There are 3 additonal MT's that have caught my eye. I have read up on them as much as possible: Toyo Open Country M/T, Firestone Destination M/T, and Cooper Discoverer STT. Along with MT/R and BFG MT, these are the front runners after reading all the reviews.
Toyo Open Country M/T...from what i have been reading, these tires are probably the quietest MT tire on the market. It's a hard tire to get (and can be $$$$)...very few distributors around US...so, not many people have them. From the few that have them, these are relatively quiet for a MT...a bit noisier than average AT tire. Handling & braking on-road is relatively good. They handle well in rain and snow/ice because they do come with siping from the factory. Mud traction is good and they do well on rocks, but not as sticky as MT/R on rocks though. The one major negative (other than hard to find & $$$$) about these tires is the weight. It is well-constructed, but it weighs quite a bit more than all other MT tire...we're talking at least 10-15 lbs more PER tire than your average MT. So, keep that in mind because this may affect handling, braking, ride comfort, and fuel economy. However, despite this, they do ride well enough because their sidewall is a bit softer than MT/R. Treadwear is pretty good...probably at least 40K miles on average.
Firestone Destination M/T...these are very good MT tires. From reviews, they are quieter than MT/R and BFG MT on-road. This is for sure. Some people claim them to be the quietest MT...while a few other complain about the noise. So, these tires are most likely not as quiet as BFG AT KO or other AT tires, but they do better than the popular MT tires. They ride very well, and do well enough in rain due to soft tread compound despite lack of siping. However, they may not do well on ice or slick snow (most MTs do not). I would advise that you sip them, esp. if you live in an area that gets snow. They are pinned for studs if you need it for winter. Off-road, they are supposedly very good. They are very good at self-cleaning in mud. In fact, if you drive these tires over your lawn, these tires will rip your grass up from the roots! They bite into the ground...good for rocks and mud. This may not bold well in sand, unless you air down quite a bit. These tires can air down as low as 8-10 psi without any problems with the beads. On rocks, i have read that a few owners have chipped their lugs on sharp rocks...very few complain of this. My brother complained that his MT/R chips too easily...so, it's all relative. The sidewall is extremely strong, easily on par with MT/R and BFG MT. Treadwear is pretty good, probably at least 40K miles.
Cooper STT...from what i have been reading, these tires are pretty darn good and relatively cheap too. They come with siping from factory and is apparently very well made. Cooper is a USA company and has a good reputation, but in 2004, they did have to settle a few lawsuits due to material mishap resulting in a few deaths (similar to what Firestone went thru). Cooper tires are distributed everywhere in the world...and they are well known in Australia. These tires do well on-road...relatively quiet (probably on-par with Firestone M/T), do well in rain and snow/ice due to well-placed siping (similar to Toyo M/T above). They do well in mud from what i hear. They self-clean better than MT/R. On rocks, i hear that they are OK. Apparently, the rubber compound is hard...so these tires don't stick to rocks like MT/R (and some of the other MTs)...a review mentioned that this resulted in sliding sideways on rocks. Other people had no complaints about these tires on rocks. Treadwear is pretty good too, similar to above two tires.
As you can see, each MT tire has strengths and weaknesses. If you want to rock crawl, then there is not a better tire than Goodyear MT/R...but they are noisy, hard to balance, wear quickly, and don't do well in clay mud. BFG MT is a good all-arounder, but they are noisy also and treadwear is not that great. However, these two tires are from big companies with great reputations and proven history. The rest of the MT tires above don't have the same pedigree. But they are a bit quieter on-road, wear longer, and do better as an all-season tire.
Hope this helps.
