Yes, excellent discussion! Bbutch: I guess the CHP has vehicles in the mountains? I wonder what they drive on up there....if it's snow/muddy goo I imagine the tires they have chosen work out. But I guarantee (from personal experience) that a heavily lugged "mud tire" will not perform as well as a "real" snow tire on slick/icy snow-packed pavement. If it's doing the job for them, more power to 'em!
All in all, it really depends on where you plan to drive the most. For me, I drive a lot on icy/snowpacked pavement many months of the year. The temperature here ranges from -40C to +2C when my snow tires are on the truck, so the pavement can be dry, icy, wet, snow covered, snowpacked all in the same week! A Your conditions may vary. A true snow tire's soft rubber remains pliable at very cold temperatures, which makes a significant difference in traction. The downside is that you must take them off when it gets above freezing, or else you will wear them out quickly. Although, I see people around here using them (Toyo Observes) year-round and they seem to hold up. For deep snow, they seem to work well. I drove over 20 km through twisty back roads covered with snow over 30cm deep.+
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