What's the best tires for a Subaru?

I've looked over the snow tire discussion from last fall, but I'm hoping to get more of a refined response to good tires for a Subaru. I have an 02 Forester and I'm looking to get a good set of all season tires. Does anyone have any recommendations for which all seasons handle better in the snow than others? I'm partial to Les Schwab and they keep talking about siping. However I hear from alot of people that siping isn't all that it's cracked up to be. I'd like to try and keep it under $700. If anyone can help me out here, I'd appreciate it!

Here's what I ended up buying for my '98 Forester after some research. For 15" wheels, it is one of the few true SUV style tires out there with legitimate phat M/S tread blocks, and yet is not a specialized snow tire that will wear down way too fast if you leave it on rest of year.
www.yokohamatire.com/tires/geolandar_ats.aspx
It's probably going to wear more quickly than a typical road tire but that is to be expected and I'll take that to avoid the pain of swapping tires all the time, especially since for most of us 'ski season' is hard to define to a time window.
Les Schwab doesn't carry, I had to special order thru Discount Tire.
I don't know much about siping either, will be curious if anyone has more input. It's always seemed strange to me that there'd be this "recommended procedure" of in-market siping yet it was not already performed when the tire is manufactured.

Last winter, I broke down and bought a set of snow tires for my '08 Outback. I went with the Michelin x-ice and have been very happy with their performance. I was in your same predicament with wanting to find an all season that does well in the snow. After reading reviews on tirerack.com, consumerreports.com and reviews from friends, I decided to go with a separate set of tires specifically designed for snow and ice.

I couldn't believe the difference between the stock Potenzas and the X-Ice. With the Potenza's, I felt like I was driving slicks in the snow. And with the X-Ice I could actually get great traction in compact snow and ice. I also notice a big difference on wet roads.

As for siping, the X-Ice are highly siped, which is great for snow and ice. I think the reason Les Schawb offers it as an add on is because you don't need it unless you regularly drive on wet roads, ie, the Northwest. Then they can buy more tires at bulk and customize them for the region. But I think siping is useful for winter tires.

Hope that helps!!

I have been driving the same Subaru Legacy wagon since '93. Once we got through the "performance" stock tires they had on it we have driven it with standard all weather tires from Schwab (can't remember the type) but for most of the last 200,000 miles I have been driving the car on Michelin all weather tires (Costco, way cheaper than $700), no siping. For the last 5 years I have driven to Stevens just about every weekend in winter. Often in very heavy snow, never chained up, never studded the tires, often watching the other SUVs digging out of the ditch.

Stock tires on most cars suck. Not that they are bad tires, the manufacturers just chose a tire that will feel great during the sales/road test. They are the next best thing to slicks and handle as such on snow. If I ever bought a new car again, which I won't, I will take the stock tires off in the winter and only drive them in the off-season. Having said that about stock tires, I do recall some number of years ago that the Subaru Outbacks typically came stocked with Michelin tires that were very much not performance tires. Those seemed appropriately matched for tougher driving conditions. Not sure what Subaru does now.

One consideration of using a snow/ice tire all season is the reduced gas mileage. Also, if you were to consider studded also consider the fact that studded tires actually perform significantly poorer on wet pavement than anything else. A real bummer to slide off the road in the lowlands after just negotiating the tough mountain pass! After all, even if you only use you car to get to and from the mountain, you will still be driving more on wet roads than snowy roads. That assumes that you live on the West side of the Cascades.

Alan

Anyone setting up a second set of wheels for their Suby should check the price for steel rims that Carter Subaru sells . They are located on about Aurora and 185th. I think they were about 50 bucks each, which was the best price I could find. Also, on my 2000 Suby, I originally bought steel rims from les schwab, and had to return them, when they would not stay centered on the axle. Suby rims have a hole in the middle that lines up perfectly with the axle shape.

Anyone setting up a second set of wheels for their Suby should check the price for steel rims that Carter Subaru sells .  They are located on about Aurora and 185th.  I think they were about 50 bucks each, which was the best price I could find.  Also, on my 2000 Suby, I originally bought steel rims from les schwab, and had to return them, when they would not stay centered on the axle.  Suby rims have a hole in the middle that lines up perfectly with the axle shape. 

I thought you were going to chain up the dirt bike this year?