Tokico are the high performance options from Japan, in terms of life, I fully disagree with Billstein being superior. Having tried both KYB and Billstein, I would say they are equal give or take 1%. KYB is OEM to most Japanese vehicles so if they did blow, Japanese vehicles would be rated quite poor in that case. Tokico and Billstein Sports are neck to neck and Tockico's offer on dash adjustment of damping, spring rates etc.
http://www.hitachi-hap-la.com/tokicogasshocks/