Both the Atturo Trail Blade X/T and the Venom Terra Hunter X/T are hybrid tires that excel in rugged terrain, providing impressive off-road grip and superior cut and chip resistance.
Atturo Trail Blade X/T excels in on-road comfort, wet traction, and snow performance, while the Venom Terra Hunter X/T leads in tread wear longevity, dry handling, and rock climbing traction.
These tires are built tough, and their resilience is evident in their performance across various challenging environments.
The Atturo Trail Blade X/T and the Venom Terra Hunter X/T are known for their durability and reliability. But how do they compare in terms of performance? Let’s get into the specifics, starting with their tread designs.
Table of Contents
Tread Design
Now sets Atturo Trail Blade X/T apart is its lateral orientation of the lugs. I mean It’s squared-off lugs are positioned sequentially between the two elongated shoulder lugs, creating an symmetric tread pattern.
This design generates a paddle effect on loose terrains like snow and mud, propelling thick material backward and generating forward momentum.
And since the lugs are very closed up together and at an angle they connect with the road better, providing a very nice on-road traction.
However, lateral grip is less pronounced due to the wider spacing of the shoulder lugs. But then again they make a way for very effective stone ejectors providing off road performance.
Moving towards the Venom Terra Hunter X/T, this tire which resembles KO2 a lot is seen with interlocking lugs, where the central lug is enveloped by two surrounding C-shaped lugs.
These tread blocks have sharp edges, notches, and full-depth rectilinear siping, creating a highly interconnected web of grooves that offer multi-directional grip.
And as for the shoulder blocks, they are seen with robust and wider lateral tread voids and a distinct siping pattern, providing aggressive off road traction.
Dry Grip
Dry grip depends on the amount of rubber in contact with the road, also known as directional grip, measured by braking distances.
Now here, the Atturo Trail Blade X/T, with its relatively more closed-up lug arrangement, provides superior dry traction compared to its competitor.
In other words, the tire offers a larger contact patch with the road, and since its lugs are highly angled, they remain connected with the road at all times when the tire rolls straight.
On the other hand, the Venom Terra Hunter X/T shows a slight deficit in this area.
But how much of a difference are we talking here? Well our tests showed it taking an average of 4 feet longer to stop in 50 to 0 mph tests.
And given its aggressive tread design, this result is pretty understandable.
Dry Handling
When evaluating a tire’s handling, it’s essential to consider the lug bending factor, which is influenced by the tire’s weight and tread composition.
As a tire turns, its weight shifts to the shoulders. And if these shoulders are prone to bending, they produce a larger steering response time, which limits handling.
And that’s the reason why the Venom Terra Hunter X/T delivers superior handling times on dry roads.
Despite having an almost similar shoulder footprint to its counterpart, it offers 2 seconds faster lap times due to its lighter inner and outer construction and stiffer rubber compound.
Both of these features provide more stable turning and a better balance between understeering and oversteering.
Whereas, the Atturo Trail Blade X/T, with its heavier weight, experiences greater lug bending, resulting in slower handling feedback.
Wet Traction
When it comes to wet traction, it’s best to keep your expectations low with these tires, as both of them showed noticeable deficiencies.
But yes, if you have to pick one tire here, you should know that the Atturo Trail Blade X/T is slightly more recommended due to its superior wet gripping features.
This is thanks to its laterally oriented lugs, which expel water out slightly faster compared to the Terra Hunter XT.
This faster evacuation of water lowers the burden on the sipes, which are in charge of soaking up the rest of the water particles.
So overall, the tire ends up providing slightly better hydroplaning resistance and wet grip.
Winter Performance
Snowy conditions present numerous variables, and here although both tires perform admirably, the Atturo Trail Blade X/T takes the lead, according to our testing. Why?
Well the Trail Blade XT has a softer compound with laterally placed lugs, making it more resilient in extreme winter temperatures.
The softer compound provides the tire with greater thermal adaptability, and with lateral lug placement, it creates a superior paddling effect, particularly in powdery snow conditions.
This design throws snow backward, generating better momentum and acceleration. However, don’t get me wrong; Venom Terra Hunter X/T is not necessarily bad here and is not far behind.
The tire also offers decent snow performance with its full-depth sipes and hook-shaped lugs, providing substantial snow-to-snow contact and grip.
Tread Wear
Usually, tires with deeper tread voids last longer as they take more time to reach the replacement limit. But even with a shallower tread depth, Venom Terra Hunter does better here.
This is mostly due to its harder rubber compound that resists wear better than its competitor. In contrast, Atturo Trail Blade X/T, with its softer tread, wears faster.
And yes, its greater weight is also not helping here and causes the tire to generate relatively greater rolling resistance.
So yes, Terra Hunter not only lasts longer, but also provides better fuel economy compared to Trail Blade XT tire.
Overall Comfort
A tire’s comfort level is determined by its ability to manage road imperfections and dampen down noise.
And in both these areas Atturo Trail Blade comes out as a clear winner.
The tire provides superior pitch sequencing keeping things relatively quieter on roads. And its softer and more pliable tread soak up road bumps better.
Off Road Traction
Off-road, there are 3 main terrain types to consider, mud, sand and rocks. Let’s start with the sandy terrains.
On Sandy Dunes
When it comes to sandy terrains, Venom Terra Hunter X/T falls short.
This is due to its stiffer sides, which, even with lowered air pressure, are more susceptible to sinking.
In contrast, Trail Blade X/T, despite being heavier, has a larger average section width, distributing its weight more effectively for better flotation.
Plus, its laterally arranged lugs are also helping here a lot as they offer a great “paddling” effect, offering superior forward momentum.
On Muddy Terrains
On mud where mud evacuation is very crucial, Atturo Trail Blade X/T falls short due to its closed-up tread voids.
I mean the tire gets clogged more easily compared to Terra Hunter XT which features a better network of grooves connecting larger voids between the shoulder lugs, providing superior mud evacuation.
On Rocky Trails
When it comes to rocks, both tires offer superb performance. However, detailed tests reveal why Venom Terra Hunter X/T is still a better pick of the two.
The tire offers a superior combination of vertical and horizontal grip. Its sidewall lugs and staggered margins deliver exceptional bite, especially at reduced air pressure, while the hook-shaped central lugs provide grip in all directions.
In contrast, Atturo Trail Blade X/T mostly lacks lateral traction, which increases the risk of sideways slippage. This is a critical aspect of rock climbing, as lower lateral grip can lead to overturning.
Conclusion
To sum up, both Atturo Trail Blade X/T and Venom Terra Hunter X/T offer impressive rugged terrain capabilities with their unique tread designs and off-road performance.
Atturo Trail Blade X/T excels in on-road comfort, wet traction, and snow performance, while Venom Terra Hunter X/T leads in tread wear longevity, dry handling, and rock climbing traction.
