I've posted this a dozen times I think on the former site and ORTB. Perhaps not yet here on GMTN.
Here's a consolidated version of my answers to the usual "what tire should I buy?" question:
My usual advice is to fit the tire to the mission. What's your mix of use, on and off-road? Is quiet running a factor you value? Then Goodyear Silent Armor Fortera or Wrangler might be your choice. Is price a consideration? Mud versus sand versus rock for your off-road travels? Dry versus wet. Rain versus monsoon? Snow and ice ever?
Size is almost a secondary characteristic of a good tire compared to tread design, belts, sidewall and tread compound, and price. I recommend not pushing to decide on size first - get a handle on your mission first. Then choose a few tire styles, and see what sizes they're made in. Not all tires are available in all sizes that might fit, and if you fixate too soon on a size, you might overlook a better compromise of a tire.
I've learned ever so much while on my own quest for off-road mods. Good driving technique can make up for a bit of shortcoming in ground clearance, as can a good rock spotter. Good maps and knowledge of the trails can keep you out of trouble even more than fantastic equipment. And recovery equipment (winch, straps, snatch blocks) is there for insurance, not to be used regularly for us, and shouldn't give you the overconfidence to take on a trail that will break the vehicle.
So back up a bit, describe more of your intentions, and the Zen masters will prescribe some suggested solutions, a solution of the whole thing, not just the small issue of size or tread design. It's not just size that matters, it's texture, and how you use the rubber you put on.
Every solution is a compromise, says the engineering side of my brain. So you have to tell us exactly what your needs are, and how much you value each of them in a prioritized list with weighting factors. Then we have to figure out how well each of the tires fits those needs, multiplied by the weighting factors, and come up with a score.
You can imagine that not everybody here will have your exact needs, and I guarantee not many people know all there is to know about each of the tires.
So anything you get here would be a guess, maybe a SWAG (scientific wild-ass guess), and I recommend you do the research and come up with the scores yourself.
Factors you might consider are the following, but again, we have no idea how much any of these mean to you:
* price
* warranty
* availability down the road if you have to throw one or more away
* reputation of the tire mfr.
* reputation of your local tire store
* tread pattern
* how well the tread pattern matches the exact mix of trails you go on
* trail driving style and speed
* forest roads?
* sand?
* rocks?
* mud?
* highway driving style and speed
* curvy?
* straight?
* hilly?
* flat?
* tread noise when slow
* tread noise when fast
* tread wear mileage on road
* tread wear mileage off road
* performance on wet roads
* performance on dry roads
* white lettering?
* wheel guard molded into the bead?
* sidewall flexibility for airing down
* sidewall puncture resistance to rocks and cactus and sticks?
No wonder they are shot at 20k miles.