Mountain Biking - All-around 26" tire for mainly gravel riding

90% of my riding is on a hilly Gulf island (San Juan-ish to those who know the Pacific Northwest). I ride on the gravel roads, which consists of fairly hardpacked sand/gravel, with a fair bit of crushed gravel strewn on the top, which is sometimes pretty loose. There's no pavement; these are roads cars use; so the worst grade would be a 16 or an 18. Finally, most of the riding would be done in dry-ish conditions (i.e., at worst, wet sandy grit but almost no mud or roots).

Can you recommend an all-purpose tire that is good for these conditions? I'm not looking to save a buck here or there, either.

FYI, if this helps:

--I've used some Hutchinson pythons and figured there must be something better out there.

--The top 3 reviewed tires at mtbreview are -- Panaracer Fire XC Pro, WTB Velociraptor, IRC Mythos

--In a mtb mag the other day, I saw that the Kenda Nevegal was the top-rated (tubed) tire. Don't know it.

Cheers!

Tire choice is probably as personal as saddle choice. I've used the Pythons and Fire XC's. The Pythons roll about as good as a city slick, but fail to hold in really loose stuff. The fires don't roll quite as well but grip a lot better, at about the same weight. Never tried the Nev's.

I have a 2.1 WTB Timberwolf on my rear and have been satisfied with its performance.

id just look at what is being run on the "hybrid" bikes.