Milestar Patagonia 15k Mile Review

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Nordic

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Just wanted to share my experience with my 33x12.5r15 Milestar Patagonias, as I recently had them re-balanced and rotated. I bought them right around 1 year ago, and have now put about 14,500 miles on them. Overall I am still decently happy with them, but I do have a couple caveats. I am by no means a tire expert or anything, but do have experience with MTRs W/Kevlar, Duratracs, and Ko2's.

Offroad: As far as offroad performance is concerned, these things are still awesome. Hook up excellent in just about anything. The soft tread compound grips very well on rock, while the bigger voids lend itself well to softer conditions. I have never had a puncture in them, and the rugged sidewall molding grips very well. I run them on 15x8 steel wheels at around 12-14 psi offroad, and they are super comfortable. I don't necessarily look for mud, but going through muddy, slippery portions of a trail, they perform better in the mud than Duratracs, and much better than Ko2's. There are no signs of chunking or splitting of the tread blocks as of yet, just a slight rounding of the corners.

On Road Performance: Overall very decent. Good in snow, ice, gravel, and of course pavement. I do feel like they hydroplane a bit more than Duratracs do, and don't quiet perform as well on hard packed snow; this is probably a function of the the bigger tread blocks and less "edges" to the tread, if that makes sense. My Jeep has a wandering issue, but I don't think that it is related to the tires.

On Road Comfort: When I first got the tires, I was super happy with the comfort. Super smooth and quiet on the highway. However, this stance has changed a bit. Now that they've worn down some, there is definitely more road noise- not as much as my old MTR's however, but definitely enough to notice and more than my Duratrac's have had. I have also noticed some weird wear characteristics. This is somewhat subjective, but I don't quite feel like they ride as smoothly as they once did. There is also some light cupping on 1 one of them, not sure if that's the Discount tire's balancing fault or the tires themselves. I'm considering putting in some balancing beads to provide a sort of dynamic balance that will stay as the tire wears down, as I haven't had the best of luck with Discount. Recently, I had them road force balanced at a Discount tire, and the employee stated that they were "hard" to balance, whatever that means. I will say that they still ride much better than the Goodyear Mtr w/Kevlar I had on previously as far as bumpyness, but then again, the MTRs I had on were on 16 inch rims and were E-load rated; so maybe it isn't a super fair comparison.

Longevity: Now this is where I'm seeing the biggest red flag with these tires. At my recent tire rotation, the tread depth measured 12/32 of an inch, meaning the tires have worn down about 7/32 in 15,000 miles from the 19/32 that they came with. Now, assuming that tread wear is linear, this would mean that at if they continue at the rate they have now and I replace them at 4/32 left, I can only expect to get about 30,000 miles from them. I guess it is somewhat to be expected, however, as they are somewhat more of a mud terrain than a typical hybrid, and they do have a very soft tread compound, which is in part why they perform so well off road.

All in all, I'm happy with how they have performed, but I'm definitely looking for something different when my next tire change comes around. If I had more of a trail dedicated rig or a trailer queen, the Milestars would certainly be a great option, but my TJ is also my daily driver. Due to their shorter tread life and comparatively worse on-road characteristics, I think I'll give up the slight edge in off-road performance and go to Duratracs or Ko2s next time around, or maybe even try something completely different. Though the low price was definitely a huge factor in me buying them, when you look at the wear as compared to a Duratrac which may last 50,000+ miles, it makes much more sense to spend an extra 60-80 dollars for a tire which will nearly doubly as long.
 
Thanks for the update! I love long term reviews like this.
 
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Just wanted to share my experience with my 33x12.5r15 Milestar Patagonias, as I recently had them re-balanced and rotated. I bought them right around 1 year ago, and have now put about 14,500 miles on them. Overall I am still decently happy with them, but I do have a couple caveats. I am by no means a tire expert or anything, but do have experience with MTRs W/Kevlar, Duratracs, and Ko2's.

Offroad: As far as offroad performance is concerned, these things are still awesome. Hook up excellent in just about anything. The soft tread compound grips very well on rock, while the bigger voids lend itself well to softer conditions. I have never had a puncture in them, and the rugged sidewall molding grips very well. I run them on 15x8 steel wheels at around 12-14 psi offroad, and they are super comfortable. I don't necessarily look for mud, but going through muddy, slippery portions of a trail, they perform better in the mud than Duratracs, and much better than Ko2's. There are no signs of chunking or splitting of the tread blocks as of yet, just a slight rounding of the corners.

On Road Performance: Overall very decent. Good in snow, ice, gravel, and of course pavement. I do feel like they hydroplane a bit more than Duratracs do, and don't quiet perform as well on hard packed snow; this is probably a function of the the bigger tread blocks and less "edges" to the tread, if that makes sense. My Jeep has a wandering issue, but I don't think that it is related to the tires.

On Road Comfort: When I first got the tires, I was super happy with the comfort. Super smooth and quiet on the highway. However, this stance has changed a bit. Now that they've worn down some, there is definitely more road noise- not as much as my old MTR's however, but definitely enough to notice and more than my Duratrac's have had. I have also noticed some weird wear characteristics. This is somewhat subjective, but I don't quite feel like they ride as smoothly as they once did. There is also some light cupping on 1 one of them, not sure if that's the Discount tire's balancing fault or the tires themselves. I'm considering putting in some balancing beads to provide a sort of dynamic balance that will stay as the tire wears down, as I haven't had the best of luck with Discount. Recently, I had them road force balanced at a Discount tire, and the employee stated that they were "hard" to balance, whatever that means. I will say that they still ride much better than the Goodyear Mtr w/Kevlar I had on previously as far as bumpyness, but then again, the MTRs I had on were on 16 inch rims and were E-load rated; so maybe it isn't a super fair comparison.

Longevity: Now this is where I'm seeing the biggest red flag with these tires. At my recent tire rotation, the tread depth measured 12/32 of an inch, meaning the tires have worn down about 7/32 in 15,000 miles from the 19/32 that they came with. Now, assuming that tread wear is linear, this would mean that at if they continue at the rate they have now and I replace them at 4/32 left, I can only expect to get about 30,000 miles from them. I guess it is somewhat to be expected, however, as they are somewhat more of a mud terrain than a typical hybrid, and they do have a very soft tread compound, which is in part why they perform so well off road.

All in all, I'm happy with how they have performed, but I'm definitely looking for something different when my next tire change comes around. If I had more of a trail dedicated rig or a trailer queen, the Milestars would certainly be a great option, but my TJ is also my daily driver. Due to their shorter tread life and comparatively worse on-road characteristics, I think I'll give up the slight edge in off-road performance and go to Duratracs or Ko2s next time around, or maybe even try something completely different. Though the low price was definitely a huge factor in me buying them, when you look at the wear as compared to a Duratrac which may last 50,000+ miles, it makes much more sense to spend an extra 60-80 dollars for a tire which will nearly doubly as long.
Thanks for the review, (y) You may have already considered this but, a 10 ply rated tire also has a much harder rubber compound a than it's 6 ply counterpart to be able to extend the life of the tire on a heavier vehicle. For example, The 10 ply Toyo MT's I ran on a 2006 Dodge diesel only lasted about 35k, I traded that truck in on a 2008 Toyota Tundra and ran the exact same tire size and ply and got just over 50k on them..
 
These and the Mastercraft Courser tires are the two sets of lower priced tires that I’ve looked at before. You only read the reviews right after mounting. Good review.
 
Just wanted to share my experience with my 33x12.5r15 Milestar Patagonias, as I recently had them re-balanced and rotated. I bought them right around 1 year ago, and have now put about 14,500 miles on them. Overall I am still decently happy with them, but I do have a couple caveats. I am by no means a tire expert or anything, but do have experience with MTRs W/Kevlar, Duratracs, and Ko2's.

Offroad: As far as offroad performance is concerned, these things are still awesome. Hook up excellent in just about anything. The soft tread compound grips very well on rock, while the bigger voids lend itself well to softer conditions. I have never had a puncture in them, and the rugged sidewall molding grips very well. I run them on 15x8 steel wheels at around 12-14 psi offroad, and they are super comfortable. I don't necessarily look for mud, but going through muddy, slippery portions of a trail, they perform better in the mud than Duratracs, and much better than Ko2's. There are no signs of chunking or splitting of the tread blocks as of yet, just a slight rounding of the corners.

On Road Performance: Overall very decent. Good in snow, ice, gravel, and of course pavement. I do feel like they hydroplane a bit more than Duratracs do, and don't quiet perform as well on hard packed snow; this is probably a function of the the bigger tread blocks and less "edges" to the tread, if that makes sense. My Jeep has a wandering issue, but I don't think that it is related to the tires.

On Road Comfort: When I first got the tires, I was super happy with the comfort. Super smooth and quiet on the highway. However, this stance has changed a bit. Now that they've worn down some, there is definitely more road noise- not as much as my old MTR's however, but definitely enough to notice and more than my Duratrac's have had. I have also noticed some weird wear characteristics. This is somewhat subjective, but I don't quite feel like they ride as smoothly as they once did. There is also some light cupping on 1 one of them, not sure if that's the Discount tire's balancing fault or the tires themselves. I'm considering putting in some balancing beads to provide a sort of dynamic balance that will stay as the tire wears down, as I haven't had the best of luck with Discount. Recently, I had them road force balanced at a Discount tire, and the employee stated that they were "hard" to balance, whatever that means. I will say that they still ride much better than the Goodyear Mtr w/Kevlar I had on previously as far as bumpyness, but then again, the MTRs I had on were on 16 inch rims and were E-load rated; so maybe it isn't a super fair comparison.

Longevity: Now this is where I'm seeing the biggest red flag with these tires. At my recent tire rotation, the tread depth measured 12/32 of an inch, meaning the tires have worn down about 7/32 in 15,000 miles from the 19/32 that they came with. Now, assuming that tread wear is linear, this would mean that at if they continue at the rate they have now and I replace them at 4/32 left, I can only expect to get about 30,000 miles from them. I guess it is somewhat to be expected, however, as they are somewhat more of a mud terrain than a typical hybrid, and they do have a very soft tread compound, which is in part why they perform so well off road.

All in all, I'm happy with how they have performed, but I'm definitely looking for something different when my next tire change comes around. If I had more of a trail dedicated rig or a trailer queen, the Milestars would certainly be a great option, but my TJ is also my daily driver. Due to their shorter tread life and comparatively worse on-road characteristics, I think I'll give up the slight edge in off-road performance and go to Duratracs or Ko2s next time around, or maybe even try something completely different. Though the low price was definitely a huge factor in me buying them, when you look at the wear as compared to a Duratrac which may last 50,000+ miles, it makes much more sense to spend an extra 60-80 dollars for a tire which will nearly doubly as long.
Do you have any pics of the tires on your Jeep for our viewing?

I've been curious about these for a next set of tires potentially. Think i'm going to need my first set of M/T's here in the PNW.
 
Do you have any pics of the tires on your Jeep for our viewing?

I've been curious about these for a next set of tires potentially. Think i'm going to need my first set of M/T's here in the PNW.

For your viewing pleasure:

20191208_121554.jpg
20191208_121918.jpg
20191130_161053.jpg

20191204_150859.jpg
 
Do you have any pics of the tires on your Jeep for our viewing?

I've been curious about these for a next set of tires potentially. Think i'm going to need my first set of M/T's here in the PNW.


285/75/16 for your reference

I would definitely recommend for a third vehicle or weekend warrior. Quiet, smooth, and cheap. But I know long term they are soft and probably won’t hold up.

E2940240-B0F0-4C31-A58B-19199F79CAB2.jpeg


FBF32B62-B206-4BDF-AD74-D2AB843A430D.jpeg


DD661EDF-F656-44B2-B862-DBBFC9F2ADF1.jpeg


B38C39E0-959F-4D3F-BD45-D4FE2AD6B180.jpeg


74A50C36-6C06-4623-A8B2-BE416B556E72.jpeg
 
I have about 3000 miles on mine so far. I am in the same camp with the 33x12.50r15 size.

Just had them rotated for the first time. Still look fairly new. I went into the purchase knowing that I would probably only get 30,000 miles of them. Also knowing that they may be hard to balance.

So far I am really enjoying them. They do have a bit of a whine on the highway, but it is a mud terrain. Have not noticed any real negatives in the rain, but I do drive as if I have a lifted Jeep in the rain, so not really giving them a chance to be tested, lol.

I can say that for the price I am very happy with them. There are quite a few serious jeeps running these now as well as plenty of rock bouncers/crawlers. I know I was watching the most recent Ultimate Adventure and noticed at least 2-3 rigs in the group running them and putting them through some pretty touch wheeling. As far as muddy conditions go, they really seem to perform and shed well. They seem to grip and crawl well in the rocks as well.

I continued to watch walmart online for them before I purchased. They are routinely priced from $150-$160 a tire. For some reason they heavily discounted them one day to $127. Snagged my set of five for $700 with free shipping. That's a tough deal to beat. Felt like I had won the lottery, lol.
 
Had mine for about a year now, 31x10.5 R15. (I think this size is the only 2 ply version of this tire) Overall, I'm happy with them. The Jeep handles well, rides nice, grips well. Fronts seem to be cupping a bit, prob needs an alignment with rotation! The only concern I have is when the road is wet they lock up pretty quickly when stopping. Again, probably due to the big lugs. Might be looking for an aggressive AT tire for my next set? I sure do love the look though...
 
Researching these tires last week I found a video on the Litebrite youtube channel where they attributed abnormal wear to underinflation on the road - basically saying the chalk test would lead you astray because these are specifically designed with some crown so that they intentionally ride on the center rib at highway pressure. Interesting to get some feedback on that idea from someone who isn't sponsored.
 
That is correct. These tires do not apply to the chalk test method. They are a crowned tire. You will notice when inflated properly that the outside of the lugs do not come in contact with the pavement etc. under normal driving conditions. Think I am running 29 in front and 28 in the rear currently on 33x12.50x15.
 
I hope people can see through this, it is nothing more than a poorly designed tire. The Manufacturer is simply trying to push it on to the customer saying they are doing something wrong. No tire should be run at high pressure so it only runs on the center band. This is not a design feature, it is a design flaw. Crowned tires are for band saws.
 
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I hope people can see through this, it is nothing more than a poorly designed tire. The Manufacturer is simply trying to push it on to the customer saying they are doing something wrong. No tire should be run at high pressure so it only runs on the center band. This is not a design feature, it is a design flaw. Crowned tires are for band saws.

I had similar thoughts when I heard it. Seems like that would just prematurely wear the center rib, just like what happens with every other tire when run overinflated. Unless they've figured out some magical combination of rubber formulation to make the rib wear at the same rate as the outer lugs despite the outer lugs barely making contact with the pavement.
 
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