I agree with your assessment. We have the KO2s on my wife's jeep and actually swap them out for dedicated snow tires in the winter (Nokians). I'm running the ATIIIs on my F150 and they have been a great tire - I did get them siped for even better snow/ice performance this winter and they have been awesome. Not quite as good as the Nokians but they don't make them in a size big enough for me so I am happy with the compromise.Adding another option to the mix as I've had both K02s, AT3Ws, and now my latest the Toyo Open Country ATIII. I live in Wisconsin so winter ability is important for me, but I also frequent dirt and off-road trails during the warmer months when traveling.
As our friends from Discount Tire said (where I buy my tires btw), how you use your vehicle is important.
Here are my takeaways:
KO2s - Good looking tire with good all around performance. They were the loudest of the tires I've owned, but not enough to really throw off everyday driving. I thought these wore better than the AT3Ws, but felt a bit rougher when it came to ride quality. They did great off road and seemed like a clear winner in more muddy and sandy conditions (tread seemed to offload nice). For snow, these did fine in straight line handling, acceleration and braking compared to the all season that came on my truck. Where I noticed a downfall was turning. I felt like they'd slide out pretty easy when casually going around snowy corners. The rougher ride, heavier tire for same class, and ultimately an awesome deal on AT3Ws is what lead to my next tire, the Wildpeak.
AT3W - I bought these as they had the best reviews for a winter rated A/T I could find at the time. Seemed like everyone who ran them loved them. PLUS they were dirt cheap - I found them on sale for something like $189 a tire if I remember! I can't remember exact lbs, but they were also a bit lighter than the BFG for the same load rating. These rode more like a normal tire - meaning I didn't notice any extra sound, they felt subtle, and handled mix use driving well. The snow difference was not noticeable from the BFG. It performed better than the all-seasons I once had, decreased braking distance and made me feel more comfortable driving in the rough stuff. I was sometimes a little worried when off-road as the BFG did feel more sturdy, but never had any punctures or shredding. I went with a new wheel size which ultimately lead to my next purchase, the Toyos.
Open Country ATIII: I only have 5,000 miles on these tires and it's been full winter driving. Take this entry with a grain of salt as I put over 40k miles on the other two sets each. So far the ATIII takes the cake for winter performance. The 'slide out' I'd experience with the other two is way less pronounced on this tire and it's a noticeable improvement for straight line handling. They feel like a heavier duty tire than the AT3W for the same class, but ride similar meaning no noise and not alot of the harshness.
If you live in a cold climate that sees snow, you might read some reviews on the ATIII! If you're mostly driving on roads with the occasional backcountry journey and dont see a ton of snow, I think i'd go with the AT3W. If you need some heavy duty reliability, maybe rocky sharp trails, I still feel like that BFG was unstoppable! ha
*I'm just a guy on the internet that likes trucks, not a vehicle dynamics expert, do your own research
-Chris
We appreciate your long time support, Chris! Awesome feedbackAdding another option to the mix as I've had both K02s, AT3Ws, and now my latest the Toyo Open Country ATIII. I live in Wisconsin so winter ability is important for me, but I also frequent dirt and off-road trails during the warmer months when traveling.
As our friends from Discount Tire said (where I buy my tires btw), how you use your vehicle is important.
Here are my takeaways:
KO2s - Good looking tire with good all around performance. They were the loudest of the tires I've owned, but not enough to really throw off everyday driving. I thought these wore better than the AT3Ws, but felt a bit rougher when it came to ride quality. They did great off road and seemed like a clear winner in more muddy and sandy conditions (tread seemed to offload nice). For snow, these did fine in straight line handling, acceleration and braking compared to the all season that came on my truck. Where I noticed a downfall was turning. I felt like they'd slide out pretty easy when casually going around snowy corners. The rougher ride, heavier tire for same class, and ultimately an awesome deal on AT3Ws is what lead to my next tire, the Wildpeak.
AT3W - I bought these as they had the best reviews for a winter rated A/T I could find at the time. Seemed like everyone who ran them loved them. PLUS they were dirt cheap - I found them on sale for something like $189 a tire if I remember! I can't remember exact lbs, but they were also a bit lighter than the BFG for the same load rating. These rode more like a normal tire - meaning I didn't notice any extra sound, they felt subtle, and handled mix use driving well. The snow difference was not noticeable from the BFG. It performed better than the all-seasons I once had, decreased braking distance and made me feel more comfortable driving in the rough stuff. I was sometimes a little worried when off-road as the BFG did feel more sturdy, but never had any punctures or shredding. I went with a new wheel size which ultimately lead to my next purchase, the Toyos.
Open Country ATIII: I only have 5,000 miles on these tires and it's been full winter driving. Take this entry with a grain of salt as I put over 40k miles on the other two sets each. So far the ATIII takes the cake for winter performance. The 'slide out' I'd experience with the other two is way less pronounced on this tire and it's a noticeable improvement for straight line handling. They feel like a heavier duty tire than the AT3W for the same class, but ride similar meaning no noise and not alot of the harshness.
If you live in a cold climate that sees snow, you might read some reviews on the ATIII! If you're mostly driving on roads with the occasional backcountry journey and dont see a ton of snow, I think i'd go with the AT3W. If you need some heavy duty reliability, maybe rocky sharp trails, I still feel like that BFG was unstoppable! ha
*I'm just a guy on the internet that likes trucks, not a vehicle dynamics expert, do your own research
-Chris
