Yes, you need some kind of winter tires in Bend, Oregon.
East side of the Cascades ya know - it's plenty wintry there.
I've been there when the snow was 10 feet deep in town.
And,  Oregon's top ski area is right outside town, plus great cross country
skiing etc.
You need winter tires there.
I'd say check out Bridgestone Blizzack studless winter tires.  I sure like
my set.
Scott
www.turbovans.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard A Jones" <jones@COLORADO.EDU>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 7:10 PM
Subject: Re: Snow newbie needs snow tire recommendation

>> 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