Marathone Supremes, while $$$, seem to be a good blend of performance and durability. Getting ready to try a pair here soon.

Schwalbe Mondial fan here. On the heavy/slow side but very rugged and good pavement/dirt compromise.

OP here--Everyone, thanks so much for your great feedback! I guess those narrow tire tourers were in my blind spot, and because I'm traveling light, I will make it work. I think I'm going with 32-something, and will choose from some of the above options.

In the process of doing my homework, I found this interesting site:
bicyclerollingresistance.com
and I will now have to vet some of these tires on the site. they said the vittorias had incredible resistance, and the marathon plus, despite being made out of garden hose rubber, had lesser resistance, but that did not account for weight--I think. Regardless, thanks again.

Some of Schwalbe's results have " at the same tire pressure" written in small print!

Long tour, light tires I went thru several tires, next tour, I went with heavier utility tires and they showed little wear when I finished.

So which do you prefer? Light and supple tires that last 3k or heavy and hard tires for 10k?

I'm on the former side because I like riding part of bike touring just as much more than where I'm going.

You may be into performance. I tour in other countries to see stuff, I did a 9 month tour, un hurried Thorn resistant tubes , Suomi Nokian tires..

no punctures.. LHR> Dublin, rode to SW Ireland , around the west & north coast then Scotland west coast & Islands and North..

the riding was good. the 'craic' , playing music in the Pubs was good too..

That's a good question actually.

For me it depends on what the purpose of the tour is.

If it has a time/distance component to it like going somewhere fast I would choose light and supple; but I would also probably want them to be newer. I'm researching some 700c tires atm for this choice. But, at the same time, I would also be making other gear choices to reduce overall weight so tire choice is part of that.

If it's a tour to sight see or more remote or more heavily loaded etc... I would choose a robust tire like the Marathon. I don't mind changing one flat but having multiple flats on a recurrent basis because of thin tires would pizz me off after a while. I don't mind paying a weight penalty in some cases if it translates into dependability. My mtb tourer isn't a fast ride anyway.

Fair enough. I guess it depends on how many punctures you can tolerate while you are on the road.

If I were fortunate enough to tour the world like fietsbob I'd go for thorn resistant in out of the way places but would go for faster in first world countries...

As it is I ride on 40mm Voyager Hyper's as they roll fast and are comfy.

I built new wheels using UST rims and am seriously fighting the urge to try Schwalbe Almotion in a tubeless setup, that or the Specialized Sawtooth's tubeless. But I have to remind myself that I still have (4) brand new Hypers that I purchased for $11/each a couple of months ago.

I’m in agreement with Linus. I enjoy the ride. After tire safety and reasonable puncture protection concerns are met I go for lightweight and good – exciting - handling and ride quality. I don’t expect my road tires to last longer than the tour. By that I don’t mean they are thread bare at tour’s end but they are worn enough that I wouldn’t start another tour with them. In short I don’t want 700 gm/10000km tires for a 2000 km tour when 300 gm tires will keep me smiling and spinning safely down the road.

I am also a big fan of Schwalbe Marathon 32s. I however have had very good luck with the Marathon Plus on roads and gravel and major mud. I found the ride to be smooth as could be and even a little cushy if you avoid the max pressure rating and slow down a little. I also bought a pair of the same tires but 38 width and have loved them... although they do slow me down a little.

I installed marathon supreme hs 469 that replaced sawtooths. both tubeless. the sawtooths are awesome at low pressure when off the pavement but felt a little sluggish on the pavement. the schwalbe tires are awesome on pavement and will hold their own on gravel. I love tubeless and have had no problems with maintenance or with punctures. cant wait to tour on them again in may.