I always preferred brass screens. I tried stainless steel and they do last longer but they would clog up fast. With brass I'd have to burn the screen like every 3 or 4 bowls but the stainless steel needed to be torched after every bowl.

The most annoying pipe I ever owned was the protopipe

http://www.xtremecollection.net/xc-mppp.html

It was a good pipe when its new but once it got dirty it was a major pain in the ass. I preferred the cheap anodized aluminum pipes. Standard sized, easy parts to replace and cheap enough that after a few months just toss it and get a new one.