What Are The Best Tires For Overlanding?
August 6, 2021
It’s not always easy to predict what the conditions are going to be like when you’re on the trails. Because of that, it’s crucial to have on a set of tires that can give you confidence that you’ll be able to handle any weather, terrain, or abuse thrown at it, while still being able to carry anything from camping gear to self-sustaining resources. We put together a list of our top choices of the best tires for overlanding. When making this list, some factors we took into consideration include on and off-road handling, comfort, traction, tread life, all-weather performance, and robustness. Check it out.
Quick Links:
- Is the BFGoodrich All-Terrain TA KO2 Tire Good?
- Is the General Grabber ATX Tire Good?
- Is the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W Tire Good?
- Is the Toyo Open Country AT3 Tire Good?
- Is the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T Good?
- Final Thoughts
Is the BFGoodrich All-Terrain TA KO2 Tire Good?
The first tire that made our list is the BFGoodrich All-Terrain TA KO2 tire. Between its wide variety of sizes and load range options, there are over 140 variations of this tire available. On top of being notoriously great for producing off-roading tires, BFGoodrich kicked it up a notch with the KO2, as this tire has earned the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol. Now, you can have a little extra confidence that this tire will hold up in more severe weather conditions with this rating, along with 3D sipes and biting edges for gripping.
The KO2 features Tri-Gard, a polyester cord sidewall ply construction. Like their other tires, BFGoodrich designed the KO2 for maximum durability and long wear times through an optimized tread pattern. Whether it encounters wet, muddy, or snowy conditions, the KO2 is a great tire that delivers amazing traction, protection from sharp rocks and terrain, and it adds the perfect aggressive edge for your rig. This tire is going to perform in all kinds of severe weather situations. The KO2 now also comes with a 50,000-mileage warranty and a 60-day satisfaction guarantee.
Is the General Grabber ATX Tire Good?
The second spot on the list goes to the General Grabber ATX. This tire is offered in 40 different sizes, including load range options of C, D, E, and XL. This tire has something called Comfort Balance Technology, which is a tread cushioning system built as a cushioning layer under the tread. It’s designed to provide an extra level of isolation from road disturbances to help quiet and smooth out the ride for a bit of extra road comfort.
The tread pattern is designed with a five-row tread block pattern for high-density, multi-angled tread block edges to give them the ability to continuously bite and claw at the ground for extra traction on all terrain types. Alternating shoulder scoops allow for a more wide-open area for additional grip on rocks and more hardcore wheeling situations, especially while aired down.
Like the KO2, the ATX is Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake certified and chip-and-cut resistant, but on top of that has zig-zag siping to help with traction on wet and slippery surfaces. The tread voids and depth are also carefully designed to evacuate mud and minimize road noise. So, what we’re getting at is that this tire was designed to handle anything thrown its way and is the perfect choice for your overlanding build.
Is the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W Tire Good?
The next tire we want to feature on our list is the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W. If you’re part of the overlanding community, you might already know this tire has a great reputation because it’s an all-around, excellent-performing, high-quality tire with a 55,000-mile warranty. Falken designed this tire to excel in three areas: wear, winter traction, and wet performance, hence the “three” in the A/T3W in the model name. This tire has also earned the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol and also has a silica tread compound that helps with maximizing tread life and provides resistance to snow and hydroplaning.
Another noteworthy feature of this tire is its 3D Canyon Sipe Technology that interlocks with the shoulders to prevent torque from causing wear and enhancing handling stability. These sipes also provide a suction-like grip to the road as well as providing additional handling stability during cornering, acceleration, and braking. When carrying a heavy load, heat diffusing technology protects the tire’s internal components, ensuring premature wear. It has an aggressive upper sidewall that serves looks and functionality by offering protection from sharp debris and provides traction at low tire pressures.
To top it all off, the A/T3W tires look great with raised and sharply angled side biters combined with these aggressive, muscular, step-shaped shoulder blocks.
Is the Toyo Open Country AT3 Tire Good?
The Toyo Open Country AT3 is the next tire that made our list. This shouldn’t come as a shock because, well, Toyo Tires are pretty great. They’ve been named the #1 overall brand by North America tie dealers seven times since the year 2000. There’s no doubt that Toyo’s reputation precedes itself because of a commitment they have had to produce the best performing tires on the market since 1945. They’ve done it again with the Toyo Open Country AT3s, which now come in 123 sizes.
Toyo’s Open Country all-terrain model line began with the off-road enthusiasts in mind to develop a tire that not only performs really well on-road but can handle the abuse and demands that the off-road enthusiast needs to have in a cross-over tire.
With its aggressive tread design, bulky shoulder lugs, and side-biters for lateral traction, this high-performing tire can keep you moving on unpredictable trails while still getting you home without sacrificing on-road handling. Toyo designed staggered “S”-shaped tread blocks that are bulky with sharp, defined edges to grip terrain, especially when aired down.
Along with earning the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol, the multi-waved sipes in the tread blocks and shoulder lugs provide you with exceptional traction on ice, snow, or wet road conditions to really bite and grip when accelerating or braking. The AT3s have a 3+ rating for on-road handling, comfort, and performance. Plus, Toyo designed a tread pattern that looks aggressive, lasts long, and has pretty tame road noise.
When the tough terrain starts to show itself, it’s no problem for the AT3s with their massive voids designed to evacuate snow, mud, and sand along with raised angled side-biters for sidewall protection from punctures.
Is the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T Good?
The last tire we want to mention on the list of best overlanding tires is the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T. With its asymmetrical tread design, the Baja Boss All-Terrain delivers a great balance of on-road and off-road performance. The inner and outer contact patch combined is designed to give a quiet, smooth on-road handling feel without sacrificing performance on wet, snowy, ice-covered roads or while off-road on the dirt, gravel, or even in the mud.
For when temperatures drop and the weather gets nasty, this tire is Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake certified with a unique silica blend compound that maintains adhesion below the freezing point. The sidewalls are constructed to be stronger and heavier to hold up heavy overlanding-eqipped vehicles and resist punctures and cuts.
On top of that, this tire has a 50,000-mile tread life warranty, comes in a wide variety of sizes, and looks just plain awesome.
3-PEAK MOUNTAIN SNOWFLAKE SYMBOL
Final Thoughts
So, now that we’ve covered the five toughest tires that are designed to support an overlanding build, what tires are you running on your rig? Let us know in the comments below!
Also, when you decide you’re ready to get started on your build, we offer wheel and tire packages designed to save you money with a package-rate discount and with free mounting, balancing, and shipping (up to a $300 value). Plus, we’ve got a ton of amazing in-stock wheel and tire brands, so you don’t have to worry about settling.
Since you’ve got places to go, we won’t keep you waiting on your package either. Now, your package could be at your doorstep in as little as 7 days. If you want to build now and pay later, our partnership with Affirm offers the opportunity to qualify for as low as 0% APR financing with easy monthly payments.
