Hutchinson's Kraken Tire for XC, Gravel & Bikepacking
![Hutchinson's Kraken Tire for XC, Gravel & Bikepacking](/content/images/size/w1200/wordpress/2020/04/KRAKEN-RACING-2989-jpg-webp.webp)
“Unleash the Kraken!”
I wouldn’t buy a tire just for the name would I… The Kraken is one part traditional XC tire, and one part semi-slick. It has tall, stout side knobs with smaller, evenly spaced traction knobs in a mini-paddle sort of configuration. The mostly uninterrupted line of center knobs keeps you fast on the smooth stuff. It comes only in 29-inch and only in a 2.3-inch width.
![](https://gearandgrit.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/04/KRAKEN-RACING-combined_2.jpg)
The Kraken comes in a super-light 120-TPI casing as well as a stouter 60-TPI, which you can also get in a gumwall version. The tire is manufactured in France. They’re definitely light weight. The 120 TPI model weighs in at 700 grams, with a 100-gram weight penalty for the extra rubber in the 60-TPI model.