Tires MICHELIN or Maxxis

Went with the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S! They are great tires though.

On my XC hardtail I have a Maxxis 2.4 Ardent on the front, and a Maxxis 2.2 Ikon on the rear. It is a great combo so far.

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 run Nitto 555 G2's during all but winter, and this year I went with Pilot Sport A/S3+ all-seasons (due to frequent driving in mild snow during work trips) and I'm quite happy with them.

I daily Michelin Pilot Super Sports on my Focus SVT. They are so worth it. Yeah they wear out after 10-12k miles but they have like a 30k or 40k mile warranty so I get a new set of PSS's every year for like $150.

You can drive them in the rain like it isn't raining at all.

Sport Cup 2's are great tires, I have them on my RS. If I could do-over though, i would go with PS4S. Sure, they "technically" aren't as fast around a track, but for the 99.9% of street miles you put on them they are much more livable on a daily driver.

In trying to cure my vibration issue, I put on TOTL Michelin MXM4 Primacy's. They have been ok...actually, they've been somewhat of a disappointment...mostly because they're so much more expensive than other rubber. You sorta expect amazing results. They're pretty good but not any quieter than the old Conti's. They're really loud on sharp impacts (expansion joints, etc.) and seem to be very sensitive to different road surfaces. Other than that, they're good tires...just not for the price you pay.