Are minions (front ones) all round still in vogue or is a minion on the front and HR on the back still acceptable in the eyes of STW
This years Alp trip will include uphill push / pedal by the way so the 2.5 HR's can stay in the garage.
I've used minion DHFs both ends, and I've used Hans Dampfs both ends. I'd say both combos equally grippy, but minions seem a bit more hard wearing in the dry grit and dust. The minions were more of a slog on hot tarmac or uphill linking sections though.
I went Minion 2.5 dhf EXO ST on the front and O-O Chunky Monkey Enduro 2.4 on the rear, both setup up tubeless...worked really well, both survived and only had one burp but I put that down to my riding more than the setup
Last year I went with a dh butcher on the front (for the sticky) and an SX butcher on the back (for the lighter and faster rolling). Worked really well, no flats (despite mauling the rear rim), excellent grip. Not fast but doable. Only thing was the grip in dust isn't amazing, so it depends where you're going that. Both run tubeless and worked perfectly (neither is officially tubeless ready)
Dual ply or single?
Dualply or tough alternative imo (supergravity, SX carcass, stuff like that, or even just some solid reliable unfancy un-gram-watching tyre)