I always do Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.
Owner reviews for tires
Junkyard tires for a pizza delivery beater, at 10 bucks each you can't beat it
Yokohama's for the car you care about
Go with Nokian Hakks.
I run studded Hakks on two of my cars, best winter tires I've ever had.
Michelin X-Ice if you can afford them, otherwise I swear by the Goodyear Nordics as the best affordable option and even what I prefer myself over the X-Ice.
Cooper is my go to brand right now for value and longevity.
My previous set were the Bridgestone Blizzaks. Now, I'm using a set of Michelin X-Ice. I've driven around the city and as far as Whistler/Big White (I used to go Cypress 3-4 times a week too during the winter). Blizzaks were a beast in heavy snow. But I think for what you're looking for, I would just go with the X-Ice. They're really quiet and the ride is really comfortable.
For snow tires Blizzaks are remarkable but they are soft/squishy. Since Denver gets warm and sunny frequently during the winter, if it's only car I wouldn't get these if the intent is to leave them on for the season - performance and handling aren't, and wear is
Hankook Ventus Noble 2. Good W-rated tires, high skid plate rating, wears well if run a few pounds hot.
From my experience between PSS and CSC05's The Contis are a lot less sticky (comparatively anyway) and have a bit more flex.
All weathers weren't worth it in my case, I'm not hard on my tires at all and I logged 35-45k On the ones I bought last year and they are already at 2/32'nds. I went back to all seasons this year, due to I'd rather get the 80,000km's with the Michelins I bought. Nor did I really notice a difference in traction/handling between All Weathers and All Seasons.
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