You have no idea what you're talking about. I guarantee my Jeep with 39" Super Swamper TSL/SX's will outperform your all terrains. My Duramax with siped 35" Toyo M/T's will leave you back on the trail. You don't see rock bouncers, or rock crawlers, or monster trucks sporting all terrains. Every single one of them have super aggressive lug patterns. All you need to do is look at RC cars, to see what works and what doesn't. Nobody's putting all terrains on their RC basher to get through the snow. Let me give you a hint, go buy an RC car and see what tire works best in the snow before spreading misinformation. It's not an all terrain. It's going to be a V shaped monster truck tire, a heavy lug tire (mud terrain) or a large spike pattern---and yes, I built a set of chains for my Tamiya Blackfoot RC monster truck back in the '80s.
While tread pattern has a big impact, the compound is also very important. True snow tires (i.e. Nokian) have a compound that will stay softer in colder temperatures. Problem is, above ~40f, they wear very fast. Nokian makes the Arctic Truck tires based on the Hakkapeliitta line. Awesome tire, but like most snow tires, are size limited, at least in the US.
you get them i 42's . idk what truck u in, but 42's starting to get big. that is why i like smaller lighter cars, as they float alot better on snow than bigger trucks unless they have giant tires. 35's and 37+ on small suzukis works insanly well. seen a few arctic trucks struggle where my little suzuki have no issues.
Yes exactly this, I worked in the tire industry for 10 years. Tread compounds are generally harder for mud terrains that are dot rated because the lugs have to be stiff enough that the vehicle doesn’t feel loose / unstable on pavement from lug flex. When snow wheeling with friends Toyo m/t was the worst tire in the snow, they were also horrible le on icy roads. Funny enough the bfg at was considered to be a horrible winter tire for icy roads. Toyo a/t had and now the a/t 3 still has a softer rubber compound than the bfg. I have bfg km2 on my 4x4 sprinter and though it’s a good tire down in Baja and basically all year around here in Easter Washington most of the year, they absolutely suck on the icy roads or hard pack snow conditions. Nokias has always been know to be the most badass tires for winter ever. Most tire companies have followed their technology by now.
That's the truth right there. 30 years driving in northern michigan where it varies from unplowed country roads to thick slushy highways to just cold salty freeways. I have an FJ with 33" Wildpeak AT3W and a 2nd gen Sequoia that runs 35s in the summer and stockish size Nokian Hakkas in the winter. The 35" ridge grapplers were like volunteering to be handicapped. The AT3w are really impressive but nothing like the Hakkas. Those Hakkas are flat out amazing even though they look like minivan tires.
@@obedm.6627 weirdly enough I loved my Blizzaks way more than Nokian Hakkas. I tried them on 2 different vehicles (06 Forester XT manual, 08 Crown Vic PI). Nokians were good tires don't get me wrong, I'm not trashing them. Just preferred the Blizzaks.
I have been running Nokia snow tires on my 1 ton diesels for about 5 years now. I love them I generally run to mts from summer to fall then throw on the hakkpaletas in the late fall. They make one Heck of a snow tire.
Exactly which tires are you running? I may be in the market for some for my 1 ton diesel - F350. I put some Nokian Hakka's on my 4R and the result was amazing. Far and away the best snow traction I've ever had. However, for my one ton diesel with 35 inch tires I think the Nokian Hakkawhatever options are limited and maybe non-existent?
I think it’s also worth noting that “snow wheeling” and “winter driving” are vastly different. A true winter tire (like a blizzak) will wildly outperform on Ice and Frozen Pavement.
So true, my k02's on my tacoma have been sketchy as hell on highways with snow ice and rain Im trying to find a better tire. They were useless below.-20ish for traction. Its a difficult choice when you dont want to have two sets of tires but I think thats the only choice if you want real safety on winter highways.
Also, his comments about snow sticking to snow and you wanting it to stay in the tread are all well and good if you're talking about high mountain dry snow. But where I'm at, the snow tends to be really wet and heavy, and you want it to be evacuated from your tread like you do with mud. So something with a wider gap more similar to a mud terrain is often better in those conditions.
Yesssss, I've been craving some of your trail videos. I know you have so projects to do this next year. But you seriously know how to make trail videos
I ride thousands of miles in MN winters with Wheelers, if my tires are directional 'self-cleaning' when the snow comes, I turn em around & they work better when lakes freeze over & the snow piles up in the bays. They are fine the rest of the year on the forest trails esp. during spring melt in mud/snow mix. Non-self-cleaner atv tires like Bighorns seem to work in most conditions but not great in snow.
I have been wheeling in snow for over 40 years and everytime out I learn something new! Years ago when I used to live in N. CA me and my buddies found that Dick Cepek Fun Country tires were awesome when aired down as well as some other Narrow 35 inch mud terrains a lot air pressure. Back then 36's were the biggest tire most people were able to run. Fast forward, I have lived in North Central Wyoming for the past 28 years and snow here is very different. Two weeks ago I was elk hunting in my 97 Jeep TJ and it is normally very snow capable on 35 inch Mickey Thompson MTZ tires. One that day, traction was non existent and I had to horsepower through every drift. I finally gave up and installed my Ice bar chains on all 4 and traction was better. We only had 8 to 10 inches of snow, but it was like sugar and wouldn't pack at all. The next day we were recovering some elk and we were on top of a ridge at 9500 ft, the wind was blowing 50-70 mph and the snow was drifting bad, chains on all 4 at 10 psi and both lockers engaged and it was still iffy. I would pack a track and 15 minutes later it was drifted in and it was the same sugar type snow. We sometimes run into this sugar when it gets very cold in January and sometimes when we are playing on our ATV's with tracks it becomes a task to see how many times you can dig a stuck ATV out of the snow. Wait a couple of weeks and the temps moderate a little and we can drive anywhere we want. Anyway, enjoy your videos, wet snow is a lot more fun to wheel in than some of the sugar snow we get. Looking forward to go play some more soon, but we are way behind on snowfall this winter. P.S. I have been selling tires for 35 years and I always look forward to testing out new tires. The Mickey Thompsons have been some of my favorites and I really liked the 295/70R18 Baja Pro A/T that I had on my last truck. Never got a chance to try them on my Jeep because they don't make them in a large 15 inch.
The dick cepek fun country is still a big favorite in Iceland. They were super popular up here when I started wheeling about 20 years ago. But pretty much everyone was on a 15" wheel back then lol. I think that's why they still have a following in Iceland. They don't have a rock crawling culture, just snow. And being able to get a 42 or even a 44 on a 15" wheel gives quite a bit of sidewall in the snow 😁.
Yes, I wish that MT would make more sizes available for the 15" wheel. My JKR had the tall skinny 17" tires on it and I loved them. My new to me LJ has the 15" wheel and I want to stay with that diameter wheel. So I have the BFG All Terrains on it.
I've been looking for somebody that has personal experience with the Baja pro ATs, how are they in on road snow and ice conditions? I've been trying to find a tire to replace the role of a Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac that comes in larger than 35
My personal experience with the Baja Pro A/T was on a 2017 Silverado Hd , Duramax, my previous tires were Goodyear Duratracs, Cepek EXP, Cooper STT Pro. Duratracs are good in snow when new, I had installed ice studs, which gave extra grip on icy roads, wear was ok, not great. Cepeks were the best wearing tires I have run in a long time and reasonably quite, after 30k they still had 15/32 of tread when I sold them. Mickey Thompson discontinued the Cepek brand, but kept the tread design in the Mickey Thompson EXP. Tires strong point wasn’t icy roads, but were pretty good at everything else. Cooper Stt Pro we’re awesome in the mud, but noisy on the highway and weren’t wearing very well, so I sold them. Next came the Mickey Thompson Baja Pro a/t, the first thing I noticed was how this tire was a true hybrid tire with large voids on the shoulders and lots of siping on the center blocks, the tread is deep at 18.5 32nds, tire is extremely quiet, handles well, excellent in mud, very good on icy /snowy roads and wore very well for the limited mileage I put on them, around 10k before I traded the truck. It is my favorite tire to date as an all purpose tire. I have sold quite a few sets of these and everyone loves them. They do have one downside, they don’t roll as easy as some other tires so gas mileage will take a hit
As always, great advice! Your videos prove how good your rig works...here in the Canadian Arctic you can't run on top of the snow as its too light. Best setup in "sugar snow" is 350+hp, upgraded cooling system, ignition systems with rev limiter, lockers, boogers, and suspension that won't hop under any circumstance...so you can lay the power down and float over the snow :). That's my advice after 18yrs of building my rig for arctic snow wheeling
Snow conditions can be pretty variable and require different things from the tread. Same thing with sleds, track lengths and paddle height vary for what you are going to ride in.
Great Video. We get a lot of days with Hard heavy snow in the night, powder in the morning, and soft snow at noon, and slush by late afternoon, then refreeze by dark and snow again in the late night. Many a time I’ve waited stuck till nightfall to crawl out on the refrozen ice before the heavy snow fall. Even with chains it can be a struggle to keep all the trucks moving forward all day. I moved from Toyo MT to Faulken AT for winter and man has that made a difference. Still need the chains, but so much less than before even in the heavy wet where clear out is more important.
You touched on it sort of with the carcass build, but a big factor that I have found is getting the right load rating for your rig. People in small jeeps and mid sized trucks running E rated tires, just can't get the felx in the sidewall that you could running a C rated tire.
This is true. E LOAD 10 ply-rated are basically run flat tires. (Hard to tell if they are flat) i had a cracked rim. Drove from New York City to D.C. all day on a flat front passenger tire. 32" bridgestone REVO1 4X4 454 GMC suburban. No lift/factory suspension
You then have to worry about fkhead tire shop chains that will only sell you what their computer allows. They were demanding my 2wd 4cyl ranger have a minimum of 8-ply 265/70s or something. It was like 12k pounds of combined load rating on a vehicle with a GVWR under 5000. I told them "a Crown Vic weighs more than my truck and has a higher GVWR, what load rating do you need for that?" and it came out to be a 94 or 96. They still refused to sell me anything less than a 102 or whatever and then pointed to a plaque on the wall spouting some ridiculous nonsense about "integrity" as they tried to explain it was "unsafe." Literal NPC moment.
I LOVE KO2s for snow, but hate them for everything else! It would be nice to be able to have multiple sets of wheels/tires to switch out depending on the time of year and where I'm going, but they take up a lot of space that I just don't have.
Yeah it’s hard to find one tire that performs ideally everywhere. I actually just got a second set of cheap wheels and put mud tires on them for all off roading, and then have the factory wheels with street tires on.
@@zomgz932 I had them. I didn't think they were quite as good in the snow as KO2s, and the definitely don't last as long. The nice thing is that they don't go out of round and seemed slightly better in the mud.
@@RevereOverland Have you tried the KO3's though? They're supposedly better at everything than the KO2's. Maybe you'd like those for "everything else" 😄
Glad this jumped into my feed. Driven in lots of snow for almost 50 years in Eastern Ontario. Can’t beat ‘proper’ snow tires for sure. First Hakka tires I had were for my Mini in ‘80. Got them from a guy that used to car rally. Imported them, and not even DOT approved back then. But that car was on rails in the snow. Had a couple of other sets of Nokian tires over the years and they all were good. Very interesting to see your analysis, makes sense to me. And as others have said, there are lots of different snow types, which means that ‘best’ is always a trade off. I don’t do off road and we don’t seem to get snow like we used to anymore. Thanks for making this.
there's a video of them with studs getting no traction in a driveway with ice, the mountain patrol uses them in Tahoe, I considered them but I got Toyo Open Country AT3 for my ZJ that I want to drive from the city to the snow, where most of the trip will be warm pavement but the end of the trip will be snow, ice, and black ice... I probably will move to getting dedicated studded tires if I go often enough again.
Having lived in MI, we see quite a bit of snow and outside of dedicated winter tires, the best tires I have found are the falken wild peaks, they just perform better then anything I have personally used. Not just in snow, but in every situation I have put them through, at least on my truck (Chevy k2500)...cool video brother! I've been busy as hell in life so now I'm catching up on months of not watching. Happy holidays man.
I have a 95 Dakota that have a set of 31x10.5R15 Nexen Roadian AT Pros on it and here in Illinois at least we don't see snow like up north, but from my experience with the truck/tire combination in snow that is about 15 inches deep in the snow that's retained or in the ditches these tires have always done phenomenal, I ended up in a bad snowstorm one year and even with all the fresh powder on the road I could grip and stop like I was on dry pavement. Always heard deep powder you want MT's but since I bought these I've sworn by AT's in snow. Thanks for doing more of a technical analysis compared to my "feeling."
I've ran a lot of big tires and small tires in the snow. Outside of the 42 inch irok, my favorite deep snow tire is actually the Falken wildpeak at3w. Just a phenomenal tire in the snow. Has not disappointed me yet.
You hit what I was going to comment. Living in the snow belt of northern Michigan has offered plenty of deep snow adventures, and hands down the best snow tire I’ve ever wheeled is the Swamper Irok. That contradicts the beliefs in this video, which aren’t out in left field or wrong. But with snow comes a ridiculous amount of variables, so to follow these principles for snow wheeling tire selection I think it’s somewhat narrow tunnel vision
I've had K02's for about 2 1/2 years now. Love them! Compared to my M/T's, 100% quieter, smoother, more comfortable, and haven't had traction problems in any weather (NEPA). At a bit over $300 each, a little pricey for just 33", but overall very happy with my investment and should get at least another year out of them.
Grew up in Utah/Colorado and spent many many days wheeling in snow. No tire beats a full set of mud chains in my experience. However, hands down the best snow tire in my experience is the Blizzak tires. It’s just unfortunate they don’t make them in sizes that are typically used off road these days.
Chains definitely work great if the snow is shallow enough to dig down to dirt without burying the vehicle. If it’s deeper than I have never seen chains work well. Low psi and staying on top of the snow is what works good when it’s deep.
@@rmat9023 Mud chains are a service type that are typically much stronger than other types of chains. They can withstand most any abuse you put them to when wheeling off road.
My life changed when I put Goodyear Duratracs on my H3. Softer compound and amazing siping have those things holding onto snow better than anything else I’ve tried.
For all of us who grew up with pirate4x4 I think you owe us a test with IROKs. On a serious note after watching this video I actually think the cupped lug faces on the IROKs help capture and hold snow and that’s what makes them good snow tires.
I've lived in he mountains of Idaho for the past 25 yrs. I'm too old to go up into the deep snow anymore but the most important advise is to never drive up alone. Always take 2 or more vehicles incase one gets stuck. Also, I found that SUV's are better than P.U.'s due to weight distribution. I have a new set of tires & 18" rims I'm upgrading on my 2006 Expedition that should get me in & out of my dirt road this winter. A couple of weeks ago we got over 2' of snow.
I did a test on my geo tracker o built same day. I went a few miles further with my bfg all terian vs a studded mud terrain. Pretty crazy how far a tracker will go thru deep snow with only a 33 inch tire at 2psi.
Thanks. This is the best explanation on snow wheeling tires designs I have seen. I have always ran MTs and sipped them. They work good for me, but I normally in wet snow.
KO2 are really great in the snow when it comes to turning, accelerating, braking. They almost don't allow you to mess around and spin tires on the streets. While snow wheeling, i would purposely get myself stuck in deep snow just so i can air down to about 10 psi and watch my tj crawl right out of the whole i was buried in. They're amazing. Great video!
Wholeheartedly agree with the tire choice, been living in interior Alaska for years and been running KO2s for years. They've gotten me out of some sticky situations that another tire would've stranded me.
I ran through three sets of KO2's on a half ton work truck. Honestly a great winter tire and definitely a consideration when I finally wear out my Cooper AT3's on my dually. The AT3's are also a solid winter tire with good wear and road noise, though they don't have the same aggressive look as the BFG. And the Coopers carry a 55k mile warranty if that matters to anyone. I'm on my second set of AT3's on my old dually and they've treated me well over the last 80k.
Dude THANK YOU for that detailed breakdown of tire treads and mud ejection vs snow packing! I never knew this. This is the best video so far that I’ve seen that details the details of what we should be looking for as far as a snow tire goes. Now I just need you to do a video on specific brands so I can make a better educated decision on which snow/mud/highway tires I’m going to get. Once again, THANK YOU!
I live in Florida, so never wheel in snow, but it's interesting info and there are some similarities to sand. All terrains work way better in soft sand than mud terrains. With mud terrains you have to be real careful of digging into the sand, you can bottom out real fast. The thing that sucks is we have a lot of mud and a lot of sand down here, and those terrains take different tires.
Dang really? I just got a used set of km1s for my Jeep and was worried they wouldn’t do well in the snow but now I’m more confident to go out in the snow
@@krissan5162 I love them I don’t think you’ll have any complaints with them. They are very hard compound but aired down with that pattern they are amazing. Really wish they would come back
Hey regarding the video of how different tires perform, Let's get a bunch of rigs with different tires together, meet up somewhere, and see what tires grip & release ... I'm sure there's enough of us in the PNW who will bring a variety of tires. I'll come up your way (schedule permitting) and show how my tires work for fun and science. I've loved my Maxxis RAZR tires for years in dirt & rocks, but they're not the greatest snow grippers ... and now I totally see why. No siping, wide lug gaps, and likely not the most appropriate rubber. I'm into my ton swap now and will be shopping for 40's, this video makes me rethink what I may want to buy.
I saw first hand how well those KO2s held the snow while my Mickey Thompson Baja Boss ATs slipped and didn't keep the snow in the tread. They are decent tires in the snow, but not great. The KO2s are really good in the snow, but have weak points in other seasons. This is such good info for anyone looking to learn more about what you need to get out there and snow wheel!
@@U.s-epaI second this, they're absolute trash on ice. Anyone who regularly encounters ice in the winter should consider these a 3 season tire at best.
That was an awesome comparison between the different types of tires! It would be fun sometime to try a cables vs chains snow run! I have a set of Nokians for each of my daily drivers for winter months. Tinys Tires is my Nokian hookup!
I love my Falken Wildpeaks going through Minnesota winters. I wish more 3 peak tires had the amount of siping and also the zigzag sipping that the Wildpeaks use which are what are commonly found on actual winter specific tires. Many companies cheap out and just go with the straight siping and sometimes the siping isn't full depth, though some models of Wildpeak aren't full depth but mine are. The zigzag siping holds more because a zigzag between two points is longer than a straight line and the zigzag pattern locks the tread blocks together better to give more tread block stability so the tires doesn't get as squirrely when cornering and braking and they hold snow into the tires better as well. The silica tread compound helps keep these tires soft at lower temperatures. I haven't found a better all terrain for winter, not in KO2s, and not in Wrangler Duratracks, or General Grabber ATXs and more. I've also talked a lot with people at my dad's autoshop and we see a lot of tires as well as guys who service the powerlines in their trucks in winter here in Minnesota on roads that aren't really maintained.
I’m in Minnesota as well a am going with the wildpeaks for my next tire…I’ve had KO2 which I was always happy with and currently have Geolander X-AT that are more of that hybrid type tire and they are downright scary in snow especially the lighter greasy type snow.
@@dslpwr A lot of people I've talked to, especially the powerline guys, moved from KO2s to Wildpeaks and said compared to the KO2 the Wildpeaks offered better grip in the wet, especially when corning and the Wildpeaks stayed softer in the colder temperatures where as the KO2s have a harder tread compound to get more mileage. The silica tread compound in the Wildpeaks is probably how they stay softer in colder temperatures than the Ko2s.
I also run wildpeaks in Minnesota on both our vehicles. I still have the ko2 on the offroader but Ill probably put the wildpeaks on that too when the time comes.
Great review! Always fun to see what others think when it comes to snow tire selection. It's really hard to throw out what the best snow tire really is. There are just way to many factors to consider. Like you mentioned the snow itself can change by the hour. Another big factor is the vehicle what it's primary use is going to be. I wouldnt put the same tires on a dd/trail rig as I would a dedicated snownrig. One thing you didnt mention, which makes a big difference, is wheel width as well. The meta used to be 38x15.5R15 radial gumbo mudder on a 15x14 rim. Tall wide great tread pattern and radial. Those are the main ingrediant to having a great tire in my eyes. I dont believe there are many that fit this meta anymore. You have tall but usually only 14.5 wide not 15.5+. Alot of the bigger wider tires are bias not radial. Compounds are harder and more for street use. There are some 36 and 38s that fit all the criteria but people want a 40-47 most the time now for serious snow. Wide wheel options are limited for 17+ rims. So you always seem to be sacrificing one area for another. If were choosing tires heres how id order my preferances. 1.Vehicle type/primary/secondary use-What do I use this for the most? Daily with some snow, snow with some daily, dedicated snow wheeler. 2. Radial>Bias if the choice exists. 3. Whats the biggest tire im going to fit. 4. Based on that pick the most aggresive tread pattern that meets the criteria above. 5. Choose your wheels once you have your tire. Beadlock>non wider>narrow.
I ran Duratracs on my Jeep Commander with Quadratrac fulltime 4wd and electronic variable locks. Amazing in deep snow in northern Michigan. That Jeep was a beast. Now run Duratrac s on my F150. So far so good but no real challenging snow since I put them on the Ford. Maybe getting a big snow in the next few days.
Nailed it! Very good assessment of the performance of certain types of tires in the snow. Like that you pick on the Baja Boss as well. I bought it to replace my worn out KO2s and while I enjoy the tire for what i do most I can confirm it does not perform as well innthe snow (or ice). To the people who say you dont know what you are talking about I think they are trying to compare road legal vehicles with purpose built snow wheelers running high flotation tires and high wheelspeed wheeling in very specific conditions.
My favorite snow tire was the Firestone winter force. I didn’t run them on a truck, rather on cars and my parents had a set on a minivan. They were unbeatable. Absolutely awesome on icy/snowpack roads and they did awesome on snow going up and down the driveway. Not snow wheeling, I know, but more of a practical everyday application.
Had those Winter Force tires but they don’t even come close to Blizzak WS80. They have a new ws90 which I’m sure is better yet. Best car snow tires ever made.
Ws90 is an awesome snow tire, I can confirm. We run them on my wife's Subaru and live in the mountains in Idaho & have never had any issues with Blizzaks.
@@supersportimpalassws90 is good. I was a diehard blizzak guy until my current car came with a set of winter wheels with hakkas mounted on them. They're as quiet as a good all season and the traction on ice is miles ahead of the blizzaks. Snow traction not as good as blizzaks but it's close. For how much quieter they are and the incredible ice traction I doubt I'll buy Bridgestone again
Really interesting about deep snow tires, but not sure about snow highway driving. As a skier, mostly on highway driving there is one line of thinking to go narrower and lots of siping. Really interesting activity.
After sever years in Alaska trying a few different brands, I found the General Grabber ATX to be the best road/snow tire. Absolutely amazing. There are the only tires I put on my 4 Runner now. Just for daily driving and snow driving. They are ok off road but not a good mudder. Definately better than KO2s... nothing against KO2 but the Grabber ATX is better in the snow/ice than the KO2s.
Yep put some on my old bronco 2 and they are an excellent all around tire, does well in snow and rain. They also look great and are a more affordable alternative to the BFG at's that everyone seems to have (I think they look better, never had a set of BFGs to compare)
Glad I watched this! I've been leaning heavily towards the KO2's and now the KO3's, because I love the idea of a tire that does everything well enough. And now I know their tread pattern is also better in powder snow, which is the kind of snow I think is most challenging to overcome. I guess the KO3's are now even better in snow slush, because they've improved some design elements that influence mud performance. I'm really starting to like the KO3's... But first, I need to get the vehicle! 😄
It's been said a lot in these comments but there is so many variables when it comes to snow. On road vs off road, heavy wet snow vs light fluffy powder, any ice above or below the top of the snow etc.
Duratrac is an outdated design. 3ply sidewalls. And all competing tires have had an update. They are being replaced with a new tire from Goodyear (but sizing is limited so far).
Some very interesting information. I've actually had very good luck with my MT, though they are more of a hybrid and I've only ever dealt with areas of deep snow, not many miles of it in steep country. Definitely something for me to think about next time I buy tires!!!
Studded Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs are what I'm running on my XJ Cherokee in Colorado. They split the difference between ATs and MTs, and then I get studs for icy highways. When I'm running steep 4wd roads in deep snow, I chain up, which is almost every year elk hunting. I would also note that steep roads can get icy with other vehicle traffic and melt freeze. You can easily slide down a hill or off a road without chains, and worse case, your 4x4 may be stuck there until May.
Haven't driven in the snow that much, however, when I did I kind of always followed the same rules I use in beach driving (which I've done a lot more) and always had good results. Air down, A/Ts (Falken Wild peak AT3/Starfire (Cooper) Solarus AT). I had to use a large rubber floor mat once under one tire to get over a larger ice covered rock but that's about the extent. You guys are much more geared up than most.
Not seen anything yet my 37' Yoko Geolanders couldn't handle. Mostly GA red clay, but looking forward to see how they perform in some snow next month or so. Happy Holiday ... safe wheelin
Snow philosopher Nate has become my favorite Nate. I have done a few “Super Jeep” tours in Iceland and they do a lot of glacier driving. Those massive tires allow for them to more easily drive over cracks and crevices in the glaciers.
I live in Wyoming, outside of town, so I have to be able to get to work in the middle of the night in snowstorms. The best tires I've ever have were a set of Hankook M/T's. After reading about them in some Canadian forums, I had the center 3 lugs siped. They were awesome and lasted for 75K. I actually gave them to someone else and he's still running them on his truck.
I'm looking at the Nokian Hakkapelitta LT3 LT315/70 R17 121Q factory studded winter snow tire for the Alberta winter I drive in. It's super sticky and studded for black ice, and they come in a 35 inch size.
Have been running the Nokian Hakkapeliitta for many years and am very happy with it. But to each their own. :0) PS. Heya Chris. Hope Santa was good to you this year!!!
When I buy tires I spend weeks researching and I even bust out a pen and paper and list all the specs of each tire with a point system. Once I have a nice group of options to choose from I pick the tire that has the coolest looking tread pattern.
When I first put on Nitto Trail Grapplers, it snowed and I absolutely had no issues with traction. Before then I had Toyo AT2s on for decades and the Nitto was definitely way better.
I run the MT Baja boss on my Silverado and they were wicked in the coastal mountains on old logging roads with steep switch backs that get icy once the sun goes down. They put the KO2 and duratracs to shame when it comes to winter conditions. Only draw back is they are significantly heavier and more difficult to get balanced.
My KO2s were definitely the best snow tiires ever, in fact when i sold them a plow driver bought them. BUT...when driving in the rain(on the street), deep puddles would basically stop my jeep cold or it would hydroplane something awful. Safe to say no tire does it all but this winter i plan on airing down during snow storms and seeing how that helps.
Great video tires are always such a big debate up here in BC in the deep snow, I'm going back to AT's for the winter, MT's are great but I agree with you AT"s will do better all around in the deep stuff
Great advice here! I have always run what I have which is typically cheapo mud tires but here in Minnesota we usually don't get deep powder, usually icy, cold snow, a foot or three. But now I want to try some A/T tires on the snow.
Merry Christmas to you & your clan, Nate. Thanks for all the entertaining videos this year, especially the 80 Series & the Samurai. Looking forward to the new content next year. Happy trails, Cowpoke
i met a guy on a mountain service road that had been stranded for 8 hours, burried up to the frame on mud terrains i told him the same thing, another thing to add though there are different types of snow, and the weight of the truck makes a huge difference, snow wheeling used to be my thing more specifically on mountain switchbacks, my key to making the perfect billy goat rig was light weight, big tires aired down with chains on the front, and lots of ground clearance
All good comments above, I have had good luck siping a mud style tire and even siping hybrids and all terrain. Probably very few tire shops even have tire sipping machines any more. It will decrease your tread life a bit, and make it spongey feeling on the highway with a load. But you can have something for nothing. Kelly safari MT just came. It's an open outside tread but more closed in center. I sipped them on .375" about 65%way across the tire. Maintaining the outside integrity.
Good video and this is something I try to tell people. KO2’s work extremely well in the snow because it holds onto it. Hopefully the new KO3’s follow in the same footsteps.
@@dundeeecroc that’s not what the video is about lol. We are talking about off-road here. I’ve never had an issue with wet pavement though with mine. GX is full time 4WD so maybe that’s why.
I've ran the Yokohama geolander ats and MTS for decades. Couldn't imagine running anything else. Here in ND SD these tires are best for our type of snow.
Having gone to high school in Anchorage, I couldn't help but notice that everyone ran tall skinny tires, usually 2 sets, with the winter set embellished with metal studs.
Maybe it was just me but I ran A/T and Mud tires and never aired down. Guarantee I probably never would've been stuck but I've been stuck 2 times. I'll see which brand I've used but I never had an air compressor until 2 years ago and still haven't used it. I run 40 to 35 with all my tires except for the rears I'm using this year which are on a 15" rim. Haven't used these in snow yet but they cut through mud no problem. Maybe I'll try airing down and see if I get better response from them but I haven't really needed too Id like to add too, my last long trip was a 68 mile trail through the woods. A week after a snow storm. I think i had some achilies m/t. Difference was the snow was already packed down. The day prior i took my own solo trip for about 4 hours through powdery snow, loads of fun like it looks like you guys had. Only thing i noticed was the snow packs in the frame so much it gives my truck the shakes almost like a death wobble. It was scary at first but after picking through and power washing it was fine.
You have no idea what you're talking about. I guarantee my Jeep with 39" Super Swamper TSL/SX's will outperform your all terrains. My Duramax with siped 35" Toyo M/T's will leave you back on the trail. You don't see rock bouncers, or rock crawlers, or monster trucks sporting all terrains. Every single one of them have super aggressive lug patterns. All you need to do is look at RC cars, to see what works and what doesn't. Nobody's putting all terrains on their RC basher to get through the snow. Let me give you a hint, go buy an RC car and see what tire works best in the snow before spreading misinformation. It's not an all terrain. It's going to be a V shaped monster truck tire, a heavy lug tire (mud terrain) or a large spike pattern---and yes, I built a set of chains for my Tamiya Blackfoot RC monster truck back in the '80s.
Where do you live? This sounds like a great video. 😁
I'm 100% serious, by the way. Let's meet up 🤘
Can’t wait for this video 😂
I’d love to see this meet up
Lets make this video lol😂
While tread pattern has a big impact, the compound is also very important. True snow tires (i.e. Nokian) have a compound that will stay softer in colder temperatures. Problem is, above ~40f, they wear very fast. Nokian makes the Arctic Truck tires based on the Hakkapeliitta line. Awesome tire, but like most snow tires, are size limited, at least in the US.
you get them i 42's . idk what truck u in, but 42's starting to get big. that is why i like smaller lighter cars, as they float alot better on snow than bigger trucks unless they have giant tires. 35's and 37+ on small suzukis works insanly well. seen a few arctic trucks struggle where my little suzuki have no issues.
Yes exactly this, I worked in the tire industry for 10 years. Tread compounds are generally harder for mud terrains that are dot rated because the lugs have to be stiff enough that the vehicle doesn’t feel loose / unstable on pavement from lug flex. When snow wheeling with friends Toyo m/t was the worst tire in the snow, they were also horrible le on icy roads. Funny enough the bfg at was considered to be a horrible winter tire for icy roads. Toyo a/t had and now the a/t 3 still has a softer rubber compound than the bfg. I have bfg km2 on my 4x4 sprinter and though it’s a good tire down in Baja and basically all year around here in Easter Washington most of the year, they absolutely suck on the icy roads or hard pack snow conditions. Nokias has always been know to be the most badass tires for winter ever. Most tire companies have followed their technology by now.
That's the truth right there. 30 years driving in northern michigan where it varies from unplowed country roads to thick slushy highways to just cold salty freeways. I have an FJ with 33" Wildpeak AT3W and a 2nd gen Sequoia that runs 35s in the summer and stockish size Nokian Hakkas in the winter. The 35" ridge grapplers were like volunteering to be handicapped. The AT3w are really impressive but nothing like the Hakkas. Those Hakkas are flat out amazing even though they look like minivan tires.
@@obedm.6627 weirdly enough I loved my Blizzaks way more than Nokian Hakkas. I tried them on 2 different vehicles (06 Forester XT manual, 08 Crown Vic PI). Nokians were good tires don't get me wrong, I'm not trashing them. Just preferred the Blizzaks.
Best winter tire I ever used was the Hakapelida, studded.
We now have a Nokian Tyres plant in Dayton TN. Awesome awesome tires! Great for off road and winter conditions!!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's to you and your family!
Thanks man for providing us with the awesome content over the years!
Nate, thanks so much for coming out and wheeling... excited to continue the story on the Land Cruiser.
I'm glad you bought it 🤘. It's in good hands
@OutdoorAuto looking forward to seeing what happen next with the LC
I have been running Nokia snow tires on my 1 ton diesels for about 5 years now. I love them I generally run to mts from summer to fall then throw on the hakkpaletas in the late fall. They make one Heck of a snow tire.
Exactly which tires are you running? I may be in the market for some for my 1 ton diesel - F350. I put some Nokian Hakka's on my 4R and the result was amazing. Far and away the best snow traction I've ever had. However, for my one ton diesel with 35 inch tires I think the Nokian Hakkawhatever options are limited and maybe non-existent?
@jimrice4699 Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT3
In a 275/65/20
I think it’s also worth noting that “snow wheeling” and “winter driving” are vastly different. A true winter tire (like a blizzak) will wildly outperform on Ice and Frozen Pavement.
Well said.
Nokian ftw.
So true, my k02's on my tacoma have been sketchy as hell on highways with snow ice and rain Im trying to find a better tire. They were useless below.-20ish for traction. Its a difficult choice when you dont want to have two sets of tires but I think thats the only choice if you want real safety on winter highways.
Also, his comments about snow sticking to snow and you wanting it to stay in the tread are all well and good if you're talking about high mountain dry snow.
But where I'm at, the snow tends to be really wet and heavy, and you want it to be evacuated from your tread like you do with mud. So something with a wider gap more similar to a mud terrain is often better in those conditions.
@@xaderalerttires hit speeds on the road that send snow flying.
Yesssss, I've been craving some of your trail videos. I know you have so projects to do this next year. But you seriously know how to make trail videos
I ride thousands of miles in MN winters with Wheelers, if my tires are directional 'self-cleaning' when the snow comes, I turn em around & they work better when lakes freeze over & the snow piles up in the bays. They are fine the rest of the year on the forest trails esp. during spring melt in mud/snow mix.
Non-self-cleaner atv tires like Bighorns seem to work in most conditions but not great in snow.
This is why I like this channel. There's always product reviews along the creativity.
I have been wheeling in snow for over 40 years and everytime out I learn something new! Years ago when I used to live in N. CA me and my buddies found that Dick Cepek Fun Country tires were awesome when aired down as well as some other Narrow 35 inch mud terrains a lot air pressure. Back then 36's were the biggest tire most people were able to run. Fast forward, I have lived in North Central Wyoming for the past 28 years and snow here is very different. Two weeks ago I was elk hunting in my 97 Jeep TJ and it is normally very snow capable on 35 inch Mickey Thompson MTZ tires. One that day, traction was non existent and I had to horsepower through every drift. I finally gave up and installed my Ice bar chains on all 4 and traction was better. We only had 8 to 10 inches of snow, but it was like sugar and wouldn't pack at all. The next day we were recovering some elk and we were on top of a ridge at 9500 ft, the wind was blowing 50-70 mph and the snow was drifting bad, chains on all 4 at 10 psi and both lockers engaged and it was still iffy. I would pack a track and 15 minutes later it was drifted in and it was the same sugar type snow. We sometimes run into this sugar when it gets very cold in January and sometimes when we are playing on our ATV's with tracks it becomes a task to see how many times you can dig a stuck ATV out of the snow. Wait a couple of weeks and the temps moderate a little and we can drive anywhere we want. Anyway, enjoy your videos, wet snow is a lot more fun to wheel in than some of the sugar snow we get. Looking forward to go play some more soon, but we are way behind on snowfall this winter. P.S. I have been selling tires for 35 years and I always look forward to testing out new tires. The Mickey Thompsons have been some of my favorites and I really liked the 295/70R18 Baja Pro A/T that I had on my last truck. Never got a chance to try them on my Jeep because they don't make them in a large 15 inch.
The dick cepek fun country is still a big favorite in Iceland. They were super popular up here when I started wheeling about 20 years ago. But pretty much everyone was on a 15" wheel back then lol. I think that's why they still have a following in Iceland. They don't have a rock crawling culture, just snow. And being able to get a 42 or even a 44 on a 15" wheel gives quite a bit of sidewall in the snow 😁.
Yes, I wish that MT would make more sizes available for the 15" wheel. My JKR had the tall skinny 17" tires on it and I loved them. My new to me LJ has the 15" wheel and I want to stay with that diameter wheel. So I have the BFG All Terrains on it.
I am still old school and run 35-12.5 15 MTZ’s on MT classic wheels, I can usually go to 3 or 4 psi and not loose a bead if I don’t go crazy
I've been looking for somebody that has personal experience with the Baja pro ATs, how are they in on road snow and ice conditions? I've been trying to find a tire to replace the role of a Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac that comes in larger than 35
My personal experience with the Baja Pro A/T was on a 2017 Silverado Hd , Duramax, my previous tires were Goodyear Duratracs, Cepek EXP, Cooper STT Pro. Duratracs are good in snow when new, I had installed ice studs, which gave extra grip on icy roads, wear was ok, not great. Cepeks were the best wearing tires I have run in a long time and reasonably quite, after 30k they still had 15/32 of tread when I sold them. Mickey Thompson discontinued the Cepek brand, but kept the tread design in the Mickey Thompson EXP. Tires strong point wasn’t icy roads, but were pretty good at everything else. Cooper Stt Pro we’re awesome in the mud, but noisy on the highway and weren’t wearing very well, so I sold them. Next came the Mickey Thompson Baja Pro a/t, the first thing I noticed was how this tire was a true hybrid tire with large voids on the shoulders and lots of siping on the center blocks, the tread is deep at 18.5 32nds, tire is extremely quiet, handles well, excellent in mud, very good on icy /snowy roads and wore very well for the limited mileage I put on them, around 10k before I traded the truck. It is my favorite tire to date as an all purpose tire. I have sold quite a few sets of these and everyone loves them. They do have one downside, they don’t roll as easy as some other tires so gas mileage will take a hit
As always, great advice! Your videos prove how good your rig works...here in the Canadian Arctic you can't run on top of the snow as its too light. Best setup in "sugar snow" is 350+hp, upgraded cooling system, ignition systems with rev limiter, lockers, boogers, and suspension that won't hop under any circumstance...so you can lay the power down and float over the snow :). That's my advice after 18yrs of building my rig for arctic snow wheeling
Snow conditions can be pretty variable and require different things from the tread. Same thing with sleds, track lengths and paddle height vary for what you are going to ride in.
It's almost like he said that in the video
100% Some snow is dry and sticky. Some snow is wet and slushy. Slushy snow MT all day. Dry snow AT’s work great
Great Video. We get a lot of days with Hard heavy snow in the night, powder in the morning, and soft snow at noon, and slush by late afternoon, then refreeze by dark and snow again in the late night. Many a time I’ve waited stuck till nightfall to crawl out on the refrozen ice before the heavy snow fall. Even with chains it can be a struggle to keep all the trucks moving forward all day. I moved from Toyo MT to Faulken AT for winter and man has that made a difference. Still need the chains, but so much less than before even in the heavy wet where clear out is more important.
You touched on it sort of with the carcass build, but a big factor that I have found is getting the right load rating for your rig. People in small jeeps and mid sized trucks running E rated tires, just can't get the felx in the sidewall that you could running a C rated tire.
This is true. E LOAD 10 ply-rated are basically run flat tires. (Hard to tell if they are flat)
i had a cracked rim. Drove from New York City to D.C. all day on a flat front passenger tire. 32" bridgestone REVO1 4X4 454 GMC suburban. No lift/factory suspension
This is an interesting point. How many plys are too many? I always think, "More ply, fewer punctures.", but maybe that is not the best line to take.
I run E rated ko2s.. but I have a 2500 avalanche. The 8.1 in the front end gets them nice and squishy at 10psi 😂
You then have to worry about fkhead tire shop chains that will only sell you what their computer allows. They were demanding my 2wd 4cyl ranger have a minimum of 8-ply 265/70s or something. It was like 12k pounds of combined load rating on a vehicle with a GVWR under 5000. I told them "a Crown Vic weighs more than my truck and has a higher GVWR, what load rating do you need for that?" and it came out to be a 94 or 96. They still refused to sell me anything less than a 102 or whatever and then pointed to a plaque on the wall spouting some ridiculous nonsense about "integrity" as they tried to explain it was "unsafe."
Literal NPC moment.
I LOVE KO2s for snow, but hate them for everything else! It would be nice to be able to have multiple sets of wheels/tires to switch out depending on the time of year and where I'm going, but they take up a lot of space that I just don't have.
Yeah it’s hard to find one tire that performs ideally everywhere. I actually just got a second set of cheap wheels and put mud tires on them for all off roading, and then have the factory wheels with street tires on.
might want to look at open country at3's they are better in the snow and only fall behind in sand and have a higher tread life.
@@zomgz932 I had them. I didn't think they were quite as good in the snow as KO2s, and the definitely don't last as long. The nice thing is that they don't go out of round and seemed slightly better in the mud.
@@RevereOverland Have you tried the KO3's though? They're supposedly better at everything than the KO2's. Maybe you'd like those for "everything else" 😄
@@Arexodius I haven’t, but I’d like to
Glad this jumped into my feed. Driven in lots of snow for almost 50 years in Eastern Ontario. Can’t beat ‘proper’ snow tires for sure. First Hakka tires I had were for my Mini in ‘80. Got them from a guy that used to car rally. Imported them, and not even DOT approved back then. But that car was on rails in the snow. Had a couple of other sets of Nokian tires over the years and they all were good. Very interesting to see your analysis, makes sense to me. And as others have said, there are lots of different snow types, which means that ‘best’ is always a trade off. I don’t do off road and we don’t seem to get snow like we used to anymore. Thanks for making this.
Duratrac tires work great in the snow. My old truck had them. A good aggressive AT
there's a video of them with studs getting no traction in a driveway with ice, the mountain patrol uses them in Tahoe, I considered them but I got Toyo Open Country AT3 for my ZJ that I want to drive from the city to the snow, where most of the trip will be warm pavement but the end of the trip will be snow, ice, and black ice... I probably will move to getting dedicated studded tires if I go often enough again.
Having lived in MI, we see quite a bit of snow and outside of dedicated winter tires, the best tires I have found are the falken wild peaks, they just perform better then anything I have personally used. Not just in snow, but in every situation I have put them through, at least on my truck (Chevy k2500)...cool video brother! I've been busy as hell in life so now I'm catching up on months of not watching. Happy holidays man.
I have a 95 Dakota that have a set of 31x10.5R15 Nexen Roadian AT Pros on it and here in Illinois at least we don't see snow like up north, but from my experience with the truck/tire combination in snow that is about 15 inches deep in the snow that's retained or in the ditches these tires have always done phenomenal, I ended up in a bad snowstorm one year and even with all the fresh powder on the road I could grip and stop like I was on dry pavement. Always heard deep powder you want MT's but since I bought these I've sworn by AT's in snow. Thanks for doing more of a technical analysis compared to my "feeling."
I've ran a lot of big tires and small tires in the snow. Outside of the 42 inch irok, my favorite deep snow tire is actually the Falken wildpeak at3w. Just a phenomenal tire in the snow. Has not disappointed me yet.
You hit what I was going to comment. Living in the snow belt of northern Michigan has offered plenty of deep snow adventures, and hands down the best snow tire I’ve ever wheeled is the Swamper Irok. That contradicts the beliefs in this video, which aren’t out in left field or wrong. But with snow comes a ridiculous amount of variables, so to follow these principles for snow wheeling tire selection I think it’s somewhat narrow tunnel vision
AT3W are my absolute favorite. Also have the wildpeak MT
@thatoneguy985 I know I am late to the party but still
Can you share your experience driving Wildpeak MT on ice, packed and deep snow?
I started using Super Swamped Truxus MT's when I lived in northern Alberta and loved them.
I would LOVE to see more tire testing from you! Looking at Wildpeaks and KO2s for my Frontier
Ko3 comes out in a month or 2
Check out the Kenda Klever at2 has a nice pattern for snow. And they cheap.
Get goodyear duratracks or milestar Patagonias. Toyo open country a/t are good too
I've had K02's for about 2 1/2 years now. Love them! Compared to my M/T's, 100% quieter, smoother, more comfortable, and haven't had traction problems in any weather (NEPA). At a bit over $300 each, a little pricey for just 33", but overall very happy with my investment and should get at least another year out of them.
Check out the new Kenda M/T 2
Grew up in Utah/Colorado and spent many many days wheeling in snow. No tire beats a full set of mud chains in my experience. However, hands down the best snow tire in my experience is the Blizzak tires. It’s just unfortunate they don’t make them in sizes that are typically used off road these days.
Chains definitely work great if the snow is shallow enough to dig down to dirt without burying the vehicle. If it’s deeper than I have never seen chains work well. Low psi and staying on top of the snow is what works good when it’s deep.
Mud chains and mixed tarmac conditions must be a nightmare
On road Blizzaks are cheat code for winter driving.
mud chains?
@@rmat9023 Mud chains are a service type that are typically much stronger than other types of chains. They can withstand most any abuse you put them to when wheeling off road.
My life changed when I put Goodyear Duratracs on my H3. Softer compound and amazing siping have those things holding onto snow better than anything else I’ve tried.
For all of us who grew up with pirate4x4 I think you owe us a test with IROKs.
On a serious note after watching this video I actually think the cupped lug faces on the IROKs help capture and hold snow and that’s what makes them good snow tires.
37×13.5 bias plys on a jeep are unreal in the snow!
Agreed!!!! let's see some hot knifed iroks already...
I was thinking the same thing. All the offroad forums used to say iroks were one of the best tires in the snow
Thornbirds...
I’m with all you guys. Iroks are hands down the best snow wheeling tire according to the snow belt of northern Michigan
I've lived in he mountains of Idaho for the past 25 yrs. I'm too old to go up into the deep snow anymore but the most important advise is to never drive up alone. Always take 2 or more vehicles incase one gets stuck. Also, I found that SUV's are better than P.U.'s due to weight distribution. I have a new set of tires & 18" rims I'm upgrading on my 2006 Expedition that should get me in & out of my dirt road this winter. A couple of weeks ago we got over 2' of snow.
I did a test on my geo tracker o built same day. I went a few miles further with my bfg all terian vs a studded mud terrain. Pretty crazy how far a tracker will go thru deep snow with only a 33 inch tire at 2psi.
Thanks. This is the best explanation on snow wheeling tires designs I have seen. I have always ran MTs and sipped them. They work good for me, but I normally in wet snow.
KO2 are really great in the snow when it comes to turning, accelerating, braking. They almost don't allow you to mess around and spin tires on the streets. While snow wheeling, i would purposely get myself stuck in deep snow just so i can air down to about 10 psi and watch my tj crawl right out of the whole i was buried in. They're amazing. Great video!
Anxiously awaiting the 39” K03 release
Wholeheartedly agree with the tire choice, been living in interior Alaska for years and been running KO2s for years. They've gotten me out of some sticky situations that another tire would've stranded me.
I ran through three sets of KO2's on a half ton work truck. Honestly a great winter tire and definitely a consideration when I finally wear out my Cooper AT3's on my dually. The AT3's are also a solid winter tire with good wear and road noise, though they don't have the same aggressive look as the BFG. And the Coopers carry a 55k mile warranty if that matters to anyone. I'm on my second set of AT3's on my old dually and they've treated me well over the last 80k.
Duratrac wranglers are by far the best non AT/MT/snow tire that is snow rated with the snow icon on the tire
Dude THANK YOU for that detailed breakdown of tire treads and mud ejection vs snow packing! I never knew this. This is the best video so far that I’ve seen that details the details of what we should be looking for as far as a snow tire goes. Now I just need you to do a video on specific brands so I can make a better educated decision on which snow/mud/highway tires I’m going to get. Once again, THANK YOU!
Finally the video to answer all the questions of your opinion on snow tires. Thank you running 39 km3 groved and sipped .
I live in Florida, so never wheel in snow, but it's interesting info and there are some similarities to sand. All terrains work way better in soft sand than mud terrains. With mud terrains you have to be real careful of digging into the sand, you can bottom out real fast. The thing that sucks is we have a lot of mud and a lot of sand down here, and those terrains take different tires.
This is super informative and useful. Kinda busts some myths for me about what I’ve heard about snow wheeling prior. Thanks man
Thanks for watching brother 🤘
I was really impressed with my KO2s even with 30psi. But hands down the best snow tire / all around was the og KM1s. RIP km1
KM1 enjoyer here. I got 50k out of 3 different sets. Incredible tires that wore like iron.
Km1s for the win!!
Dang really? I just got a used set of km1s for my Jeep and was worried they wouldn’t do well in the snow but now I’m more confident to go out in the snow
@@krissan5162 they're pretty old tires. They could be super hardened and do terrible in the snow
@@krissan5162 I love them I don’t think you’ll have any complaints with them. They are very hard compound but aired down with that pattern they are amazing. Really wish they would come back
Hey regarding the video of how different tires perform, Let's get a bunch of rigs with different tires together, meet up somewhere, and see what tires grip & release ... I'm sure there's enough of us in the PNW who will bring a variety of tires. I'll come up your way (schedule permitting) and show how my tires work for fun and science. I've loved my Maxxis RAZR tires for years in dirt & rocks, but they're not the greatest snow grippers ... and now I totally see why. No siping, wide lug gaps, and likely not the most appropriate rubber. I'm into my ton swap now and will be shopping for 40's, this video makes me rethink what I may want to buy.
I saw first hand how well those KO2s held the snow while my Mickey Thompson Baja Boss ATs slipped and didn't keep the snow in the tread. They are decent tires in the snow, but not great. The KO2s are really good in the snow, but have weak points in other seasons. This is such good info for anyone looking to learn more about what you need to get out there and snow wheel!
I guess time for 2 sets of wheels and tires. Some cheap steelies with good snow tires and then my normal non snow set
Just watch out for ice, ko2 absolutely sketch in ice
KO's are great I'm going back to them in my next set of tires, I've never had any issues with them!!
@@TheUnexpectedOffRoad fantastic tire all around
@@U.s-epaI second this, they're absolute trash on ice.
Anyone who regularly encounters ice in the winter should consider these a 3 season tire at best.
I've been vouching for AT's in the deep snow for years. 31" General AT's make our stock trooper shockingly capable in deep snow and sand!
This is the most informative tire video I have ever seen!
That was an awesome comparison between the different types of tires! It would be fun sometime to try a cables vs chains snow run!
I have a set of Nokians for each of my daily drivers for winter months.
Tinys Tires is my Nokian hookup!
I love my Falken Wildpeaks going through Minnesota winters. I wish more 3 peak tires had the amount of siping and also the zigzag sipping that the Wildpeaks use which are what are commonly found on actual winter specific tires. Many companies cheap out and just go with the straight siping and sometimes the siping isn't full depth, though some models of Wildpeak aren't full depth but mine are. The zigzag siping holds more because a zigzag between two points is longer than a straight line and the zigzag pattern locks the tread blocks together better to give more tread block stability so the tires doesn't get as squirrely when cornering and braking and they hold snow into the tires better as well. The silica tread compound helps keep these tires soft at lower temperatures. I haven't found a better all terrain for winter, not in KO2s, and not in Wrangler Duratracks, or General Grabber ATXs and more. I've also talked a lot with people at my dad's autoshop and we see a lot of tires as well as guys who service the powerlines in their trucks in winter here in Minnesota on roads that aren't really maintained.
I’m in Minnesota as well a am going with the wildpeaks for my next tire…I’ve had KO2 which I was always happy with and currently have Geolander X-AT that are more of that hybrid type tire and they are downright scary in snow especially the lighter greasy type snow.
@@dslpwr A lot of people I've talked to, especially the powerline guys, moved from KO2s to Wildpeaks and said compared to the KO2 the Wildpeaks offered better grip in the wet, especially when corning and the Wildpeaks stayed softer in the colder temperatures where as the KO2s have a harder tread compound to get more mileage. The silica tread compound in the Wildpeaks is probably how they stay softer in colder temperatures than the Ko2s.
I also run wildpeaks in Minnesota on both our vehicles. I still have the ko2 on the offroader but Ill probably put the wildpeaks on that too when the time comes.
Great mileage durability the Wildpeak tires are my favorite.
Great video! Such useful information for a guy with a project like me!
Awesome as always.Thanks for sharing and taking us along
Great review! Always fun to see what others think when it comes to snow tire selection.
It's really hard to throw out what the best snow tire really is. There are just way to many factors to consider.
Like you mentioned the snow itself can change by the hour. Another big factor is the vehicle what it's primary use is going to be. I wouldnt put the same tires on a dd/trail rig as I would a dedicated snownrig.
One thing you didnt mention, which makes a big difference, is wheel width as well.
The meta used to be 38x15.5R15 radial gumbo mudder on a 15x14 rim. Tall wide great tread pattern and radial.
Those are the main ingrediant to having a great tire in my eyes. I dont believe there are many that fit this meta anymore.
You have tall but usually only 14.5 wide not 15.5+. Alot of the bigger wider tires are bias not radial. Compounds are harder and more for street use. There are some 36 and 38s that fit all the criteria but people want a 40-47 most the time now for serious snow. Wide wheel options are limited for 17+ rims.
So you always seem to be sacrificing one area for another.
If were choosing tires heres how id order my preferances.
1.Vehicle type/primary/secondary use-What do I use this for the most? Daily with some snow, snow with some daily, dedicated snow wheeler.
2. Radial>Bias if the choice exists.
3. Whats the biggest tire im going to fit.
4. Based on that pick the most aggresive tread pattern that meets the criteria above.
5. Choose your wheels once you have your tire. Beadlock>non wider>narrow.
I have been very happy with my Goodyear Duratracs for all these reasons. The bead protector is also pretty nice.
That is a tough tire. I've seen them in action on our snow plows. They dig
I ran Duratracs on my Jeep Commander with Quadratrac fulltime 4wd and electronic variable locks. Amazing in deep snow in northern Michigan. That Jeep was a beast.
Now run Duratrac s on my F150. So far so good but no real challenging snow since I put them on the Ford. Maybe getting a big snow in the next few days.
Nailed it! Very good assessment of the performance of certain types of tires in the snow. Like that you pick on the Baja Boss as well. I bought it to replace my worn out KO2s and while I enjoy the tire for what i do most I can confirm it does not perform as well innthe snow (or ice).
To the people who say you dont know what you are talking about I think they are trying to compare road legal vehicles with purpose built snow wheelers running high flotation tires and high wheelspeed wheeling in very specific conditions.
Wait what? I didn’t know I’ll have to get a set of those for sure! I love winter wheeling. Thanks
I am absolutely in love with my maxxie razor A/T here in our Washington state weather it's been the best for me being on my JK and WJ and JT
My favorite snow tire was the Firestone winter force. I didn’t run them on a truck, rather on cars and my parents had a set on a minivan. They were unbeatable. Absolutely awesome on icy/snowpack roads and they did awesome on snow going up and down the driveway. Not snow wheeling, I know, but more of a practical everyday application.
Had those Winter Force tires but they don’t even come close to Blizzak WS80. They have a new ws90 which I’m sure is better yet. Best car snow tires ever made.
Ws90 is an awesome snow tire, I can confirm. We run them on my wife's Subaru and live in the mountains in Idaho & have never had any issues with Blizzaks.
@@supersportimpalassws90 is good. I was a diehard blizzak guy until my current car came with a set of winter wheels with hakkas mounted on them. They're as quiet as a good all season and the traction on ice is miles ahead of the blizzaks. Snow traction not as good as blizzaks but it's close. For how much quieter they are and the incredible ice traction I doubt I'll buy Bridgestone again
Really interesting about deep snow tires, but not sure about snow highway driving. As a skier, mostly on highway driving there is one line of thinking to go narrower and lots of siping. Really interesting activity.
Agree, on plowed surfaces that are packed snow/ice.
Used to work for the nokian tyre factory out of TN. I will swear on them. Fantastic brand.
After sever years in Alaska trying a few different brands, I found the General Grabber ATX to be the best road/snow tire. Absolutely amazing. There are the only tires I put on my 4 Runner now. Just for daily driving and snow driving. They are ok off road but not a good mudder. Definately better than KO2s... nothing against KO2 but the Grabber ATX is better in the snow/ice than the KO2s.
Yep put some on my old bronco 2 and they are an excellent all around tire, does well in snow and rain. They also look great and are a more affordable alternative to the BFG at's that everyone seems to have (I think they look better, never had a set of BFGs to compare)
I have ran the all and agree the Grabber is the best all around tire.
Glad I watched this! I've been leaning heavily towards the KO2's and now the KO3's, because I love the idea of a tire that does everything well enough. And now I know their tread pattern is also better in powder snow, which is the kind of snow I think is most challenging to overcome. I guess the KO3's are now even better in snow slush, because they've improved some design elements that influence mud performance. I'm really starting to like the KO3's... But first, I need to get the vehicle! 😄
Great video, glad to see a tire video with some real world experience to help us understand how tires work in deep snow it makes a lot of sense
Ran BFGKM2s in snow for many years …. Loved em.
You’re a thoroughly nice chap me and the wife like to sit and watch your channel in the evenings with a fire raging and a beer, keep it up ❤
It's been said a lot in these comments but there is so many variables when it comes to snow. On road vs off road, heavy wet snow vs light fluffy powder, any ice above or below the top of the snow etc.
I never had problems with Good Year Wrangler Duratrac tires, I swear by them. 2016 F-250 4x4, 265-70-17 tires, 10 ply.
Duratrac is an outdated design. 3ply sidewalls. And all competing tires have had an update. They are being replaced with a new tire from Goodyear (but sizing is limited so far).
Some very interesting information. I've actually had very good luck with my MT, though they are more of a hybrid and I've only ever dealt with areas of deep snow, not many miles of it in steep country.
Definitely something for me to think about next time I buy tires!!!
Studded Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs are what I'm running on my XJ Cherokee in Colorado. They split the difference between ATs and MTs, and then I get studs for icy highways. When I'm running steep 4wd roads in deep snow, I chain up, which is almost every year elk hunting. I would also note that steep roads can get icy with other vehicle traffic and melt freeze. You can easily slide down a hill or off a road without chains, and worse case, your 4x4 may be stuck there until May.
Haven't driven in the snow that much, however, when I did I kind of always followed the same rules I use in beach driving (which I've done a lot more) and always had good results. Air down, A/Ts (Falken Wild peak AT3/Starfire (Cooper) Solarus AT). I had to use a large rubber floor mat once under one tire to get over a larger ice covered rock but that's about the extent. You guys are much more geared up than most.
Not seen anything yet my 37' Yoko Geolanders couldn't handle. Mostly GA red clay, but looking forward to see how they perform in some snow next month or so. Happy Holiday ... safe wheelin
Snow philosopher Nate has become my favorite Nate. I have done a few “Super Jeep” tours in Iceland and they do a lot of glacier driving. Those massive tires allow for them to more easily drive over cracks and crevices in the glaciers.
I live in Wyoming, outside of town, so I have to be able to get to work in the middle of the night in snowstorms. The best tires I've ever have were a set of Hankook M/T's. After reading about them in some Canadian forums, I had the center 3 lugs siped. They were awesome and lasted for 75K. I actually gave them to someone else and he's still running them on his truck.
I'm looking at the Nokian Hakkapelitta LT3 LT315/70 R17 121Q factory studded winter snow tire for the Alberta winter I drive in. It's super sticky and studded for black ice, and they come in a 35 inch size.
I hand sipped my BFG K02 tires and they turned into pretty awesome snow tires. It's time consuming, but I would say it's definitely worth the time.
So funny u posted a tire video I was watching some of your old videos about them from a few years ago last night
I have a tough time watching my old ones 😁. When you make videos for a living it's hard not to be super critical...
@@DirtLifestyle ohhh for sure I love the content though 🤙🏼
Wishing Nate & family a safe & happy holiday! All the best in 24 as well!
Always informative. Merry Christmas and Happy PNW New Year to you and yours.
Merry Christmas!
Have been running the Nokian Hakkapeliitta for many years and am very happy with it. But to each their own. :0)
PS. Heya Chris. Hope Santa was good to you this year!!!
When I buy tires I spend weeks researching and I even bust out a pen and paper and list all the specs of each tire with a point system. Once I have a nice group of options to choose from I pick the tire that has the coolest looking tread pattern.
What did you find with your research to be a better tire?
Enjoyed the information and breakdown. Had to like, and share your video. 👍
When I first put on Nitto Trail Grapplers, it snowed and I absolutely had no issues with traction. Before then I had Toyo AT2s on for decades and the Nitto was definitely way better.
Greetings from southern Idaho!👋🏼 I’d love to show you the winter mtn scenery here!
I run the MT Baja boss on my Silverado and they were wicked in the coastal mountains on old logging roads with steep switch backs that get icy once the sun goes down. They put the KO2 and duratracs to shame when it comes to winter conditions. Only draw back is they are significantly heavier and more difficult to get balanced.
I run Duratracs with aftermarket sipes from Les Schwabb. I would like to try BFG’s with sipes. They do good on my highway truck.
Very good video! Here in Yakutia we have those big tires on Trekol vehicles or Burlak or Yemelya vehicles.
My KO2s were definitely the best snow tiires ever, in fact when i sold them a plow driver bought them. BUT...when driving in the rain(on the street), deep puddles would basically stop my jeep cold or it would hydroplane something awful. Safe to say no tire does it all but this winter i plan on airing down during snow storms and seeing how that helps.
Yep, BIG difference between Snow and Rain.
Great video tires are always such a big debate up here in BC in the deep snow, I'm going back to AT's for the winter, MT's are great but I agree with you AT"s will do better all around in the deep stuff
I liked the way my old 33x10.50 BFG/ATKOs worked in snow on my 1st gen 4Runner. Aired down to around 6psi they had great traction and flotation.
Great advice here! I have always run what I have which is typically cheapo mud tires but here in Minnesota we usually don't get deep powder, usually icy, cold snow, a foot or three. But now I want to try some A/T tires on the snow.
Merry Christmas to you & your clan, Nate. Thanks for all the entertaining videos this year, especially the 80 Series & the Samurai. Looking forward to the new content next year.
Happy trails, Cowpoke
I always love talking about tires lol. I picked up a set of those Mickey Thompson AT’s in a 37 for my tundra
i met a guy on a mountain service road that had been stranded for 8 hours, burried up to the frame on mud terrains i told him the same thing, another thing to add though there are different types of snow, and the weight of the truck makes a huge difference, snow wheeling used to be my thing more specifically on mountain switchbacks, my key to making the perfect billy goat rig was light weight, big tires aired down with chains on the front, and lots of ground clearance
All good comments above, I have had good luck siping a mud style tire and even siping hybrids and all terrain.
Probably very few tire shops even have tire sipping machines any more. It will decrease your tread life a bit, and make it spongey feeling on the highway with a load. But you can have something for nothing. Kelly safari MT just came. It's an open outside tread but more closed in center. I sipped them on .375" about 65%way across the tire. Maintaining the outside integrity.
Good video and this is something I try to tell people.
KO2’s work extremely well in the snow because it holds onto it.
Hopefully the new KO3’s follow in the same footsteps.
Ko2's terrible on wet highways.
@@dundeeecroc that’s not what the video is about lol. We are talking about off-road here.
I’ve never had an issue with wet pavement though with mine. GX is full time 4WD so maybe that’s why.
@@dundeeecroc also, KO3’s supposedly address that issue.
@@overlandPNWGX Understood, looked like Y'all had a lot of FUN!!!!🤙
I've ran the Yokohama geolander ats and MTS for decades. Couldn't imagine running anything else. Here in ND SD these tires are best for our type of snow.
Crazy how your snow is so fluffy. Snow here is like hitting a brick wall.
3 psi .... does the tire actually stay on the wheel? ...
Having gone to high school in Anchorage, I couldn't help but notice that everyone ran tall skinny tires, usually 2 sets, with the winter set embellished with metal studs.
Thanks to the shout out to my country, Iceland!
I’ve been using the Nokian Outpost nAT this winter and in the foothills in Alberta they’ve been working great and I’m only running 32s
Awesome video, answered lots of questions for me, thx
I'm glad!
Maybe it was just me but I ran A/T and Mud tires and never aired down. Guarantee I probably never would've been stuck but I've been stuck 2 times. I'll see which brand I've used but I never had an air compressor until 2 years ago and still haven't used it. I run 40 to 35 with all my tires except for the rears I'm using this year which are on a 15" rim. Haven't used these in snow yet but they cut through mud no problem. Maybe I'll try airing down and see if I get better response from them but I haven't really needed too
Id like to add too, my last long trip was a 68 mile trail through the woods. A week after a snow storm. I think i had some achilies m/t. Difference was the snow was already packed down. The day prior i took my own solo trip for about 4 hours through powdery snow, loads of fun like it looks like you guys had. Only thing i noticed was the snow packs in the frame so much it gives my truck the shakes almost like a death wobble. It was scary at first but after picking through and power washing it was fine.
i have driven many trucks and vehicles woth those bfg's in slush, snow, ice, and the Duratrac was always more grippy by a good amount
These are like my boyhood truck drawings come to life lol
So cool.
I had 33 x 12.50 BFG all terrians on a Jeep Tj, It was sooo good in the snow.