Snow tire of snow tires, though they feel like they have softer sidewalks, and are for sure not something you want to run all year, but for snow #1
I usually shop for the Nokian Hakkapeliitta, the Nokian Nordman, or the General Altimax Arctic. They're all outstanding winter tires that also suit my more subjective personal "feel" preference, and they all have good wear. I usually get three seasons out of them if I install them in early- to mid-November and take them off in mid- to late-March, depending on weather forecasts.
I basically try to avoid installing winter tires until I think the high temperatures are going to be < 50F for at least a week. I'd rather not use them at all above 50F. That's not hard to avoid, however, because other than daily trips to the post office less than a mile away, there are very few trips that I
have to make on any given day (nor during any given week, for that matter).
I also like the Firestone Winterforce in terms of performance, but not so much in terms of wear. I'd rank the Winterforce in the same league as the Nokians or the Altimax Arctic in terms of their performance, but they're really shot by the end of two seasons. I suspect they use softer rubber, which is great for extreme cold-weather performance, but at the cost of shorter life.
When I bought my present car, however, it was already so late in the season that I couldn't find
any of my customary winter tires in stock in my car's size at
any of my favored dealers. I've found that winter tires are best ordered in late August. Any later, and you're taking your chances. By October the pickings get pretty slim.
My favorite tire supplier by a wide margin is Discount Tire Direct. Most of my local shops, including my two favorite garages, have very limited selections and usually can't get the tires I want (but are happy to mount and balance tires that I buy online). I checked with the local guys, but they all had nothing in my car's size. I also have a friend who owns a Firestone franchise downstate, but he also had nothing and didn't anticipate getting any more. As I said, winter tire pickings get slim in October.
So I called Discount Tire Direct again. Their CSR's actually know something about tires. They're tire geeks. The CSR who took the call looked up my past purchases and reviews, and then looked up reviews by other customers who owned the same car, and suggested that I try the Hankook Winter i*Pike RS W419. They scored very high in reviews by other Kia Soul drivers. So I gave them a shot.
After one season, I'd rate the Hankook Winter i*Pike RS W419's performance in snow, ice, or when the OAT is below ~ 45F as superb. Wear-wise, it also looks like I'll get three seasons out of them. They still look pretty good after their first season:
So I figure I have at least a shot at getting three seasons out of them.
Subjectively, however, these tires do feel a bit grippy to me on dry pavement when the OAT is higher than ~ 45F. That's with the pressure at 37 PSI, which is 4 PSI above the car's door sticker recommendation, which is what Kia recommends for winter tires. In a pinch, pushing it to 40 PSI solves the grippiness problem, which is what I'd do if I
had to make a longish trip when the OAT was > 45F. Either that or I'd just swap the summer tires back on for that that trip.
But as I said earlier, it's pretty rare that I
have to go anywhere on any particular day; and in another couple of weeks, it'll be a moot point, anyway. Days when it's > 45F outside will be pretty much just a memory until the spring.
Rich