WTB Stout 2.3 Tire

The Stout is definitely an all-around, all-everything tire. The only place it will feel out of its element is at a WC XC race. At 810grams the Stout is slightly heavier duty than the 595gram Mutano Raptor 2.4 (which gets its feathery weight from thinner sidewalls – be careful!) so you can rip it through the rock gardens with confidence.

I rode the Stout for over a month. Using Stans NoTubes formula, I set ‘em up on my Yeti 575 with tubeless rims (the Stout is not available in tubeless as of press time so the manufacturer can’t recommend this system for liability reasons and neither can I. I’m just saying that’s how I did it… Don’t try this at home kids;)) The bead on the Stout was perfect – not too tight, not too loose and under pressure they hooked up on the rims with a nice snap. I was able to ride them at around 28psi without getting a burp or, thanks to the high profile, denting a rim.

In the 30+ days of riding over rocky terrain I noticed that the DNA rubber compound held up really well. The knobs stayed in tact (no ripping off in chunks) and showed minimal and even wear-and-tear.

The Stout lives up to its claim of hooking up well in the rough stuff – wet or dry and the low rolling resistance allowed by the off-set center knobs was noticeable on the pavement and fire road climbs.

The Stout has a very round profile and this took a little getting used to after riding the Mutano Raptors prior to the Stouts. The Mutanos have much larger, raised side knobs that dig into the soft stuff but can also give a grabby feeling or rollover in hard pack. The round-profile Stouts have a much more even side roll so I had to adjust how aggressively I dove into the corners.

I preferred the Stout in the wet/rooty forested areas but the Mutano Raptors gave me a little more confidence in really dry/sandy conditions. I would say that the Stout is a better all-conditions tire because it’s weakness in dry conditions is not as noticeable as the Mutano Raptor’s weakness in wet conditions. Bottom line, WTB knows tires and the Stout is a great addition to their very complete lineup.

MSRP: $45

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