Putting new tires on my Rancher 4x4. Has anyone had bear claws or blackwaters or both, and how do they compare

 

Only have experience with the Bear Claws. Very impressed so far. They are on a Honda Four Trax used on a variety of terrain. They do well on hard packed sand, on the trails, and seem to paddle the mud and swamp very well. Happy so far!

DJ

 

I have seen Blackwaters on a Fourtrax 400 4x4, the owner liked his tires. They looked good mounted on his new rims.

No experience with Bear Claws.

Let us know which one you get & how they work.

 

I know you didn't ask for an opinion on other tires, but if you ride a lot in deep, tough mud the Vampires are tough to beat. I am not sure how they wear, but I have friends with 4wd quads and I know the Vamps are better in mud. Just my 2 cents!

Scott
00' 400EX

 

Who sells the Vampire tires on line? I don't believe RockyMountianATV does?

I might be interested in a set of them instead of the Sur Traks for my Rancher

 

I run a set of Blackwaters on my 450es which has 2400 on them and never a problem and we ride in the Rocky Mountians where shale is on every hill we climb and nothing hooks as hard as them for climbing. They are also a 6 ply tire which means less chances of flats caused by sticks and sharp rocks. One other good thing i have found out is being they are mounted on the stock rims the side wall sticks out quite far from the rim i have yet to put a mark on the rims even after my mishap in a washout where my frount tire had hit so hard that i had to replace my frame and cracked the diff. housing and not a mark to the rim whick was the only good thing as they are powder coated yellow the same as the bike. As for the bear claws a buddy has them on his 400 and so far not a bad thing to say about them he goes everywhere we go. I don't think you could go too wrong with either its just the price. I paid 179.99 each for the back and 169.99 each for the frounts Canadian. Thats the only bad thing about the Blackwaters i did not like. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for all the input. I don't do a whole lot of deep mud riding so I will probably stay away from the vamps. What about the 589 A/T. Another possibility?

 

I have had both tires. If I were to choose 1 of the 2 I would pick the Bearclaws. Not saying they are better tires but they work better for my type riding. The thing I like better is the flexibility of the bearclaw. It tends to "mold" itself around rocks and stumps and the likes at crawling speeds where the Blackwater is a stiffer carcas that can almost be ridden flat if necessary. The are both tough and wear well. I did have a couple flats on the Blackwaters. None on the Claws YET!

 

I put 27" Titan 589's on my 450ES a couple weeks ago. I really like them. They make a big difference in the mud over stock tires and they work well for trail riding too. They also clean out much better than stock tires. I bought mine online at

The Cedar Rapids Tire Co.
http://www.cedarrapidstire.com

and they were at my door the next day.

 

I have 24" Bear Claws on stock rims, on my 400 Foreman. I really like them. I have yet to find a situation where they have dissapointed me. They seem to wear well, and I ride in a lot of areas where there are tons of thorns and rocks and have not had any flat troubles. They seem to clean themselves pretty well in the soup, and still grab the hard pack. They are pretty cheap too. Good luck.