> That said, do you need snow tires in Bend????

I moved my Syncro Westy from 14" Hankook 185R14s to
Van-Cafe 15" rims with Nokian Hakka CS 205/65R15s.

These tires are better on the highway by far than the
Hankooks.  The 185R14s are 7.4" wide and the 205/65R15s
are 8.2" wide.  This may be the big difference, but
I didn't like to go above 55-60 mph with the 14"ers.
With the Nokian, I'd go on up to 80 if I could.  A really
big improvement on the highways.

(I had Michelin Agilis before the Hankooks and they
were very similiar.)

So I'd suggest to just get Hakka CSs and run them
all year.

Richard