M/S vs A/T

Interested in perspectives for Mud/Snow tires vs A/T. In the Sierra Nevada's A/T tires did not do well in snow and snow melt mud, but obviously A/T was better for rocking climbing and summer offroad.
I'm now in Florida and think that Mud/Snow is still a better fit due to the rain we get and the "sugar sand" we often encounter on trails.
Thoughts on this?

 

Mud/snow tires in Florida???

Look at a Wildpeak probably for wet. Or new K03. Something with good siping and channels for dispelling water.

 

Could also look into an XT which is a cross between the two.

 

A/T & M/T tires get a bad rap for Snow & Wet traction, but a lot of (local folks) that complain about it tend to buy CHEAP tires. If you pay attention to the M+S and 3-Peaks rating, it helps.

When I lived in FL, I liked my BFG KO2s that I had on my 4Runner. They always did very well in the heavy FL rains, and I never got stuck when we'd hit sugar sand that's all over. In fact, we'd run into sugar sand in the Ocala National Forest quite a bit and (thankfully) never got stuck.

Here's a pic of my old 2012 4Runner on a trip into Ocala NF when we got close to the bombing range. Lots of fun (& tight) trails in and around that area.

 

@KroppDuster thanks! thats the kind of info i was looking for. And yes i always ran premium michelin or pirelli tires with M/S and 3 peak symbols for going to the mountains.

 

In sand the number one thing that will hurt you is tire pressure.... and it the actual tire type isn't nearly as important as tire pressure. If you lower your pressure to 18 psi on a highway tire its going to outperform a mud and snow tire at 35psi in the sand. All about that contact patch and ability to conform to the terrain its trying to bite on. Still sugar sand with zero moisture in it just sucks all around.

 

I had no problems in your FL sugar sand in my old Volvo with all season tires. Air down, move slow. If you happen to overrun the sand's compaction ability and the vehicle start to dig in - stop, roll back, try again.

 

Just remember...you said it, I didn't.

It's also probably related to you owning a 5.5 Gen. Everyone knows the OG 5th Gens were the best before the facelift. /s