I have some shimano hubs, and some hope hubs. One of my shimano hubs had the cones come loose, which I was able to easily fix, but was somewhat annoying.
My hope hubs have been fine from the bearings stand point. The downside to the hopes is that they have an aluminum freehub body, which is a problem if you are using a cassette with individual cogs and spacers. The steel cogs will dig into the softer freehub body, and your cassette will get stuck on the freehub body. I had to use a hammer to get mine off. If you use a cassette with groups of cogs, and thus a larger area to distribute the force, you won't have this problem. Or, you can buy a steel freehub body, which I am planning on doing, but haven't gotten to yet.
I like the Hopes for my mountain bike, because the pawls engage more quickly than the shimano ones, but for touring, I would say go with Shimano.
Chris