Thoughts on studded tires

I've run studded tires in the past but about 10 years ago switched to studless winter tires. The REAL studless winter tires. The ones that you do not want to run in the summer. There are tires around now with the snowflake on the sidewall that are what I'd call a crossover tire. not near as good in snow/ice as a real studless winter tire.

My experience is that the studless are just as good as studded tires in hardpacked snow and ice, WAY better on wet surfaces, WAY better on dry roads than studded tires and much quiter and don't chew up the roads.

The tread is not as aggresive as some studded tires so they may not be as good as a studded tire in deep snow.

What I do is get a set of wheels for each vehicle and have studless tires mounted on them then mount them when the time comes.

Treadwear on the studless seems to be comparable to what I'd get out of a studded tire, nowhere near the treadlife of a summer tire.
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If studs are allowed where you live, but you intend to travel out of state, check stud restrictions. Some states have outlawed them, other states have restrictions on the dates they can be used.

PA12DRVR wrote:

....assuming there's anywhere left where such tires are allowed besides Los Anchorage.

I know some states you must have studded tires removed by a certain date in the spring. If you are in one of those states it may mean buying two sets of tires.