I didn’t do my test loop like I was planning to yesterday so I did a quick out-and-back ride on a snowmobile trail with all 3 of my 3" tires this morning.
I modified the tire a bit before going out. I put a bead of silicone calking on the threads to protect them from abrasion and put a whole bunch of little strips of duct tape in the tire to protect the tube. To compensate for the added weight I cut off all the outside lugs which are really on the sidewall and never touched the snow anyway. Without the lugs on the sidewall it looked almost exactly the same width as a Gazzalodi 3.0. I weighted the tire after and it came out as 1260g.
The trail had a semi-firm base with loose granular snow on top. I only went out just over 1km. Mostly flat with more slope at the end.
I ride my frankentire, then my Gazz 3.0, then my Duro 3.0.
The frankentire was the lightest and felt the most nimble. It was much more bouncy than the other two tires and seemed to need the least amount of energy to keep going when on a firm surface but also had the least amount of grip on the slopes.
Not surprisingly the Gazz had the best float of all the tires probably due to its square profile. It also had the best grip in the looser snow and in the steeper sections.
My Duro is studded and I use a split innertube for a liner. The tread is modified a bit to help with loose conditions and get it to roll a bit better but it is still the heaviest tire I have and due to its round profile and stiff sidewalls it really is a poor choice for a snow tire. It really felt dead compared to the other two tires and was somewhere in the middle in the grip department. I only really use this tire when I expect to encounter lots of glair ice so it was a bit out of its element.
all and all I was quite impressed with how the tire handled the ride and think that it could be a real alternate for people who can not find/afford true fat tires and want some good volume. The silicone is starting to peel just a tad after only 2km so I think I am going to try to peel it off and use shoe-goo instead.