We use a thin microfiber cloth on the table at our community center. It's about 1/4 the thickness of unstretched Simonis 860. It has NO effect on the action/path/response of the CB.
When we want to replace the cloth we have to pass the hat and come up with the $450...and there are only 4-5 of us to whom the cloth is important, so we like to make it last. By using the break cloth we can easily get two years from 860HR; without it, about half of that.
We've also found that replacing the footspot every couple of months helps since the footspot is the other area where you can burn through the cloth. At $1.25 for a tin of 12 spots, it's a pretty cheap investment.
At a pool hall? Hey, when it's the pool room owner that has to pay to replace the cloth, what do I care? We all know that pool room owners have so much money that they're having to close their pool rooms because they can't handle all the money coming in.