The first winter tires

This year, winter began clearly according to the calendar, and there is enough snow. There is a reason and an opportunity during the holidays to take a walk through the history of the development of winter tires and look at the first steps of tire manufacturers in an attempt to maintain vehicle controllability in difficult winter conditions.

Today, the range of winter tires is surprising. The diversity of tread patterns and various forms of spikes do not make the choice easier. The first models are not comparable to modern ones, despite the fact that not even 100 years have passed yet.

The first winter tire appeared in Finland in 1934. Nokia Kelirengas had a developed tread pattern and was designed to overcome loose snow.

Nokia Kelirengas tires were extremely successful, and the tread pattern remained the same for about 20 years. The advertising of those years sounded curious: "Braking has become more efficient, and lateral skidding on corners and turns has been completely eliminated".

Completely eliminated? Unfortunately, this is not possible even for modern tires. This once again emphasizes that the tires of that time were a real breakthrough in the tire industry.