Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9 review

500 miles on my set, 300 of gentle break in with minimal sliding around, and 200 miles of romping. These are awesome. Expensive, but awesome.

My review of the Hakkapeliitta 8 is here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/nokian-hakkapeliitta-8-review.393719/

I drove several vehicles while I was waiting for my 9s to come in.

I have one child home for now with Cooper WinterMaxx studded under her 4x2 Ranger for the second winter. My wife has 2 year old Blizzakks under her Rav4, and I had effectively studless H8s under my 2015 Tacoma. I also have very fond memories of the Toyota Matrix with fresh Blizzaks under it that got traded for the Rav 4 my wife is currently driving. I did switch my Tacoma back and forth between H2 and H4 so I could kind of sort of compare it to both the 4x2 Ranger and the AWD Rav 4.

When I say "H8" in this thread I mean Hakkapeliitta 8 with the studs worn down flush.

The studless H8 I think are a better all around tire than the Blizzaks at 0dF and colder. In warmer temps when ice is softer, melts quicker and gets slippery easier, the Blizzaks are better for braking and steering. Below about 0dF where ice is sticky, advantage Nokian.

In deep, unplowed snow the H8 kicked the butt of both the Blizzak and the inexpensive studded tire. No contest, H8 all the way for the win. Until I got my Hakkapeliitta 9s anyway.

Daily, I drive to my office, punch the clock, get my work list, and then go to customer's homes to do my work. If I didn't need 16 kajllion pounds of tools and crap to do my job, the ultimate vehicle for just hauling my sorry butt around in Alaska winter would be buying that darn Matrix back and putting a set of Hakkapeliitta 9s under it.

The AWD system under the Matrix was killer. It didn't do great in deep snow, but if the fresh snow didn't come higher than the front bumper that car would get the job done.

The Rav4 AWD just doesn't feel as balanced to me as I remember the Matrix having been. Its really good, and my wife does things with her Rav4 on Blizzaks that I wouldn't dream of in my Tacoma with the H8s under it. She just throws that thing into corners that make my sphincter cramp sometimes when I am riding with her. I did take it to the gas station for her and got it broken loose a couple times. My conclusion is she has learned what that drive train can and can not do. It is a very capable drive train, and she is on pretty good winter tires, and she is not a bad driver- she has learned exactly what the system can do, and does that.

The Tacoma is what it is. In H2 with no weight in the bed it is lousy in snow. With some weight in the bed or H4 (or both) it can get out of its own way, on studded Hakkapeliittas with actual weight in it I have a go anywhere vehicle.

My kids 4x2 Ranger with the cheap studs under it (and a motorcycle in the back) would stop and go in about anything, but it didn't like to corner if there was any fresh snow on top of the hardpack/ ice. And nauseatingly noisy on bare pavement.

As with the Hakkapeliitta 8s, on Hakkapeliitta 9s (265-70-17), I can go almost anywhere in H4, north facing slopes with 2" of ice under 16" of fresh unplowed snow, no problem, I can talk on the phone, fool with the audio system and just drive.

Another place where the Nokian's kick the tail of all other contenders is in "balling up" or "snowballing", where the tire picks up a bunch of its own snow and presents essentially infinite contact patch to fresh snow on the ground. Collected snow will come off in corners at lower velocities than it does in straights for any tire, but this an uncontested advantage for Nokians at my house.

My impression is my new Hakkapeliitta 9s are quieter on dry pavement than my Hakkapeliitta 8s were when they were new.

In all around winter driving conditions:

Bare pavement: Advantage Blizzaks or studless Nokian. No need for studs here. The hakka 9s I think are a bit quieter than the hakka 8s were. Really any winter rubber compound should be fine here. Cheap studs are really loud.

hardpack snow / ice: advantage studs. Among non studded tires I think the Nokian compound does better below 0 dF and the Blizzak compound noticeably better above 0dF, but studs rule this area.

Fresh snow: advantage Nokian

Fresh snow with hardpack/ ice underneath : clear advantage Nokian studded.

The one thing cheap studs do best is handle on bare ice for less money than the Nokians. If I had a dedicated truck for say ice fishing that didn't get a lot of bare pavement miles on it, bring them on.

In all around driving on studless, I like Blizzaks above 0dF and Nokians below 0dF. The Nokians in my very small sample just stick better at colder temps.

Have to get there no matter what, any conditions: Nokian Hakkapeliitta . Quiet on bare pavement. Among the best in deep snow. Among the best on bare ice. In a class by themselves on fresh snow with ice underneath.

I suspect my Hakkapeliitta 9s will be done in by bare pavement miles, same as my 8s. But when I get off the expressway at your exit and have to start dealing with icy intersections and unplowed secondaries, and then your steep driveway, I am going to get there, today, on Hakkapeliitta 9s and your furnace will get fixed today.

 

How many miles did it take to wear out the studs on the 8's?

 

My best guess is somewhere between 3000 and 5000 miles of dry pavement, I put close to 10k miles on them total. If DOT would stop plowing the roads they would likely last forever.

I should add I never ran them above freezing. I run my summer tires until that one really exciting commute, keep my winter tires mounted on a second set of rims and switch over when it is well and truly, undeniably time. I also switch back onto my summer rim/tires at the earliest possible excuse.

I will be replacing my factory Dunlop AT20s this summer for something a little closer to a reasonable three season tire.

Note to self: H9s went on at 28,700, started romping on them at 30,000 miles... est 75% bare pavement miles but 30 icy intersections daily... 4-6 inches of snow forecast for this week.

 

I put 5000 miles total on my Hakka 9s winter of 2017/2018. Something like to 2000 to 3000 of those miles were on plowed bare asphalt expressway, and it shows on the stud height.

I expect to get two seasons out of these, about 5k miles of bare pavement will be the limiting factor once again, as it was for the H8s.

These are a great freaking tire in all around winter driving. I suspect if DOT would stop plowing the darn highways I could easily get 20-30k miles out of a set before the studs wear down.

Honestly for the money they don't last that long on bare pavement. I might try the Hankook i-pikes next time. The Cooper winter-maxx at the much lower price point will be very tempting if i find a good 3 season tire.

But in the money is no object best all around winter tire for inspiring confidence no matter what, Hakka, Hakka, Hakka. These are great, but nothing is free.

EDIT: Thou shalt not run thy studded winter tires in temperatures above the freezing point of water unless thou art a true moron destined for a worm that never dieth and an unquenchable fire.

 

Interesting you found Hakka 9 quieter than Hakka 8. There are reports they are fair bit louder, which would be explained by the larger number of studs in them.