My father use to say "a 4 wheel drive only enabled you to get stuck in more inaccessible places" and he would never by one. He put weight in the truck bed and chains on in the snow. As kids my brother and I would ride the rear bumper to add additional weight to get in and out of our regular hunting area. Shovels and come-a-long came in handy a few times.
I of course did not listen to him and have owned eight different 4WD vehicles, but I still carry the chains and come-a-long plus I have locking differentials front and rear in my hunting truck.
The way I see it, you drive a 4x4 until you have to chain up. THEN you turn around and use them to get out, 2 or 4 as needed. If you high center it, that's a whole different story.
