I like Nokian for sure, but I've have had great experience with Toyo's and Generals too. I have a Consumers Reports subscription but their ratings seem to stop at tires for half ton trucks and SUV's as there weren't any LT tires tested, just P-rated tires. On the list below I find it a bit curious how low they rated the Toyo Observes as I've driven with these on two Nissan Titans (one crew cab and one with the small rear doors) and they were fantastic, the test however rated them low on handling and wet braking but excellent for snow traction & very good for ice braking.
The Toyo Observes were on borrowed trucks, the Nokian Hakkapellittas (older series) and studded General Arctic LT's I had on GMC 2500 Savanas. The previous winter I bought some Cooper AT/W's as an experiment and they were reasonable, but still a noticeable compromise when compared to a dedicated winter tire.
For those interested in the P-rated light truck/SUV winter tire ratings they rated in this order:
- 1: Michelin Latitude X-Ice XI 2: score 74
- 2: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 SUV: score 68
- 3: Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2: score 68
- 4: General Grabber Arctic: score 66
- 5: Dunlop Winter Maxx SJ8 tire: score 66
- 6: Yokohama iceGUARD iG51v : score 66
- 7: Nexen WINGUARD winSpike SUV: score 62
- 8: Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT: score 62
- 9: Toyo Observe GSi-5: score 60
- 10: Hankook I*Pike RW11: score 56
For winters for your cars the top rated tires looked like a real value as they were also a lot cheaper than many of the next-best rated tires. The winner there are the Cooper Discoverer True North which rated a 70, leading Contis, Michelins, Nokians, Generals and Blizzaks in that order.