Nokian Introduces the Logger King LS-2 for Forestry

April 14, 2016

Nokian Tyres plc has unveiled a full range of new forestry skidder tires for North America and abroad. The Logger King LS-2 comes in five sizes and is designed for the most demanding forestry work.

The tire maker calls the Logger King LS-2 "the ultimate workhorse" for full-tree forestry work. The new design is targeted for use on skidders and comes in five sizes of 23.1-26, 28L-26, 24.5-32, 30.5L-32, and 35.5L-32. The two largest sizes also have an extreme version available for the most demanding forestry work when normal is just not enough.

"We wanted to renew and update our previous product family for the full-tree forestry application," says Teemu Vainionpää, product manager of forestry tires for Nokian Heavy Tyres, a division of Nokian. "We have strong knowledge of forestry applications and we wanted to make the best product for the market. Logger King has already been tested for a couple of years in the hardest conditions all over the world reaching from New Zealand to the U.S. With this product, we wanted to focus on durability and a long service life without compromising traction capabilities. These machines often operate in very distant locations and the tires must be trouble-free."

Two options

The new product comes in two versions: Logger King LS-2 and Logger King LS-2 Extreme. The standard version is suitable for the majority of the environments and machines starting from small to medium sized skidders. Both versions feature a new rubber compound resulting from a test period of many years in the most demanding conditions all over the world.

Logger King LS-2 Extreme has a more robust carcass structure and extra steel layers giving it a high ply rating and ultimate protection against punctures. The extreme version is for the most severe environments and the strongest and heaviest machines. The biggest size in the range, 35.5L-32, is available only in the extreme version.

Caleb Haney, a forestry worker from Meridian, Miss., says “When the rain gets really heavy we just have to stop working. The soil type here is such that when it gets wet, the trucks can no longer come and get the timber. These slippery slopes are not so easy for us either.

"I really wouldn’t need to quit just yet because my tires work just fine. The problem is that not everyone has these same tires on their machines."

Nokian Logger King LS-2 features

The tread is open and aggressive with shovel shaped lugs for the best possible self-cleaning and traction. Nokian says the high tread depth together with wide and sharp lug design on the shoulder give excellent lateral grip and protect the tire when chains are used. The tread also has special tire protectors on the groove bottom for better protection in chain use. Nokian says it has improved traction and balance by designing the tread to be straighter thereby enabling wider contact with the ground.

The design also features straighter sidewalls. The new lug design together with the sidewall structure form a wide and strong “push bar” to the side of the tire against impacts.

Nokian says the Logger King LS-2 has a high strength textile carcass with wide steel reinforcements under the tread. The Extreme version has an even stronger carcass structure enabling high ply rating figures and extra layers of steel breakers under the tread for protection against punctures.

Logger King features a single wire bead design. The hexagon shape bead wire distributes the load evenly to the rim flange and prevents the tire slipping on the rim. Nokian says the single wire construction also makes the tire installation easier than the conventional design and prevents the tire from being damaged during installation. The bead area of the Logger King has specially designed rubber which is stiff and sturdy, and a unique rim protector for sticks and stumps which tend to go between the tire and rim during operation.

For more information, visit www.nokiantyres.com/loggerking