Spend enough time off-road and it’ll happen. Murphy’s Law dictates it’ll strike at the worst possible moment too. Like at the maximum distance from help, when the weather has suddenly changed and there is no mobile signal. That’s precisely when a puncture will announce itself.
Most off-roaders will be prepared for a puncture and capable of dealing with it (if not then we suggest it might be time to learn).
Sometimes, that’s beside the point though. Because no matter how capable the driver or how quickly a tyre is changed, it’s still annoying. It still blows a hole in offroading plans and is enough to turn a great day out into just another day.
The best way to deal with this issue is to simply not get a puncture in the first place. That’s impossible though. So the next best option is to choose tyres that offer the kind of puncture resistance that’ll let the 4WD simply roll over sharp obstacles without issues. Tyres that give a feeling of impenetrability and give a driver the confidence to push forward no matter the terrain. Such tyres actually exist.
The Maxxis Razr family of off-road tyres look mean and get the job done.
There’s some serious tech behind them and they’ve been well tested all over New Zealand, and further afield. The results are always the same. They work. That may not sound glamorous but it’s all drivers need.
The reason they work so well is mostly hidden below their tread. Arrmour Ply is a dual-cord reinforcement layer that runs under the tread and sidewalls and adds remarkable durability and toughness without bulk, so Razrs can flex over sharp objects rather than puncture under the heavy weight of a vehicle.
Then there’s the anti-chunking compound that the tread lugs are made with, and the ‘Debri-shield’ damage-resistant blocks to protect the sidewall from sharp objects, and the stone ejectors between the tread lugs to spit out small rocks that might otherwise try to work their way into the tread.
It all adds up to a tyre that is close to puncture-proof. Nothing is completely puncture-proof, but the Maxxis RAZR family is very close.