Best ATV Tires: Get a Grip

ATV tires are a special case when it comes to product selection. Often more important than the exact model of the tire is the purpose it’s designed for, such as mud, hardpack, sand, etc. ATV enthusiasts have their brand loyalties, but there’s far from a consensus when it comes to the best tires. When it came time to make my picks for the tire models included here, I scoured forum threads, industry reviews, user feedback and, of course, employed The Drive’s review methodology to offer an array of tire options across brands and uses. I also tried to use the 25x10-12 option for each tire to better compare details such as weight. Alongside reading user experiences, I also made sure to account for relative weight differences, ply count, and durability when making the final selections.

The ITP Mud Lite II offers just about everything you could need across an array of terrains. But, if the price tag is a little beyond what you’re looking to spend, the Tusk Terraform offers amazing traction and durability at roughly three-quarters the price of the Mud Lite II. 

Whether or not you end up going with any of the picks for best tires included here, there’s a handful of factors you want to consider while searching for the right ATV tire for you and your application.

There’s no shortage of quality tire companies out there for ATV enthusiasts. Everyone has their brand loyalties, but as long as you’re buying a tire model from a reasonably well-established company it’s hard to get a below-par tire. Although this is far from an exhaustive list, you can keep an eye out for a few enthusiast favorite brands as you shop, including ITP, Carlisle, Kenda, Maxxis, Sedona, and Tusk. Beyond brands, the more important consideration when researching and shopping for ATV tires is the type of terrain — be it sand, mud, or hardpack — that the tire is designed for.

In the world of ATV tires, picking a set of rubber that’s been designed for the exact type of terrain you ride is the single most important factor to consider in your research. If you plan to take your ATV through deep mud, you need a tire with an aggressive tread design. That means tread depth of at least one inch and an open tread pattern for effective mud cleanout. But the same things that make a tire ideal for mud make it useless for something like cross country. If fast trail or cross country riding is your goal, then you want a lightweight tire with more shallow lugs and a much tighter overall tread pattern that allows for better stability at high speeds and snappy turning abilities. Regardless of the kind of terrain you want to ride, there’s a tire out there designed for it.

ATV tire construction can be broken down into two main categories: bias-ply or radial design. Bias-ply tires are far more common for ATVs due to their lower costs and their enhanced durability over their radial counterparts. All of the tires we chose have bias-ply construction, offering an effective balance between durability and performance. Some tires designed for applications like cross-country or sand will have 2- or 4-ply construction to reduce unsprung weight. The same rule applies to heavy-duty, 8-ply tires where durability is paramount.

Radial tires offer longer life spans than most bias-ply tires and smoother performance at high speeds on hard terrains. While they have their advantages over bias-ply tires, the increased costs and greater susceptibility to punctures make radial tires better catered to street usage than offroading applications.

ATV tires can vary drastically in their price depending not only on the brand, but the size, the type of terrain they’re designed for, and their overall construction, bias-ply or radial. With that said, most ATV tires, including the ones I chose here, can range anywhere from $70 to $130 per tire. Because so much of the cost comes down to the terrain design, construction, and size, it’s important to be honest with yourself about the kind of riding you’re going to be doing on your ATV to make sure you’re not buying more–or less–rubber than you need.

You’ve got questions. The Drive has answers.