Winter tires Canada

Anyone out there who has tried the Continental IceContact XTRM tire? It's a Canada-only product, can be bought with or without studs. (Studs made by rifle makers Tikka BTW)

Looking at this as an alternative to the Nokian Hakka 10SUV. Our favourite tire store isn't Kal-tire, so looking for a non-Nokian option.

Comments or opinions?

 

Hello, I have the studded Continentals on my wife's 22' Rav4 and it does great. I do prefer the Nokians on my 4runner though. I'm also not a huge fan of Kal-tire but I didn't purchase my Nokians from there.

 

My understanding is that, in Canada, Kal-tire is the only seller of Nokian products.
BTW: nothing against Kal-tire, it's just that we have had stellar service from our local Integra Tire dealer.

 

I ordered my Nokians through my local tire shop in Calgary.

 

Tires are 24/7, service is (hopefully) a one-time visit. Nokian Hakkapeliitta's is what I use

 

If you buy winters (on rims) from Integra, they will swap them, spring and fall, for free, for ever.

Nice to have that option when the weather is crappy, or life is busy.

Anyway...anyone else running the Contis?

 

Well, booked an appointment to have them installed next week. And through yesterday evening and overnight, we got 15 cm (6") of snow on the local highway passes.
Will give a report after we test them out....

 

Got the Continental XTRM today. Wife says at first they sounded a bit like kittens running on a hardwood floor, but she stopped noticing by the time she got home. The TRD exhaust is more noticeable than the studs.

Update: they are less noticeable (sound-wise) on the highway than on our residential street at low speed.

 

In the time it would take to load the tires up and drive to a shop, I could swap my own.

I personally wouldn't settle for my second choice of tire just for a little bit of convenience, either.

But, hopefully the tires work out for you.