- Since the launch of the new Mickey Thompson Baja Boss
Asymmetrical All-Terrain hybrid tire earlier in 2021,
it has been proving its dominance in the Jeep,
Toyota, truck and SUV market
and is now riding on the coattails of sales,
right behind a decade long proven leader
in the same category of all-terrain tires,
the BF Goodrich KO2.
Being that these two powerhouses
are grabbing at the same terrain in market share,
the question becomes,
should I jump on our website at TrailBuilt
and purchase the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss All-Terrain
or the BFG KO2 All-terrain.
Well, my friends stick around and let's find out.
What I find pretty cool and interesting
is that these two tires have a lot in common.
Both are made right here in America.
KO2s are manufactured in one of the three BFG plants here,
there's two in Alabama and one in Indiana.
And the Baja Boss A/T in Ohio.
Both have a different set of parents.
Mickey Thompson is owned by Cooper tires,
and BFG is owned by Michelin.
Both all-terrains are severe winter weather driving
certified with the three-peak mountain snowflake rating
and a tread design that favors more of a hybrid design
with the more bulkier shoulder lugs
and a center tread that is more tightly grouped together.
Both even have a 50,000 mile treadwear warranty.
And both companies have mega historical roots
planted within the off-road enthusiast communities
for long before I've been around
and well, that's a pretty long time.
So, it's only natural that we've put these two side-by-side
for a comparison review and see what differences they have
that might put one ahead of the other.
First, you will have a little bit of an easier time
finding the exact size you're looking for with KO2s
as they are currently offered
in 76 different size variations,
whereas the Baja Boss A/Ts are only offered at 59 sizes.
Now, the KO2s have been around for a while
and have added additional sizes along the way.
The Baja Boss A/T is only currently entering
into its second year of production
and with enough demand is definitely a chance
to add more available sizes as time goes on.
Another interesting difference is that all KO2s sizes
are both three-peak mountains snowflake rated
and have the 50,000 mile warranty.
And for the Baja Boss A/T to get the three PMF rating,
it has to be in a size that is narrower than a 315
or 1250 wide tire.
Plus the 50,000 mile warranty on the Baja Boss
is just on all of their light truck tires.
But you get a 60,000 mile treadwear warranty
on all other sizes outside of the LTs.
But then BFG does also offer
a 60 day satisfaction guarantee.
Getting into the design features of both tires.
Obviously, the most noticeable difference
is the Baja Boss A/Ts asymmetrical tread design
compared to the KO2s symmetrical tread pattern.
Asymmetrical just means that the outer tread design varies
from their inner tread design.
The inner tread design is slightly more optimized
for on-road performance in braking, acceleration, cornering
and comfort in reduced tire noise.
And that's visually noticeable
by just looking at the inner tread pattern of the lugs
and seeing that they are more closely grouped together.
This offers a bit more tread contact
and being that the tread voids are smaller
on the inner tread,
there's less chance of that tread slapping noise you get
when you have a more aggressive tread design,
like what a mud tire has.
But since the inner tread design is optimized
for on-road performance,
then the outer tread pattern must be optimized for what?
Yeah. Off-road performance.
And that's obvious by the fact
that you have larger tread blocks with larger tread voids
or valleys in between the tread blocks.
And this is where the outer tread design excels
in things like the mud, snow, dirt
and other various off-road terrains.
And the combination of both the outer
and inner tread design on the Baja Bossy A/T
is why these really excel well in the rocks,
in rock gardens, especially when aired down.
The inner tread gets you more contact on the rocks
while the larger tread voids allow the tires to flex
and envelope better when going over
the infinite number of varying rock formations out there.
And because these asymmetrical A/Ts
are not considered a directional tire,
they can be rotated in any direction
you'd like on your vehicle,
just as long as they are mounted onto the wheel
in the correct orientation,
which is stated right on the sidewalk
as to which way to mount it,
so that the correct sidewalk is always facing outwards.
Also not to mention the side biters, sipes
and aggressive shoulder blocks also really help
in all of the different trail terrains
that are out there as well,
which both tread designs offer on the Baja Boss and the KO2.
Although I couldn't find anything stating on the Baja Boss
that their sipes are 3D sipes,
whereas it's clearly stated on BFG's website
that the KO2 has 3D siping.
And that just means that the sipes
which are full depth sipes, have varying depths or ridges
or like canyon edges that will lock together
when the tread block is under pressure
to increase the rigidity of the tread block.
Basically the 3D sipes will help prevent the tread blocks
from becoming too squishy feeling when under pressure
in cornering braking, accelerating or even when off-roading.
And this helps keep the tread better planted
to whatever terrain you're on,
but still allows them to bite for that traction
when on ice water or snow.
Speaking of tread, I did find that you do get
a little bit more tread depth on the Baja Boss A/T
as a tire that I measured was about 18
and a half 30 seconds,
which is pretty reasonable for a designated all-terrain.
The KO2 in the exact same size was 15.30 seconds,
so just a bit more depth
for some additional evacuation capabilities
of the loose stuff on the Baja Boss All-Terrain.
And the only size I could find that was an exact match
of both size and load rating on our website,
where all the specs of each tire is listed, was a 295/70-R17
with a load range rating of E, which is a 10 ply rated tire.
Good up to carrying about 3,200 pounds of weight per tire
at the max air pressure rating of 80 pounds
per square inch or PSI.
In standard of flotation sizes of 295/70-17
measures to just a bit over 33 inches
at 33.3 inches tall to be exact and 11.6 inches wide.
The Baja Boss's true inflated diameter on this size
is 33.7 inches tall and 11.6 inches wide,
so just a little bit over,
which is better than being under in my opinion.
And the KO2s measurement is exactly spot on
at 33.3 inches tall and 11.6 inches wide,
so both tires are pretty close in sizes.
But the KO2 two is the lightweight champ
when it comes to weight,
as the KO2 weighed in at 68.87 pounds
compared to the Baja Boss weighing in at 70.5 pounds.
But still both of them are pretty close in weight.
And honestly, I'm not sure where the two extra pounds
are on the Baja Boss,
could be that the side biters are a little bit bulkier
or a little bit more aggressive
along with Mickey Thompson stating
that their sidewalls, the PowerPly XD,
adds 50% heavier denier cord to the third ply.
Which according to Mickey Thompson
provides better puncture resistance,
quicker steering response,
and a greater stability on their LT sizes only.
Which is what we are referring to here,
so it's a good chance that that's where
that little bit of extra weight is.
Although BFG does state that their KO2
has CoreGuard technology,
which is derived from BFG's race proven Baja KR2.
And CoreGuard technology provides split
and bruise resistance sidewall rubber that is thicker
and has a design that deflects protruding objects
from snating and splitting the sidewalk.
Either way I think it would be safe to say that both of them
have about as robust of a sidewall
that you can get in an all-terrain designated tire.
So, now that we went over pretty much
all of the different performance, characteristics,
warranties, sizes, tread design features,
there are only two more things that I can think of
that we haven't covered yet, looks and pricing.
And for a lot of people,
those might be some of the most important things
to consider when deciding between the two tires.
Now, looks of a tire are subjective
to each individual's own personal styles
and creative outlooks on things,
so that is really up to you guys to decide
which one you think looks better
on your own particular vehicle.
But one thing to mention there is,
that on the KO2 you do have the choice
of either selecting in all black sidewall facing out
or to have the tire mounted so that all of the letters
for BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A are in white.
And believe it or not that may make
or break the difference in someone choosing
the KO2 over the Baja Boss.
I'm sure it doesn't happen often
but there are still some diehard
white letters facing out fans out there.
So, then all we have left now
unless I'm forgetting something,
and if I am guys, please make sure
and let me know in the comments,
but how about affordability.
Which I will say this first guys,
that we do offer multiple financing options
to help cushion that financial impact
when purchasing a set of tires
and all of those options can be found
after you've picked out your new wheel
and tire package on TrailBuilt
and are checking out from the cart.
Not to mention, we offer free mounting and balancing
on any wheel and tire package, including beadlocks.
Plus if you live in any state in the lower 48,
we also ship them to you for free as well.
So all in all, that's pretty damn good savings right there.
And speaking of savings after going through
about a dozen of different sizes to compare the pricing
between the Baja Boss and the KO2,
on average I did find that the Mickey Thompsons
did come in just a little bit less than the KO2s.
Which right there, that could be the determining factor
on deciding which tire to go with.
Ultimately guys, the bottom line is that
this video is really there to help compare
all of the different features and benefits of those features
and at the end of the day both tires are great tires
for the majority of you who are using your vehicle
as a multi-purpose on and off-road vehicle
and needs a tire that looks great,
is a great quality tire to hold up to the abuse
and really is gonna offer some of the best
on and off-road performance that you can get
out of just about any other tire on the market.
So if you guys do have any further questions on either tire,
make sure and let us know or check out our website
for all of the additional specs
and information on TrailBuilt.
Plus we'll have that link posted in the description.
And guys, as always we appreciate all of you for watching
and all of your support.
I'm Josh from TrailBuilt,
and we'll see you guys out on the trails.
(jazz music)