Bulletproof tires for gravel?

Alright ya'll, the Dirty Kanza 200 is 117 days away, and I am researching tires. Flats are difficult to avoid on this race, but the way I see it, if you get the toughest pair of tires you can find on the bike you put the odds more in your favor.

I will be riding a Salsa Warbird 3, and want 700c x 35mm stock tire size on the bike. Any recommendations from DK or gravel veterans would be appreciated. Thanks!

I used Schwalbe Marathon Cross tires last time, but I can't find them again (yet): http://www.amazon.com/Schwalbe-Marathon-Trekking-700x38-Allround/dp/B00277KIBK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I could fit 40c tires on my bike, but the 38's were a good choice (and 35's would be good too). I liked the cross tires because they combined a pretty fast rolling center with some knobs on the edges.

Clement X'Plor USH is 35mm tire and has protection built in.  They also have the MSO in 40mm if you can squeeze that in and a  32mm also.

Thanks guys. Still hunting around since I still have some time.

Did they discontinue the Marathon Cross? I've got a pair I'm not using if someone really wants a set.

After several thousand miles I've yet to puncture my Schwalbe Marathon Mondials.

As far as I can tell, the Marathon Cross are no longer. In general I was disappointed finding most brands seem to have dropped much of their 35-40 sizing and that the "hey these are heavy but strong" tires were few. For DK I'm planning on using my Marathon Cross tires, but also got some Clement MSO 40s to try.

i was looking for something other than mso's......they came stock on my vaya.  i went with Bruce gordon rock n roads.........they are about the same width.   i havent ran them much yet, so bullet proof i cannot claim to

"Did they discontinue the Marathon Cross? I've got a pair I'm not using if someone really wants a set."

I might be interested. Name your price, I will probably take them. I need to get the race day tires on before getting my Garmin up and running on my Warbird 3.

Vredestein has some interesting tires, like the Perfect Extreme. Double flat strip and is e-bike certified. I haven't found good information on the ECE-R75 e-bike rating, but tires with this certification (like the Schwalbe Energizer) might be tougher than your average tire. I'm guessing they're hard to find in the US, though.

I think I jinxed myself in the Almanzo thread by saying I would probably not change from my Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tours.  

I just found these, wondering if anyone has any experience with them? 

Schwalbe Black Jack

I ride a smaller Vaya, so I'm kind of limited in my tire selection. 26x1.9" is the max I can fit. 

800+ gravel miles (Dairy Roubaix, Trans Iowa, Almanzo, GTDRI, and Heck) and 1000+ pavement miles on Clement MSO 40's last year. Zero flats.

Zero.

I used conti speed cross all last year with no flats. I'm going to try the mso's this year.

Instead of choosing a tire by its super heavy weight and over-built thickness, why not choose a tire that works well and then add protection to it?

Rob has a good idea with adding some tubeless sealant inside tubes to get the best of both worlds.

Thanks guys! 

Bike shop is testing that my Warbird 3 will fit a 40 tire...and if so, I will be riding on them this weekend. 

Last year 7 of the top 10 at Dirty Kanza were on Clement MSO 40s. This is a tire that was designed from the ground up for gravel grinding. It is not a cross tire or an enlarged road tire. The 120 tpi version has kevlar bead to bead and weighs about 385 grams. Riders have been known to get over 3k miles on one set and still going strong. No tire is flat-proof, but the MSO is a proven product. Thanks to the gravel community for supporting our products!

@Clement Cycling, do you foresee any 26" offerings of the MSO or similarly treaded tires? 

Thanks!

The 120 tpi MSO 40s are 385 grams?  I am ordering a set today!  I have been riding the 60 tpi version for several months and am very happy with them.  I tried a couple of other tires before the MSOs and planning to try some 42s from another mfg I thought would be the go-to tires but have decided not to even try any other tires because the MSOs have been so good.  The only thing I could pick at is the weight - 500+ grams.  I am not a weight weenie but switching to the 120 tpi will lighten my wheels by well over a half pound which is a worthwhile upgrade.