Come on, Jeff...

Since when does tire size make that big a difference? Once you air 'em down, they're both only gonna' have a couple inches of rubber around the rim, anyways... Tread design makes a huge difference, so a stock X w/ BFG's A/T's will have better traction than a stock TJ with street radials. But that advantage swings back to the TJ Rubicon edition, w/ MT/R's.

In stock form, in my experience, it's an even match between a TJ & an Xterra. The X is slightly better on hill climbs, w/ it's slightly longer wheel base. The TJ is slightly better in the rocks, w/ it's shorter wheel base and solid front axle. But in reality, it's almost a wash, because a stock TJ can't do anything in the rocks that the IFS limits the stock X. And the stock X can't go up any more extreme an angle hill climb than a stock TJ. That's because they're BOTH stock.

Once modded vehicles come into the mix, it's a whole different ball game. But we shouldn't try to compare those, as build-ups can vary EXTREMELY between owners/builders. A good fabricator can make EITHER rig be as extreme as he/she wants. Nothing limits either, except time and $$. With enough of both, anything can be accomplished on either rig, to make them equally as capable, anywhere. True, you'll see a lot more highly modified TJ's (and jeeps for that matter) in the wilderness, 'cause they've been around longer, and they're a hella' lot cheaper, and more available. That DOESN'T mean an X can't be built up to the extreme; it just means there are less # of owners that are willing to do so.