They don't look that appealing to me, I doubt I'll ever have one. Here are my 2 cents, and thats probably what its worth.
What gets me with 401k's is the money is taxed on the way out but not the way in. I think its a pretty safe bet that taxes are only going to go up, so I rather pay them now than later. Personaly I think something like a Roth IRA would be a good idea, totaly seperate from your employer. That way as you change jobs it won't be affected.
OTOH one of my uncles has always just bought bonds, he is currantly still doing well. Now you may say the return on bonds sucks, but if you own enough its not bad. He also hasn't lost anything. Eventualy when I get back into the market I'll probably buy bonds too.