The beauty of tubs is that they tend to give a softer ride than clinchers at any given pressure. I'm told this is down to the fact that the sidewalls can be of a lighter construction. The lower rolling resistance of the higher pressures is not affected by the softer ride.
As for punctures I always used to take some sealer with me. I know a lot of people squirt it in on fitting the tyre, but I never bothered and on the two occasions I did flat I found that squirting in some sealer and giving the tyre a damn good spin would sort the problem. I did used to carry a spare, just like I carry spare tubes for clinchers, but I never used it. Maybe I was lucky.
I use the same method on clinchers these days, it's a lot less hassle than getting the tube out.