Whether you’re driving a heavy duty pickup truck or a full sized SUV, the Atturo Trial Blade M/T is designed to meet the needs of drivers who demand the top notch off-road traction, with above average grip on pavements.
In my view as a tire engineer, the Atturo M/T provides reasonably well directional grip, and handling in both wet and dry conditions, and offers great tread life and fuel economy, comparing other mud-terrain tires. Though the tire needs some help when it comes to impact comfort and noise department.
Table of Contents
Available Sizes
The Atturo Trail Blade MT comes in a total of 17 limited sizes in 16 to 22 inches, having following specs:
- Speed ratings: R and Q.
- Load ratings: XL, D and E.
- Weight range: 40 to 80 lbs.
- Tread depth range: 17 to 20/32 inches.
Tire Aesthetics
The Atturo Trail Blade MT features a very biting tread, overall.
Starting form the outer edges, the tire offers very butting sidewall lugs
These lugs are actually joining up with the elongated shoulders, with mud scoops in them (staggered pattern).
They are equipped with sharp off-set edges, and full depth sipes, and from widest lateral grooves on the tread, where bold stone ejectors are placed.
Moving towards the middle, the two ribs there have lugs wrapping around the shoulders, with closed up central voids.
Such a design basically enhances the highway grip of the tire.
Though these lugs are also very biting off-road, as they have sharp edges to them, and full depth sipes (which split open the blocks, so they can chew).
Compare Atturo M/T with others:
Dry Performance
Smooth pavements are usually not the place for mud tires to be, as they can’t offer good enough steering response and grip.
Let’s look at both of these (vital) factors one by one.
Straight Grip
In dry conditions, a key factor to consider is how much rubber contacts the road, as greater contact enhances friction and naturally improves performance.
For straight-line grip, the focus is on the central footprint offering of the tread, connecting with the surface, which basically evaluates the overall braking distances (measure of directional grip).
Although the Atturo Trail Blade MT, a mud terrain tire, may not provide optimal rubber contact compared to others, it still performs reasonably well in this category.
It features slanted shoulders that interlock with the central lugs, creating a cohesive design. This allows for greater central rubber contact with the road combined with directional stability.
Dry Handling
The handling of the tire depends on its sides. That’s because when tire corners, most of the weight (it carries) is put on there, and a firm contact with the road is made.
Now although the Atturo Trail Blade MT renders a decent amount of traction, as it’s shoulder blocks have minimal tread features, its chunkier lugs can’t offer the needed stability.
Moreover, the tire’s greater weight and pliable tread compound further adds to that, as lugs on the tread are sloppy and cause delay between you, steering right/left, and the tire turning.
This is enhanced, or you can say visualized, when you take faster turns. In this scenario the Atturo Trail Blade MT would feel resistant to turning at first, and then later, it would try to go over, causing slippage.
Wet Performance
For mud-terrain tires, wet on-road traction is the hardest to achieve, as these tires can’t wipe water off at a micro level, let me explain by what I mean by that.
So with a highly voided structure, these tires offer decent float speeds, as water gets evacuated out of the wide channels quickly, but the remaining left over water is what’s causing most of the slippage on roads, which have to dealt with sipes (on a micro level).
Sipes are just slits which breath water particles in, and this makes Atturo M/T a decent pick, comparing other popular tires in the market.
It’s curved sipes in the middle and the highly angled rectilinear sipes on shoulders are designed in a way, that they remain flexible as the tire turns, brakes or accelerates.
This accounts for better soaking abilities on these sipes.
Furthermore Atturo MT’s relatively softer tread compound further helps with that, allowing them to effectively flex and clear off water particles.
Tread Life
The Atturo Trail Blade MT stands out from other mud terrain tires with its deep (enough) tread depth of up to 20/32″ in most sizes and relatively lighter weight of only 80 lbs. These characteristics contribute to its longer tread life compared to other MTs.
The deeper tread voids of the tire results in slower wear, allowing it to maintain legal tread depth for a longer period of time. And its relatively lighter weight does not put “too much” pressure on the tread lugs as they interact with the road’s surface, resulting in less rolling resistance and even wear.
Both of these variables also explain why the Atturo Trial Blade MT is such a popular pick when it comes to fuel economy.
Ride Comfort
When considering ride quality, one crucial aspect is the tire’s ability to dampen vibrations from uneven road surfaces. And in this case, the Atturo Trail Blade MT is not disappointing at all, thanks to its flexible compound and substantial tread depth, which effectively absorb the irregularities (of all types).
Although you get a similar voided design on this tire (comparing other mud tires), its relatively lighter structure delivers improved maneuverability and stability, particularly on smoother surfaces.
Furthermore, the tire also does great in another critical component of overall comfort; the tread noise reduction.
Although it’s spacious design allow, a lot of air particles to freely move in the tread voids, and strike the walls around creating unwanted sound-waves (like any other MT), you still get a more advanced pitch sequencing technology on Atturo.
This innovation works by altering the tread lugs’ geometry, so that different segments could produce varying tones when air particles strike them.
These distinctive formation of tones then counterbalance one another, enabling the Atturo Trail Blade MT to outperform its competitors in the renowned mud terrain tire category.
Winter Traction
Although mud-terrain tires typically lack the 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake rating, they still perform well on deeper terrains. However, using them on icy or snow-covered paved roads can spell out a lot of trouble.
That being said, the Atturo Trail Blade stands out among its peers in these conditions, (even though with a tiny margin).
Its tread blocks feature a lot of curves, which enhance the tire’s ability to bite in to the snowy surfaces with more ease.
And on softer snow, they hold on to the particles better, and create snow-on-snow contact, which yields higher frictional values compared to rubber-on-snow contact, (as snowflakes possess a stronger tendency to stick together).
Off-Road Traction
Off road, you would have no problem with any mud tire, though still there are some minor things to note when it comes to this tire. Let’s talk about them, considering all terrain types one by one.
Mud Performance
Mud-terrain tires earn their name as they are specifically designed to conquer the most challenging terrain; mud.
While less aggressive tires may still deliver satisfactory performance on rocks, sand, gravel, and other surfaces, when it comes to deep mud, MTs are unparalleled.
And among these tires, I have to say, the Atturo Trail Blade MT is an excellent choice, especially when you compare its price.
Not only does this tire renders efficient mud evacuation through its ample lateral and longitudinal tread voids, but it also features paddling functionality.
Along with decent mud escaping abilities, its thick enough lugs on sides combined with staggered shoulders enable mud scooping, ensuring superior “getting-out” capabilities when the tire is submerged knee-deep in mud.
Rock Climbing Efficacy
Crafted for tackling rocky terrain, the Atturo Trail Blade MT gives you a flexible tread and robust sidewalls, ensuring optimal performance in challenging rocky “conditions”.
Its impressive grip on (all kinds of) rocky surfaces is supported by its large shoulder lugs that deliver substantial lateral traction. And its central blocks with notches grip directionally.
Moreover, with lowered air pressure, both these gripping angles further get a boost.
And yes, the tire’s softer lugs offer a decent adhesion and create larger groove mouths for better engagement with rocky surfaces (when compared to other mud terrain tires out there).
In case of durability its 3-ply polyester casing, provide a commendable level of toughness, though compared to other mud terrain tires, it can get improved a little.
Sand Grip
Navigating on sandy track requires a tire, that excels in both flotation and shoveling capabilities, and the Atturo Trail Blade MT outshines its competitors in this area.
Featuring a silica-rich, soft rubber layer and shallow tread voids, this tire increases its contact area with the surface, ensuring optimal performance on sand.
Its flexible tread becomes even more adaptable when air pressure is reduced, allowing the sidewall lugs to expand and provide a larger contact area for improved grip.
Additionally, the powerful rim locks enable lower pressure usage without the bead slipping off, further enhancing the tire’s performance on this challenging terrain.
In contrast, other mud-terrain tires often fall short due to their sharper edges and harder rubber composition (with limited silica in it). This results in the tire digging into the soft sand more easily.
Note: Some mud-terrain tires, such as the BF Goodrich KM3 (review), may offer superior paddling efficiency compared to the Atturo Trail Blade MT.
To Sum Up
The Atturo Trail Blade MT is a versatile and capable mud-terrain tire with impressive tread life, winter traction, and performance across various terrain types.
It excels in muddy and rocky terrains while providing good-enough performance on sand. And although its traction on light snow may be limited, the tire remains a solid choice for drivers seeking off-road snow paddling abilities.
Overall its a pretty decent pick, though could use a little bump in the comfort and wet department, but then again it’s a mud-tire we’re talking about.
