Nokian Hakkapeliitta 01 Goes On Sale: The Adaptive Stud Tyre and What the First Tests Found

Nokian's new studded tyre reaches the shops

The Nokian Hakkapeliitta 01, the studded winter tyre Nokian unveiled at its Ivalo test centre in Finnish Lapland in March, went on sale to drivers in September 2026. It replaces the Hakkapeliitta 10, and it is the first Hakkapeliitta studded tyre built around a stud that Nokian say changes how hard it presses into the road depending on the surface. Nokian say dealer pre-orders came in above their expectations.

Two Nordic magazine tests have now run the Hakkapeliitta 01 against its rivals, so there is independent data to set against Nokian's claims.

How Nokian say the studs work

Each stud sits on what Nokian call an adaptive base compound, a layer of rubber under the tread that the bottom flange of the stud rests on. Nokian's description is that on ice and snow this layer stays stiff and holds the stud out, and on dry or damp asphalt it softens, pushes less on the stud and lets it sink further into the tread. Nokian market the two states as "Studmode ON" and "Studmode OFF", and say ON is the default. The company says it has filed ten patent applications on the construction.

What changes the layer has been described in two different ways. Nokian's launch release in March called the Hakkapeliitta 01 a tyre that adjusts automatically to changes in temperature, and a world first. On 19 August Nokian updated that release "to more accurately describe how the effect of the driving conditions affects the technology", and it now says the tyre adapts to changes in driving conditions. The world first wording has gone. Nokian have not published a temperature at which the studs change state. The figures quoted in launch coverage, a layer that is firm at -5°C and soft at 5°C, come from a demonstration at the launch event, not a specification.

There is no switch for the driver, and Nokian's own description is of studs that press less hard and sit lower on bare roads, not studs that disappear into the tread.

The new Nordic stud rules

The Hakkapeliitta 01 is built to stricter rules. The Finnish transport authority Traficom has tightened the road wear limits for studded tyres, replacing the A classification with a stricter A+ grade that applies across the Nordic region. Since January 2025 a manufacturer has needed approval under the new rules to launch a studded tyre at all, and every studded car tyre manufactured from January 2027 must meet them, although tyres built before that date can still be sold until January 2029. Of the tyres the Hakkapeliitta 01 met in the tests below, the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 is also built to the new rules.

Other technical points

• Nokian carry over the stud layout from the Hakkapeliitta 10: two stud types, with the ones in the centre of the tread shaped for braking and acceleration and the ones on the shoulders for cornering. The stud geometry itself is new.
• The tread is directional, with self-locking 3D sipes and snow grooves on the shoulders.
• Nokian say Aramid reinforced sidewalls are fitted to selected sizes, and SilentDrive noise-damping foam to around two dozen.
• Every size carries Nokian's Electric Fit marking, and the tyre carries both the 3PMSF snowflake and the ice grip symbol. It is made at Nokia in Finland.
• The Hakkapeliitta 10 came in separate standard, SUV and EV versions. The Hakkapeliitta 01 covers all three in a single range.

Manufacturer claims

Nokian compare the Hakkapeliitta 01 with the Hakkapeliitta 10 and claim:

• up to 30 per cent less road wear, measured in a standardised overrun test,
• up to 10 per cent better grip on ice,
• up to 5 per cent better grip in the wet,
• up to 1 dB less noise.

These are Nokian's own figures, and "up to" means the best case across the range. Studded tyres carry no EU tyre label, so there are no rolling resistance or wet grip grades to compare either.

What the first independent tests found

The 2026 Vi Bilägare studded tyre test, run with Norway's Motor in 215/65 R17, put the Hakkapeliitta 01 first of eight. Among the tyres with legal stud protrusion it was the best on ice for braking, traction and handling, it was the quickest through the snow handling course, and it was the quietest tyre in the test on both the decibel meter and the testers' own rating. Vi Bilägare noted that earlier studded Hakkapeliittas have been noisy, which makes that last result the clearest sign so far that the new stud design makes a difference. The weakness was dry asphalt, where the testers found the steering vague and the tyre hard to place, and rated it second from last for dry handling. It was also one of the thirstier tyres at a steady cruise.

The 2026 Teknikens Värld winter tyre test, in 235/45 R18, reached a less flattering verdict. The Hakkapeliitta 01 finished thirteenth of eighteen overall and fourth of the seven studded tyres, behind the Pirelli Ice Zero 2, Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 and Michelin X-Ice North 4. It still took full marks for snow handling and was joint second on ice handling, but the testers found clearly less stud grip than they had from the Hakkapeliitta 10 the year before. They also found damage to the tread around the studs after only the run-in, the winter tests and the fuel runs. Comfort and stability were among the lowest in the test, and fuel use was high.

The two tests are more consistent than the placings suggest. Both found the Hakkapeliitta 01 among the best studded tyres on ice and snow, and both found rivals that were better on dry roads. The difference is the scoring: Vi Bilägare weight the result heavily towards ice, while Teknikens Värld give more weight to comfort, stability and behaviour on wet and dry roads.

The Hakkapeliitta 10 sets a high bar. It won the 2024 Vi Bilägare studded test and the 2025 Tekniikan Maailma test, the SUV version won Vi Bilägare's 2025 studded test, and it was the second best studded tyre in Teknikens Värld's tests in both 2024 and 2025. The Hakkapeliitta 01 has matched it in one test and fallen short of it in the other, and the new rules may be part of the reason: Teknikens Värld found that both studded tyres built to them had less stud grip than the tyres they replace.

Sizes and availability

• More than 120 sizes, from 175/65 R14 up to 315/35 R22, with about two thirds of them 18 inches or larger.
• Every size is T rated (190 km/h), and all but one are extra load.
• Nokian name Finland, Sweden, Norway, the United States, Canada and Japan as the main markets, and the tyre is also sold in Central European countries where studded tyres are permitted.

What it means for drivers

If your winter is mostly ice and packed snow, the evidence so far supports Nokian's case. The Hakkapeliitta 01 is among the best studded tyres tested this year in those conditions, and it was the quietest tyre in the Vi Bilägare test. If your winter roads are mostly clear, dry tarmac, both tests found rivals that steer better and use less fuel, and the tread damage Teknikens Värld found is worth watching for until more tests confirm or rule it out. Neither magazine test measured road wear, so Nokian's headline claim is still untested. We will add further results to the Hakkapeliitta 01 page as they are published.