I get on well with Conti Verticals, at £13 a pop for the steel beaded tyre they're good value. Can't fault their feel either, they give plenty of feedback which is more important than outright grip IMHO.
I always used to ride 7 miles on tarmac to the start of the off-road bit (then 7 miles back) every weekend on them when I lived in the UK. Never had any tarmac/trailraker issues.
I've been using high rollers which are great for Rocky bridleway type rides but I dont like them on muddy singletrack / trail centre rides. There is a large gap between centre and outer tread, therefore there is a lurch over to the side knobs when your cornering. A lot of poeple dont mind that but it doesnt suite my riding styyle. This is with the single ply 2.35 version, on my DH bike with 2.35 dual plys I don't get this problem so much. I think the side walls on the single ply collapse a little quicker adding to the lurching feeling.
I've recently changed to a Michelin Mountain xtrem 2.5. This is based on the old DH24 tread and works really well. Definiate grip accross the tread, dual ply, and rolls a bit quicker than the High roller. Worked well so far on peaks, trail centre, stainburn rides that I've done recently.
Best tyre I've ever used. although they're designed for soft surfaces I find the work well on most stuff, with the possible exception of tarmac where they can be a bit draggy.
Have just shod the steed with a set of conti slash's as the verts were startign to struggle will post up how I get on with them after a few muddy rides. On the bike they defo look more liek a 2.1 than the stated 2.3 and the tread looks nice and open for shedding with good edges to be stable enough in the turns with centre paddles for biting in.
As the conditions have got a lot worse over the last 3 weeks, gone from Maxxis High Rollers to 2.1 Swampthings available from terrain saltaire, just £12.