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Yeah I agree - in my original reply to the OP I suggested that yea, tubeless is for him.
I get tubs at about the same cost as clinchers. I've never busted one. This year I've busted three tubeless clinchers, one of which ended a race one lap in. Possibly bad luck, but in my experience at 20psi under my 60kg bulk (!) they aren't as robust as tubulars. I could run them at 25psi, but I might as well have a tube in the them, then.
And when you are spending a day of time and some money on transport, it makes sense to maximise your chances of finishing. Although I'm sure AndyP will simply suggest I up my skills game, you can't legislate against hitting a hidden obsticle burried in the mud which smashes your tire against the rim and pinches the sidewall open.
Tubeless are super-useful for the early part of the season though where 30psi is a sensible pressure, or on less technical grass courses like those in the central league. And for training, too.
Howard-
I don't think I've ever said you should up your skills game. Given how much offroading you've done I'd have thought your handling skills were well above average.
I just find it curious how you've had such bad luck with punctures and cuts this season. You're aren't exactly a heavyweight for a start.
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I have never owned CX tubulars, but I do own a few road tubulars. Although I do enjoy riding them and I don't mind the gluing process, I always found the cost prohibitive. Even the cheapest decent tubular out there will retail at 35 pounds on offer and offers are what they are... sometimes they only have 21 mm on offer, or they only have them in yellow, so when you find the size you want in black, you need to stock up. Then of course you need to invest in at least 4 tyres, making an initial 140 quid investment at best. Then you can learn to repair a puncture yourself, but my attempts were always quite poor, so that's another 20 quid for a repair.... or I could use sealant, but the tubs on offer happen to have latex inners, which lose pressure every two days and once filled with sealant they need to be under pressure... and there's me pumping up the tyres twice a week on a bike that I barely use. If I could buy something like Conti Competition that have butyl inners at 30 pounds or so, it would make things a lot simpler, but I can't... so I have to stick with the Vittoria CX, which are nice but have all the drawbacks as above... and one day they might even stop selling them at 35 quid and might go back to their 50+ quid retail price... and here's me stuck with a pair of "bumpy" Vittoria Rally...
andyp
ugosantalucia
The OP doesn't race with that bike, so tubeless is spot on.
Tubulars are an expensive habit for those who like to take their cyclocross a bit too seriously. They are the first step, the second is having a pit crew and a couple of spare bikes. I always found a bit hilarious that one needs 3 bikes to race for 40 minutes, but hey ho... :-)