4x4 enthusiasts Graeme and Yvonne Turner share their thoughts on Bridgestone Dueler A/T 697.

As a Pat Callinan’s 4x4 Adventures magazine reader, you have something in common with northern New South Wales (Goonellabah) residents Graeme and Yvonne Turner. They’re readers too, but there’s probably something else you share with them as well.

Their 4X4, a 1VD-FTV 79 Series LandCruiser, is well set up for touring including the big eight week trips the Turners try to do at least every two years, along with more frequent, shorter, local jaunts.

Over the years they’ve been to an impressive array of destinations – Cape York, the Flinders Ranges, the Corner Country, Alice, Uluru; even the Kimberley, returning via the Simpson.

Graeme and Yvonne need tyres they can rely on, because some of those trips have been in fairly remote country…and for them, it’s Bridgestones every time.

Dueler A/T 697 LT wear life. When the going gets tough, Dueler keeps going.

Purpose-built to hit the road or trail time and time again, Bridgestone’s new Dueler A/T 697 LT is built to last. Delivering the extended wear life, overall durability and ride comfort that 4WD enthusiasts have long been hoping for.

Most people think that a tyre with the deepest tread offers the longest wear life, but it’s not that simple. Rubber compound and overall design also play a huge role.

Many deep-tread tyres have a ‘hard’ rubber compound, that keeps the tread blocks stable as the tyre transfers torque to the road surface. But while this hard compound may give good tyre life on bitumen roads, it lacks the versatility to perform on gravel and stony surfaces. Alternatively, a deep-tread tyre that might be great on bitumen, can be cut and chipped to a useless state on some of Australia’s harsher stony road surfaces.

Dueler A/T 697 LT ride quality. Toughness on tour.

When we hit the road, the first thing I noticed was the Dueler A/T 697 LTs ride quality. Despite being built with heavy-duty light truck construction and running recommended full load pressures, they rode as comfortably as passenger car rated tyres. Another unexpected feature was the low road-noise level.

On gravel roads, the Dueler A/T 697 LT delivered exceptional grip, with no signs of cutting or chipping of the tread elements. Even after a gruelling sharp-stone, ridge-climbing exercise, the tyres emerged virtually unmarked.

For low-pressure testing, a sandy and stony creek bed was chosen and we lowered all tyre pressures. In an environment that has caught out many a 4WD tyre in the past, the Dueler A/T 697 LT prevailed.

The low pressure that’s necessary for flotation on the sand often makes bagged-out sidewalls and shoulders vulnerable to stone cutting, but the Dueler showed no signs of damage.

In fact, at the end of what proved to be one hell of a journey, the Dueler A/T 697 LTs looked fresh and ready for even more action, with the treads in remarkable condition and only a few visible tiny cuts and chips.

In a place where only the best survive, Bridgestone’s Dueler A/T 697 LTs lived up to their well earned reputation. More than ever, Australia’s favourite 4WD tyre is tough enough to bring you back.

Dueler A/T 697 puncture resistance. Takes tough to a whole new level.

In the early days of 4WD outback adventuring, people wasted a lot of valuable travel time patching tyre tubes and changing tyres. Fortunately, tyre durability has come a long way in recent years, and the new Dueler sits at the forefront of enhanced puncture resistance.

It’s a common misconception that most punctures occur in a tyre’s sidewall. The majority of tyre failures actually start with a puncture in the tread area. Because the sidewall is often ‘blown out’ during such failures, it’s just assumed that the sidewall was the original problem area.

This is where the purpose built Dueler A/T 697 LT demonstrates its superior design and structural integrity. Cut test comparisons with sections of standard 4WD tyres reveal that the new Dueler’s entire structure is thicker – particularly in the vulnerable shoulder and under–tread areas.