I would assume it's a little heavier than the folding version, but still has the same nice, supple ride. Personally, only because I've ridden the tire before, I'd actually probably pick this over most anything else if I were about to start a tour. The steel wire bead sucks, but a folding tire that is heavy or rides like **** sucks even more. And you can't beat that price... I'm just a sucker for a smooth ride. I can't stand things like Armadillo or Gator Skins. And I can't stand the weight of the heavy duty Schwalbes. I've always found myself happy when I've had Vittorias on my bike(minus one Diamonte, but I got that Lightly used at a bike swap for $2, so I wasn't too upset that it blew so easily). Between a few bikes, I'm currently running Vittoria Corsa, Hyper, and Peyote. ...I'll need to buy stock in the company soon.

I have heard good things about the Schwalbe Supreme, and it looks like a nice tire. I might get a pair of those to try out shortly before my next extended tour.

The Continental GP Urban also has my interest, but I'd definitely have to ride it for a while before deciding if it were tour worthy. It's not marketed as a touring tire, and only weighs 350g, so it might well be too light duty for loaded touring. I bet it makes a sweet riding urban tire, though.