I doubt studded tires will help much with snow or slush over decent knobbies. With glare ice, absolutely. I think your choice should be based on how much ice you think you'll see, the density of the traffic in icy areas, and your tolerance for slowing way down for ice if you don't have studded tires. I made it through last winter without, and I survived, but there were about three weeks in March that they would have been really nice to have.