Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 review

I only have 8 miles on these, but I am super impressed already.

Background, i lived in Schenectady, NY for ten years. Eight feet of snow annually there. I have been in Fairbanks, AK for eight years. I have owned many many rwd gm v8s with peg leg style rear diffs for one wheel drive in all weather. I have been in 4wd winter vehicles for a while.

Up until i bought my 2015 tacoma in march i would typically run an all season tire year round and put chains on all four corners 5 or 6 days each winter.

I have kept 4 good Blizzaks under my wife's car for many many years. They are an excellent tire, simplest for me to run them year round on her car and change them in the autumn after the sipes are worn away. Usually two years out of a set, sometimes three, she doesnt put a lot of miles on them.

The youngest of my four kids moved out for college about six weeks ago. I have put many many bargain basement studded tires under many many of the sorts of cars teenagers can afford.

I know enough about inexpensive studded tires to know I dont want them under my tacoma.

I know i cant put real snow chains, like a nice set of LaClede's, on my front wheels because the ucas are in the way.

Blizzaks would be a good option if all my driving was in town... but I take night call for homecare patients, when the phone rings i have to get there.

It started snowing up here a month early this year, i have shoveled 17 inches off my driveway in the last 6 days.

My dealer pointed me at the nokian nordman 5 back in august, but he didnt have my size today. $50 upcharge to put me on a set of four hankook i pike rw11s. Having been reading up, i asked how much more for hakka 8s?

The N5s were going to set me back $820. I coulda got the i pikes for 870, a very well reviewed tire. I got into the hakka 8s for $916.

Most of the ride home was on wet black asphalt. Compared to cheap studs these are quiet like a library. I was that one guy driving home with the windows down and the radio off tonight.

The hakka 8s are slightly more sensitive to road crown than my factory dunlop at20s, but symetrically so.

Ride on bare pavement is really nice for being studded.

Once home i got into about 10" of snow on the traffic lane next to the driveway i havent disturbed. About 3" of slush underneath. The hakkas tore it up, i am going to have no problems getting 8 cords of wood through there over the winter.

I am not going to push them real hard for the 300 mile break in period. Driving gentle, traction on wet pavement, turning braking and accelerating are all confidence inspiring.

I am running two sets of rims now. Ill take the hakkas off the road asap in the spring melt. If i get two seasons out of them, ill probably get another set. If i get three winters it looks like a no brainer.

Kinda looking forward to seven miles of black ice commute in the am, the roads should be really bad in the am.

 

Yes, yes, i know yall are bonkers for pictars...

 

Awesome shoes! Those are the best winter tires on the planet. I will pick up a set for my wife's outback next winter her blizzaks are getting worn out. You pay more for the nokian but they will probably last twice as long as the blizzaks. I like the blizzaks just not impressed with the wear and they seem a little weak on lateral grip. Lots of ice here in Anchorage.

I got studded duratracs for my tacoma but I just moved here last year and did not know about the hakka 8's or else I would have got those.

 

Agreed, Nokians are the best snow tire for sure!! I ran them on my VW's for years, in Maine winters, and there is no compare!!! On my Tacomas, I ran the studded Nokians SUV's - they've lasted me 11 winters!!! The Hakkkapelitta 8's will be on my new 2016! Once it actually arrives, of course. Haha

 

Bump. What size?

 

265/70-17, on takeoff rims from a 2012 dc, no tpms sensors.

Sorry for the late response, hanging out here was bad for my bank account.

I have the hakka 8s through two winters now. The studs lasted somewhere between 3000 and 5000 miles on bare pavement.

Like anywhere else the snow plows here have the expressways cleared by noon the day after a snowstorm, start working on the feeder roads that afternoon and will get to your residential street some time next month.

I have somewhere between 8000 and 9000 miles on these tires, total for two Alaska winters. I can still clearly see the number 8 in the 2-4-6-8 mm tread depth indicators cast into the treads.

I ran out of stud in late january 2017 and was more or less driving aroubd on the studless version of the nokkian hakka 8 into late april.

My experience:

Top quality studded tires are worth the extra money compared to cheap studded tires.

I have never owned the hankook i-pikes, but i hear its a good tire and would choose them over the cheapies if i couldnt find another set of hakka 8s.

The studded hakka 8 worn down to the toothless/studless version is a better snow tire than Blizzak- though the Blizzak is far and away a better tire on dry pavement.

From new until about 3k miles of dry pavement had gone by i could merely select 4wdh and drive in the winter (like an adult) without a second thought. 10" fresh snow, no problem. 2" of fresh powder with a solid sheet of ice under it, no problem.

Braking, acceleration, turning, all confidence inspiring.

Honestly, i could financially justify tossing these tires in the trash right now, buy a new set of hakka 8s amd come out ahead compared to buying a new set of cheap studs every year. I could maybe let these go on craigslist to make it an even easier pill to swallow.

Given the tread depth i have left i am going to keep running these until they are only just as good as blizzaks in the winter, i bet i can get two more winters for four years total, easy. Depending on how that goes i may replace with hakka 8 studless instead.

 

I am going to replace these. I plan to order a new set of Nokian Hakka studded tires tomorrow, they are shipping the hakka 9 now.

I use my truck for work, at customers homes. With the studs worn down i have a great snow tire that is comparable to a 3 year old blizzak on hardpack snow and on ice.

Rode in my wifes Rav4 on blizzaks today.
Neither of blizzaks or worn down stud hakkas offer the grip i would like to have (and remember having) at icy intersections.

Ordering new Nokians tomorrow. If someone were to PM me an offer for the 265/70/17s coming off my truck without me having to make a craigslist ad i could be pretty flexible on price fob fairbanks. I get to north pole 2-3 times every week.

 

Nice review. Btw what happens when you don't break in new tires (300 miles)?
Just curious because I've never heard this before. But I've also only bought a handle full of new sets over the years.

 

Not sure. IIRC my local dealer said the break in was to get the studs seated or set so they dont come flying out later.

I was just out in the driveway carressing my hakka 8s. They have been fabulous. Of the four studs i could reach easily, 3 were worn down flush with the rubber, the fourth was proud less than 1/8, maybe 1/16th inch or so?

It was the plowed roads that did these in. Ill try to pay a little better attention on the next set for how much dry pavement it took to wear the studs down. Now effectively studless they still compare favorably to blizzaks...

 

I did order a set of Hakka 9s today. This will be my penultimate post in this thread, with some final thoughts.

I live in the north half of Alaska. I carry a chainsaw and snowshoes and a comealong/winch thingy in my truck so I can get to customers houses in the winter months, without fail, no matter what. Of course I "need" studded tires. It is perfectly reasonable that I can group top notch non-studded winter tires into a group with some minor incremental differences but still desire the day in day out performance of studded tires on my truck for my job in my climate; the latter a quantum rather than incremental change.

Over the next few weeks I'll get through the anticipated 300 mile break-in on my new Hakka 9s. And I am going to do something nice for my wife, I am going to drive her Rav4 on Blizzaks to the gas station and fill up her tank for her. And one of my kids is home with a 4x2 Ford Ranger going for a second winter on cheap studded tires, that kid is getting a free tank of gas too as long as I get to drive. I have a co-worker with Blizzaks on a Gen 2 taco too, I may trade him test drives once my H9s have their 300 mile break in.

And my Hakka 8s are going on CL, they ought to be worth a few bucks. And I am going to price replacement cheap studs in the same size as I am using on my Taco.

Among non-studded winters I think the Blizzaks are maybe slightly better at stopping on ice/ black ice/ hard packed snow, but my hakka 8s with the studs worn off, essentially a Nokian R2, are slightly better in unplowed snow. Neither of those really meet my all around needs.

I know my Hakka 8s were better all around tires for two seasons than two sets of cheap studs would have been. I am guessing after I let the Hakkas go on CL I am going to be close to breaking even. One nice thing about being a baller dropping $1300 on four tires is I get free mount/ balance/ install.

End of the day, my H8s were awesome. If anything, I would prefer DOT stop damn plowing the main roads so my H8s could have lasted a little longer. At the end of the day all winter tires have some compromise built into them. The best tire for unplowed snow is going to suck on dry cold pavement, a good tire on ice may not do so well on deep unplowed snow, and so on. Off camber curves anyone?

 

Ok, but what do you carry to deal with a hungry bear?

 

Lookin at the r2 suv studless for winter. Havent seen much on these but in dont need studs

 

Sept 15 car and driver test placed the nokian r2 and michelin x ice as 1-2 finish among studless snows. Sept 17 consumer reports gave the same two tired a 2-1 finish.

Blizzak was 3rd in the cr test, 4th place at car and driver.