decent tires that have raised white lettering

Yes I agree it's all in the experience. I happen to have a lot of experience with KO2s - I've had them on a 100 series Land Cruiser, 200 series Land Cruiser, a JKUR, and now my daily driver which is also a 200 series. An all terrain will never be the absolute best at any one category, but the KO2 is very good in 90% of conditions from the hot sandy desert in Baja to frozen mountain passes. I've had mine in myriad conditions from muddy and frozen trails, dry boulder/rock gardens, and all kinds of pavement, and they're quiet, long lasting and always perform well. The biggest 2 issues with them IMO is thick mud and icy roads, but it's not a dedicated mud terrain or dedicated snow tire which is to be expected. I'm no BFG fanboy either - I've also recently and been a big fan of the Nitto Ridge Grappler, Duratrac (although I've seen many sidewall failures on rocky trails and howl after 5k miles even when rotated), and Mickey Thompson ATZ P3. Not a huge fan of Toyo AT2s any more with how much tech has improved in AT tires in the last 5 years, and I'd like to try the new Falken Wildpeak AT3 which appears to be the best value on the market right now. I don't run KO2s on my Tacoma, but I ran 37" KO2s on my JKUR and they performed well in some tough conditions:

 

Wish I had a reason to buy these. That assymetric tread just looks cool to me but I don’t really wheel the truck so...and they are $$$.

 

The sidewall on the ko2 is way stiffer than the duratrac but the duratrac in the same size is wider on the rim. I had the duratracs on my Tacoma for about two hundred miles then had ko2s put on due to balance issues which turned out to be a problem with the installers rather than the tires. The duratracs looked way better IMO but I'd rather have a more durable sidewall.

 

You can now get the 285/70 17 in C weighing in at 51lbs which is pretty good.

 

Now THAT is a cool story bro..

I had them and hated them. Moved to the Duratrac and never looked back.

I am currently running the AT3's (SL) and they are holding up good. Haven't been on the trail with them, just snow and ice so far.

 

They are excellent in the snow and mud, but they chunk on loose, jagged surfaces. Hard desert caliche does a number on them. I still like them.

 

I think the E load tires want more weight on them to work best. I stick a 40-60lb bag of sand in the back and haven't had any issues with heavy rain. Before I did that the back end would slip out when accelerating. Mostly that was probably the mold release agent when they were new, but the truck does ride better with the weight back there so I'll leave it until summer.

 

If you are wanting the solid white raised lettering, your options are pretty much limited to BFG's and maybe one or two lesser-known brands.

White lettering is such a pain to keep bright though. I have gotten tennis elbow a few times from scrubbing white lettering with a stiff bristle brush and AJAX.

 

I agree they need more weight, more weight than a Tacoma, I usually have between 200-300 lbs in the back. Ive got at least 60,000 km on a set of 265/75/16. I live in the mountains and have used them from Vancouver Island to Quebec. I can say they perform awesome at almost everything, except very wet roads/hydroplaning (puddles on the road that most other tires I've used would cut right through). They are heavy, 54lbs I think. I really wish they made this size in a C load range or less, that would be my perfect tire.

 

I enjoy the BFGoodrich Mud terrains. Get a little hint of tread block hitting road on takeoff and stopping but other than that theyre pretty good. Also theres a good hum from the outside but ive coated my floors a couple times with sound deadening rubberized undercoat so its quite a bit quieter on the inside.

 

Lots of folks hate them because they can't afford them but that's none of my business.