Although it's not common knowledge, Nokian actually builds certain Bridgestone winter tires in Finland and US. Understand that (at least for US studless tires), the US market is different than the market in Finland. If you want a decent tire for occasional winter use- not much snow, not much ice, you care about noise, treadlife, etc. then most of the "winter tires" will probably fit the bill. If you only care about traction on ice and snow, especially if you spend entire 4 month winters with snow and ice covered dirt roads, then the Hakkas are about as good as it gets.