Lets get a touring tire review thread going, maybe it will limit the questions. Please respond with the following:
What size and tire do you tour on?
What kind of terrain?
How have they held up?
Would you buy them again?

Bont Jones CX in 700x30
C&O Canal 2 day tour, graded toe path, mud, crushed stone, roots
They got tore up with 60lbs of gear on the bike
I would not use them again for touring

Continental UltraGatorskins 700x28, 4,500+ miles. Any road surface plus crushed gravel.

Continental TravelContact 26x1.75, paved roads with some gravel/dirt (USFS roads), total bike weight 80-120lbs, average 10,000 miles before replacement. Recommended.

Marathon Racer 700x 30
Toured Japan, nice roads, nyc to canada and back, mostly paved, some gravel, and nyc daily commuting
They are two years old and have at least 3000 miles on them, still going strong. About one flat a year. Highly recommended.

There's an interesting pic in one of the Crazyguyonabike Journals that shows a side-by-side shot of a Conti Top Contact and a Schwalbe Marathon Plus. The author says tha they have approximately equal miles on them, but that even though there was less weight on the Conti's, they held up better:

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/p...=LY#pic_314083

I have Marathon Plusses on my Speed Machine now and have no complaints, but I must admit they seem to wear somewhat quickly. I only have about 700km on my latest pair and the wear is pretty evident.

I 'm using 26x1.5 Kenda Kwest HP currently, I have a bit over 2500 miles on them including a 1700 mile tour and only one flat. Almost half worn at this point. They take 100 psi for fast road riding and will run at 45-50 psi without pinching for dirt roads and smooth trails. Best part is they can be bought online for as little as $16.

Vittoria Randonneur 28mm
Flat proof, fast, seem to wear well. Not particularly comfortable at 100psi, not bad at lower pressures.

Michelin Transworld City 37mm
Comfortable. Roll OK. Recurrent flats after 1-2000 km from stones caught in tread. Not recommended.

Marathon XR, 700x35.
Across Russia: ~7000 miles paved, ~1000 miles unpaved.
Same front tire all the way across (no flats). Replaced back tire once (one flat).
Yes, I am still riding them on subsequent trips and buying again.

Marathon Plus 26x1.75
Pros: Not a single flat yet, roll easily once at cruising speed, great for paved/dirt road riding
Cons: Boat anchors at over 2lbs each, sluggish acceleration, hard to take on and off, wet traction is ok at best.

I ended up with the Marathon Plus because my lbs couldn't get the Supreme. Now that they're on there, I don't have any complaints about the weight considering my bike+loaded panniers get close to 85lbs. If you're ok with fixing flats every so often and on a budget, I'd recommend the Panaracer Pasela Tourguards. I used them with my 700c tourer and they rode fast and felt great.

Vittoria Randonneur 700 x 35
Scandinavia/Eastern Europe on paved roads
Rear tyre split after only 800 miles, front tyre had started to crack, subsequently replaced both mid tour.
Wouldn't tour on them again.

+1

700x28 Conti Ultra Gatorskins
99% pavement
Great so far. the Gatorskins on my roadie (23c) have had sidewall tears though. No puncture flats on either set yet.
Yes, I would buy them again.

Marathon supremes 700 x 35
95% pavement (5% gravel)
Holding up very well. So far 3500 kms. Have them at 90 -100 psi
Absolutely will buy them again.

Used to have Conti Top touring 2000s. They were good, but the sidewalls cracked a bit prematurely.

What is the max pressure on those tires?

I just got some vittori randonneur cross tires, and their max pressure is 75psi.

So far i have ridden about 50-100 miles on them and i like them quite a bit. Riding on the rough roads, pothole strewn roads of san francisco, and some dirt roads. They are a much smoother ride than my previous tires, vittoria 120psi (can't remember the model). I have yet to load the bike and try them out, i will update when i do and get some more miles on them.

The only complaint i have so far is that they have the ability to throw things with the tread. On the dirt roads i threw a stick into the derailer and bent the hanger or cage, haven't had time to really check it out and take it to the LBS.

Marathon Plus 26X1.75 Have 1500 loaded miles. The outer surface has half dozen deep 3/8" cuts from the chip seal roads and other debris. Have had one flat from a large nail. The cuts are between the tread and appear to be growing/stretching with age. I religiously keep the tires filled to 80psi. Am thinking about filling the holes with a flexible two part epoxy - just for yocks.

How important is it to abide by the max pressure recommendation? If my tires say 75psi and i fill them to 80psi am i risking a blowout or will the tire wear quicker?

700x32 Panaracer TourGuard,high thread count(roll well),gum wall(look OK),kevlar liner(flat protection),and I get about 4000 miles out of them.I had 1 flat in the last 2 pair.I ride 99.7% on the road.When they go on sale for $9-$10,I buy a few pairs.They also make 27inch tires that I used to run until just the last few months,I built new 700 wheels for my clunker.Great tire for the money.

The ratings are usually very conservative. A lot of riders routinely exceed recommended pressures, myself included.

I am currently running Marathon Pluses, but man are they heavy. I keep thinking that I should have bought something lighter.

I bought a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires for my trip to France. The first time I rode them was a foggy day and the roads were a bit damp. I slipped all over the place and almost went down crossing a painted line on the road. It scared me.

But, once in France, I never had a problem. I rode in lots of rain and on many wet roads and I didn't have any stability problems. I have had no flats with them, but then I usually don't get flats anyway (I used tire liners on other tires).

I, too, feel they are too heavy and will not buy them again.

Ray