Might be a little late to the party. Maybe this will add to the confusion ha ha.
I have run Cooper at3 lt & st maxx, on Tacoma's.
My wife's 4 runner has the new Grabber at/x.
I have had Cooper at3 lt and Dick Cepek trail country exp. on my ram 2500 and a Tacoma.
Falken wildpeak at3w on a T100 (wish I never sold that truck).
BFG Ko2's on a tundra.
We are based between Bozeman and CA. I surf and do trips all through Baja and North CA. Camp all over the west / south west. My tires see it all.
I lived in coastal North Carolina when I was a teen and used to run only mud tires. One b/c I thought it was cool, and two b/c we had swamps and lots of mud. Every year that I get older, I like things more minimal and basic. It took me a while to get out of the MT tire routine. I realized outside of designated "mud vehicle" they are overkill for me.
In my late teen's we moved to South Africa. We had a Landrover 110 and a Toyota Landcruiser 80. Those trucks ran all through the bush and really tough terrain. Honestly, they had never had anything more than an average AT. Think Bridgestone or Yokohama a/t g015. I also spend around a month every year in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. I will only rent older Suzuki Jimmy's and they never have anything more than a basic A/T usually P rated. I think in 15 yrs, I have had 2-3 flats. I am there to surf in the rainy season, so lots of mud, river crossings, slick/spikey jungle stuff.
With all this experience, I always think first we are really lucky to have so many tire options haha.
I also have some ranchers in my family all in WY. They all drive pre- def diesel's and swear buy Hankook Dynapro's , Yokohama g015, Cooper at3, and Toyo M55. I have a buddy who works for the BLM as a wild horse Wrangler and he swears by Toyo M55's. Their trucks see more off-road, than HWY.
They have always laughed at me when I pull up in a truck with as they say "gnarly tires".
I think it really depends on what you want. Someone mentioned that most top name brands are producing good products. I believe that. Sure there are the occasional lemons.
if you want my opinion cooper st maxx are the toughest tires I have ever used. They ride a little rough until you figure out the psi, they are a little loud. The Falken wildpeak took me by surprise, they seemed to be an amazing tire. I only put around 10k on them before I sold the truck. I would buy them again. Copper at3 are great they do it all. The General's are also amazing. I do find they throw rocks more than the Cooper's. The BFG's to me were a little slick in the wet and the ice. I am seriously looking into the new Hankook Dynapro at2 and the Yokahama Go15.
Hopefully, this helps.
I attached a pic, of a good old Jimmy
