Have a pair of Specialised enduro 2.3’s on my hardtail but there wearing down a bit been on for three years so cant complain,looking for some replacements cheap..ish I ride the same tyres all rear round in the west coast of Scotland mud,rocks and roots a plenty.
had a look at the specialised captain sport 2.2 at £20 in Evans or there’s some cheap contis kicking about mountain king 2.2 on halfords site for £17.99 not too fussed in the weight department like a bigger volume tyre and both of these seem to be about 750g any others i should look at or avoid !!

2.2 Continental Rubber Queens, Black Chilli rubber. Tube or UST version, depending on your budget/ preference.

Ridiculously good tyre for what you’re describing, it almost feels like cheating! Tend to start drifting a little earlier than some tyres but there is no unpredictable break away on the limit.

I rode them on super-steep loamy & rooty stuff yesterday and they were excellent for my riding style. Very low rolling resistance too. 🙂

Heard some good things about the Specialized Prugatory Controls but they’ll be a tad dearer than t’others you mention.

Been looking at new tyres too – given I ripped the sidewall of the last Rubber Queen I had (great tyre otherwise) after only a few rides I’m wary of going that way again – especially given the cost!

So my search has led to either Hans Dampf (German site for cheaper prices) or the more likely Bonty XR4 which looks good and doesn’t look like I’d die if I bought a set. They apparently size up large so a pre measure would be wise if you go 2.35.

Oh and the 2013 models are apparently more durable sidewall wise than some 2012’s and have a new, improved(?) tread design along the centre.

Hans Dampf’s stood up well to a week on rocky trails, the knobs on the front (trailstar compound) are showing a bit of wear though (around 65 miles use). Then again grippy = soft = higher wear rate so any decently grippy tyre is going to wear faster than a cheap rock-hard compound one, black chilli is about the only thing that offers a decent compromise. Prefer the Hans Dampf (front at least) to a RQ 2.4 and a Bonty FR4 TI I’d used previously.

Don’t go for Rubber Queens if you regularly ride in the mud, which in this country you will. Hans Dampfs are much better in the slop, go for pacestar (harder compound) if you want them to last longer, cheap on bike-discount.de at the moment.