I run 23's, usually Rubino Pros or whatever I might have on hand. As I'm moving to Ottawa, I may end up running studded a bit more, we'll see, but I'm hoping 23's will do fine there too. They did great last winter with the big snow dumps and I felt much more in touch than I did with the CX tires I ran for one day.
I've never been a big fan of Contacts. It may have been the pair I had but they were a bugger to get on and off the rim. That plus cold weather on the fingers made me hate them irrevocably.