pretty common and most would report similar experiences with recordable CD's.