Matt has been waiting to install our patented Rigid Seat Back MOLLE Panel Kit for Ford F-150/Raptor/Super Duty/Ranger (part #104044) in his 2023 Raptor, and we had the perfect opportunity to dig into it last week when we received a thin, unbranded box from Amazon. We always enjoy taking a moment to compare and contrast our products against the alternatives on the market. Keep in mind, we do understand that our products are often pricier than these alternatives, but as Matt says in the video, they are intended for different kinds of customers. The thin package we received contained a very flimsy, crudely machined plastic MOLLE panel with nylon straps and cheap buckles to hold it vaguely to a seat. While our comparison isn’t exactly a fair matchup, it’s a fun way to see why our all-metal Seat Back MOLLE Kits are so rugged and popular amongst the folks who actually use their trucks!
One positive thing about the no-name Amazon seat back panel is that it is truly universal - by not being engineered to fit on any particular vehicle well, it fits on almost every vehicle, albeit relatively poorly. But hey, at least it can work on your 2003 Subaru Baja! Unfortunately, our seat back kits can’t boast the same thing because we meticulously engineer every dimension and angle for your specific truck. This is why we don’t currently offer fitments for every vehicle either, but as we grow and scale our operations we will be tackling every vehicle we can get our hands on. As most of you probably know by now, we were founded on the Ford F-150/Raptor platform, so we’ve had ample time and a few different vehicles to refine our Seat Back MOLLE Kit design for Ford trucks. After a few revisions over the years, our perfectly fitting, factory-articulating steel exoskeleton protects your seat and allows for the most modular storage possibilities inside your cab. We love using these seat back kits in our own trucks and trust them to hold loads of gear and heavier equipment daily. Like all of our products, they are covered by our lifetime warranty and made right here in the USA.
Across all vehicle platforms we make Seat Back MOLLE Panel Kits for, we design-in slots so fine-tuning fitment adjustments can be made. Not every vehicle is identical from the factory, and while that might sound surprising, we’ve seen it too many times during prototype test fitting sessions to let it bite us in the butt! The tiniest differences in day-to-day automotive manufacturing processes can cause ‘too-precisely designed’ aftermarket parts not to fit. We also know that many of you guys like to run seat covers and other accessories, or have headrests at absurd heights or something, so you may need to bolt up your kit a little differently.
We love Milwaukee’s modular Packout system like many of you guys, and we find tons of different uses for their boxes inside and outside of the shop. We developed our MOLLE-Compatible Mounting Brackets for Packout so you can mount your Milwaukee gear wherever you mount our panels. We offer Small Mounting Bracket Kits and Large Mounting Bracket Kits, and as you’ll notice in these images and the video, there isn’t much extra metal on the brackets. We wanted to stay away from bulky mounting plate designs that other companies have created to ensure fitment in as many locations as possible - so we kept the brackets as minimal and out-of-the-way as possible without compromising the Packout system's secure latching functionality. You’ll also find that we tumble our mounting brackets during production so there are no sharp edges, which saves your digits during installation and keeps everything around the mounts from getting scraped up. Folks organizing a shop, garage or trailer love using them with our Universal MOLLE Tech Plates, and we’ve been finding that a Packout works perfectly for first aid kits (Milwaukee sells a pre-made one now too)!
Regarding our comparison of the two seat back MOLLE panels, there wasn’t much to be said. The cheap Amazon product performed exactly how we expected it would, shifting all over the back of the driver’s seat. We can only imagine the rubbing damage these panels would cause to your seats once loaded up with gear and having been driven a few thousand miles. Not to mention, any gear and equipment attached to these panels will only be somewhat secure in your vehicle. These are only as reliable as the thin plastic buckles and cheap nylon straps holding them to your seat. If you’re looking for the best option to reliably mount heavier equipment in addition to soft pouches or accessories, the choice is obvious.
As Matt mentions in the video, anyone mounting something hefty or rigid like a firearm, fire extinguisher or Packout box would be ‘insane’ using the cheap plastic Amazon seat back panel. It’s clear the target market for these products is not aligned with our customer base… we create robust storage solutions for people looking for reliable, well-engineered organization systems. Trash talk aside, the Amazon panel is better than nothing when it comes to modular seat back storage (especially if you don’t care about wear and tear on your seats), so as long as it does the job for you - send it! We had fun messing with both products, and we definitely know which we would choose for our vehicles.
Watch the full install and comparison by clicking here, or on the YouTube video below!
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