Tires Maxxis or MRF

I just put some 2.25" Maxxis Ardent TR EXOs on my Trek 29er and they have been awesome so far. Tons of grip compared to the bontragers I had (cheaper ones that came with my bike).

Maxxis all the way. Seem to be the best combo of grip, price, durability, and weight.

Your trails sound pretty similar to what I ride. I have a set of Ardent 2.25s that I really like.

I love my aggressor on the rear, rolls and grips well.

I also have a minion DHF for downhill and "rowdy" trail or wet/sandy conditions. It rolls a lot better than I expected for such tall knobs

just mounted a few pairs of maxxis tires, dhf, hr2, a dhr, and an ardent exo casings, all done by hand, found them quite easy to mount beads poped right on.

Me and my girlfriend have both been running tubeless Maxxis folder tires on Easton Rims for five seasons and I never had any problems mounting them.

I've mounted and remounted a handful of EXO casing maxxis tires recently with almost no effort at all. Typically I don't even use a lever to mount them, only remove. They all seated on the first try with a hand pump too.

I run 2.35s and it certainly doesn't fit super well, however it's not that big of a deal. but if i'm going to have it on the rack for a longer drive I just air down the tire. i run the nevegal dh tire or the maxxis holy roller so the sidewall knobs interfere, I just crank down the straps.

If the DHFs are hard to mount on a given rim, particularly Stans, wait till you try a Maxxis Ikon. One of the hardest tyres I've ever installed.