Nokian Outpost AT experiences?

[Bas_G]

Does anyone have personal experience in the winter with the new Nokian Outpost AT's or Rotiiva plus? Or links to some winter reviews?

I'm currently running KO2's and while they're fine in the deeper stuff, they aren't great on Canadian highways that are scraped and packed. My Duratracs did a little better. But I have blizzaks on my other vehicle and while those are fantastic on the highway, they don't do well in deeper stuff or when we go on some lighter trails and unpaved roads when we go snow shoeing.

I'm looking for something that leans to a winter tire only but more chunky than a street tire. I will be swapping them out for winter and running the KO2s in summer.

The Nokians look very promising but they are also new. Experiences or suggestions for something else that will fit the bill?

 

[TrailEditionNH]

I live in northern NH in the mountains. I'm an auto tech at a shop that is a Nokian tire dealer, and we work on the trucks that care for the Mt. Washington Auto Road and state park (Google it if you're unfamiliar). Point is I'm well acquainted with snow tires, driving in snow, and what works vs. what doesn't.

I have had several people purchase the new Outpost AT from us, and every single person absolutely loves them. Reports are that they are phenomenal on road and off, pavement, gravel, wet, dry, etc. Excellent grip, excellent ride and very quiet. I would have a set on my 4runner, however they were out of stock for the year in LT285/70r17. According to our rep, they should be back in stock for the spring, and I'll have a set to replace my ko2's.

Problem is, the Outpost is too new to really have a good feel for their winter use. The trucks we service use the Rotiiva as a winter tire, which have also performed flawlessly for this use. Many put them on in the winter as a dedicated snow tire, even though they are perfectly suitable for year round use. At least one of my customers have replaced Duratracs with Rotiivas and was quite impressed.

My opinion is if you can get them in your size I would go for it. I'm willing to bet you won't be disappointed. I run studded Nordman 7 SUVs on my 4runner in the winter. Nokian knows what they're doing for winter tires.