I have a Peltor headset, also suffering from the mike shroud disintegrating. It is definitely a comfortable headset and much of my early flying was with this headset.
I then went onto the DC H10-13.4 and agree that as a standard headset, you can't beat it for durability. It's s good solid headset and would recommend happily for those who are strapped for cash but serious about flying. I kept this pair to use for my students when instructing, because poor communication doesn't help learning. More on this later.
My next headset was a standard DC that I modified myself using the Headset Services Inc kit to ANR. I was flying high power sport biplanes by this time and found that the noise attenuation wasn't just nice, it was necessary. I still use this headset for this purpose.
A previous company provided Lightspeed Zulus for work. They're good for the money, and feel very light to wear. Initially they felt very comfortable, but I found they didn't fit my head as comfortably as my modified DCs, so despite the fact the DCs were heavier, I found I preferred them. Other people much preferred the Zulus, I think it's just a matter of personal fit.
In my current role, I have been loaned a pair of Bose A20s. These are by far the most comfortable headset I have used. On the downside, the built quality on both the Lightspeeds and the Bose is not a patch on the DCs. That said, I will stick with the Bose for work and anything non-aerobatic and keep my modified DCs for aeros and as a spare headset.
The one thing I would say is that I personally think its worth buying the best headset you can afford, preferably ANR if you can. It's not just the long term protection of your hearing. It's also the fact that on longer flights you suffer less fatiguing. As a PPL who flies relatively infrequently, each flight will be reasonably high workload as you compensate for lower currency. So reducing fatigue is worthwhile.
Finally there's the significantly improved clarity of communication. With ANR, the ability to hear more of what is being said on the radio - not just to you but to and by other people, all increases your situational awareness of what's going on around you.
If you really can't afford ANR, get the best non-ANR you can (DC) and then save up for the kit and modify it yourself when you can. It's so worth doing.