I've never broken a string in almost 30 years of playing. At least not that I can remember. I bend the crap out of them too.
I replaced the 10s on my Strat and went back to 9s again. 9s to me are my gauge. I can play with 10s or even thicker but 9s have sweet highs that I like and just feel GOOD. If you want to try a different brand of strings try DR Tite-Fits. I put a set of them on my Strat and they sound really good and feel great.
When I put them on at first I thought I wasn't going to like them because they felt like they were slipping when I bent them at the tuning posts. Once I got enough tension on them they felt slinky...loose. I put the rest on and they all felt like they were slipping too but I managed to get them on anyway. I tuned up to correct pitch and tension and so far they haven't slipped. The tone to me is solid. Nice and bright and the lower strings have a defined sound. I dunno I just think they're different and they sound and play really great. Just a thought.
Guitars/Bass - MIM Fender Classic 50s Strat, MIM Fender Standard Strat, Squier Classic Vibe 50s Tele, Gibson Les Paul Studio, Epi '56 Gold Top Les Paul, Martin DSR acoustic, Sigma Martin Auditorium electric/acoustic, Squier Jazz Bass.
Amps/Cabinets/Modelers - Model 2558 50 watt Marshall Silver Anniversary Jubilee combo w/ Celestion Vintage 30s, 4x12 Marshall cabinet w/25 watt Greenback Celestions, Fender Blues Junior w/ a couple of Billm mods, Line 6 POD 2.0, Roland Micro Cube
Pedals/Effects - Cry Baby Classic Wah, Boss TU-2, Boss NS-2, Boss RC-2 Loop Station, Ross Compressor, MXR Micro Amp, Danelectro FAB Echo, Danelectro FAB Chorus, Danelectro Chicken Salad, Marshall Guv'nor Plus, Marshall Echohead, Duhvoodooman's Zonkin' Yellow Screamer, Digitech Digiverb, Digitech Bad Monkey, Dunlop Fuzz Face, Homemade Loop Bypass pedal, Duhvoodooman's Sonic Tonic (Maxon SD-9 clone +), Voodoo Labs Superfuzz