It is no secret that I love big, aggressive off-road tires. I would put mud terrains on my wife’s Nissan Leaf if she would let me. So when I first saw the Mickey Thompson Baja Pro XS tires, I was beyond excited to try them out. I purchased a set of 38×13.50-17LT tires and spent months pushing my rig to the limits on trails throughout Pennsylvania and West Virginia. These tires held up to everything I threw at them and looked mean while doing it.
Rocks
These tires performed exceptionally in the rocks. The four-ply construction flexed and molded around rocks easily, while the soft rubber compound provided incredible traction. When rockcrawling, I ran these between 2 and 8 PSI. I would feel comfortable running these as low as 10 PSI without beadlocks, but they really did their best around 6 PSI. The most amazing thing for me was the performance of these tires on wet rocks. These climbed in areas and trails that I have historically struggled with other mud-terrain tires. This tire is one of the best DOT-certified tires on the market for rockcrawling.
Mud
These tires do incredibly well in the mud. From deep puddles to thick clay pits, no amount of mud is slowing these tires down. They clean out easily and do very well at propelling you forward, even in deep ruts. The only word of caution I have is to be aware of how these fling mud because it was easy to coat the inside of my windshield when I used half-doors, and if I had another rig too close behind me, they didn’t always appreciate the rooster tail of mud these can throw.
Dirt
While it is no surprise that these do well in the dirt, you do need to consider what it means to “tread lightly”. Especially when in soft dirt, throttle management is important because the aggressive tread pattern can dig into dirt and shift natural terrain features like rocks easily. I also had to be very conscious of where I was positioned in group trail rides. When transitioning from dirt to rock obstacles, these tires tended to create holes in the dirt at the base of rock formations that others behind me would struggle to overcome.
Sand
My sand experience was limited to beaches and riverbanks. I did not have the opportunity to take these to any dunes, but I suspect these are not the ideal tires. On the beach, these tires were quick to sink and dig. I would discourage anyone with a low-horsepower or heavy rig from taking these to the dunes. I could absolutely see these working well for lightweight, high-horsepower vehicles, where these would become the middle ground between an AT and a paddle tire.
Snow
These were only tested in 12 inches or less of snow. They did very well and cut right through the snow without packing the tires. It doesn’t take much to keep the treads clear, and while these are unlikely to float in deep snow, if you maintain forward momentum, I would not hesitate to attempt a trail that had several feet of snow.
Wrap Up
I loved these tires off-road. They’re without a doubt one of the best performing D.O.T. options on the market. The only issue I had was the durability of the sidewalls. I found they were highly susceptible to getting cut and gouged. These are one of the only tires where I found myself filling the sidewalls with tread glue after a weekend trip, just to give myself peace of mind that those sidewall chunks and gouges wouldn’t be a future failure point. I suspect this is just an unavoidable result of the soft compound that also allows these tires to have such amazing traction, and I would not discourage anyone from purchasing them. I would just be mindful of sharp and jagged rocks rubbing against your sidewalls when wheeling hard.
Wheels
I mounted these tires on Dirty Life Mesa Race beadlock wheels. Including the hardware and spacers, Ryan Liggett at Beadlock Marketplace was able to ship these to my door for less than $2000. The wheels were well-made and stood up to abuse, but I think this is the last set of wheels I will get without drain holes in the beadlock ring. The bottom of the wheel would collect mud and water, making it difficult to keep these clean. While this is primarily an aesthetic problem, over time, it could contribute to corrosion on the bolts and wheel threads.
