Next best option to Wildpeak's and KO2's now that the Wildpeak's are made in China?

I personally love my Wildpeaks so far. I am all about trying to prevent China from becoming the world's top economy, however, nobody but the existing American administration can change that. . No matter how many choose to boycott, it will not make a bit of difference other than to your own mindset.
As far as Chinese quality goes, dunno. We take our chances when we have no choice regarding these products.
Keep in mind; even things made in USA do, occasionally have a fail! Nothing is perfect or fool proof. Just my .02.
Just returned from our mtn cabin today. The Wildpeaks were smooth as the General Grabber HT's on my fifth gen SR5 on the highway, and performed very well on the rough roads going up the mountain to the cabin. Oh, I was in my 98 Limited today.
Happy trails

 

If I can manage to find a local tire store than can get me Thailand/US made Wildpeak's I will buy them, otherwise, I think I'm just going to get KO2's again.

 

Just FYI...I got mine from Discount Tire. I did not ask where they were made before my purchase though. Good luck.

 

I just looked at a set of Wildpeak’s AT3’s on a Jeep Wrangler and they said Made in Thailand.

 

On my past two FJ Cruisers, I ran General AT2's and Goodyear DuraTracs, both performed very well in deep snow - which is a priority for me living in the mountains.

On my FJ TT model, I had lots of balancing issues (55mph shimmy) with the stock heavy BFG E-Rated Tires, which went away when I switched to a C-Rated Tire.

I am currently running Goodyear DuraTracs ($216 for 265/70R17) on the 4Runner (Made in Canada). Severe Snow Rated.

 

I'm with you Mark. Unfortunately it is getting more and more difficult to purchase tires that are not manufactured overseas. As long as they are a safe name brand tire, I'm not going to worry too much where they are made.

Mark, I do applaud you for sticking to your beliefs.

Good news is there are a lot of choices for tires that are not made in China.

This is exactly the reason I have decided to start researching for a safe 4wd and proper tires for my wife and I. It's 100 miles each way to the cabin my wife just inherited and I want the safest vehicle/suspension/chassis/tire combo. If it pans out and we end up getting a 4Runner then I might be able to talk my wife into taking the back dirt roads up!! LOL

How about this tire:

https://generaltire.com/tires/light...j1TVQqcV8qWGehPgEimq5vUO4ner4QuxoCosYQAvD_BwE

 

The General Grabber AT2 is what was on my Yellow FJ in the photo above.

 

Those look great, however, before I bought my WildPeaks, I looked at quite a few. I stayed away from studdable though because I don't see myself ever installing studs. I'm sure they are great though up there in Blowing Rock. Have been there many times. Our cabin is up outside Burnsville. We are not winterized though, so we don't stay up there in the winter.
I love the area though. Been going up there for 22 years and my wife has owned the cabin for 35.

 

I live in an area of Central Ontario, Canada, that receives a lot of lake effect snow from Lake Huron. The worst roads affected up here are regularly closed on and off for days at a time when winter storms blow in off the lake. The police barricade the roads affected, and some have flashing lights and road closed signs when the snow plows can’t keep up. Here in Canada, many drivers change out tires like the ones you guys have been talking about, myself included, for real winter tires. For some Canadian jurisdictions such as the province of Quebec, this is mandatory from November to April. Some of Canada’s western provinces use studs, as does Northern Ontario, but the problem with studs is that they are hard on the roads, and add quite a bit of stopping time on cold dry pavement. They’re also noisy and rough.
There are lots of good choices for winter tires, but I run Blizzaks, and they’re excellent. My summer tires are e rated K02s in the stock size. My previous vehicle was a 2nd gen tacoma, and I used duratracs on it for the summer. Would I have been tempted to save money and run the K02s or duratracs all winter? No. Some things, like safety, are priceless. And an extra set of tires is pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things.

 

Interesting. I've found Blizzaks were great on the Audi in 0-4" of snow, but anything over that and they would just dig down, high centering the car.

I had a Defender and a Wrangler when I lived in the Sierras, initially one winter, one had mud tires, and they were a nightmare, then, both had Duratracs. Never felt the need for anything but chains, and trust me, if I needed chains on either of those vehicles, there was nobody else on the road with me. Definitely not people with Blizzaks.

 

Haha, you’re right on that score @nonuniform blizzaks are never going to compete with chains.

 

I have also lived in Southwestern Ontario and the lake effect snow off of Lake Huron is massive (Just watch the 401 Heavy Rescue Show). Highway 402 gets slammed.

Now living in Western North Carolina, I ran Hakka studded tires on my 99 4Runner for many years (legal in winter) and they were amazing on ice, but there were only about 5 really icy days out of the year that you really needed them.

Studs are useless in heavy snow, which I had most winter days, so I went back to DuraTracs after they wore out and most of the studs had come loose.

The rock driveway would also take its toll on the studs. I would often find a few missing studs on the driveway in the spring. Once the studs fall out, the small holes fill in with tiny rocks and are impossible to restud.

 

I doubt the Audi would have gotten very far with chains in deep snow, either. High centered is high centered, regardless of tires/chains.

Chains obviously will outperform anything on ice. But, a good set of winter tires is probably more than sufficient in all but the worst conditions. Our Scion TC on Hakkapeliittas is a beast until it gets deep. A 4Runner on snow tires would probably get through some pretty bad conditions.

To the topic at hand, Wildpeaks are notoriously excellent in snow, as are many of the 3PMSF AT tires available. For anyone who lives where the roads are maintained, these are fine for a 4WD vehicle. In the country, where the roads are neglected all winter, I would run Hakkapeliittas probably November to March or April.