I've been encouraging Overland Outfitters to do some TJ/LJ-specific products when they get some production time and this week they sent me a few preproduction samples to try out. They tell me their seat-back bags for the JK and JL have been very popular (Quadratec even used them in their Anniversary Jeep build) and they're going to offer a seat-back MOLLE/Zip & Go mount for TJ/LJ/YJ seats. The bands slip over the headrest part of the seat and have a PALS strip and a Zip & Go zipper on the back.
I slipped a preproduction band over my seat and took a few photos. A Zip & Go bag in my LJ:
Zip & GO bags attach with a zipper; the seat bands also support MOLLE pouches on a leather PALS strip:
There are versions for early and late model seats; this is what it looks like from the front on an '03-'06 TJ seat:
And what it looks like from the back on a '97-'02 TJ or a YJ seat (this is a YJ but the same band also fits the '97-'02 seats):
I've been using an earlier prototype version in my LJ for a while, in this photo from the summer I've got a Cool Bag picnic cooler hanging from the Zip & Go zipper on the passenger seat:
Zip & Go bags in the Quadratec Anniversary Jeep:
Another new product OO will be releasing soon they call "Roll Bar Buddies". There are two versions - a pocket version and a "tactical" version. They plan for the production ones to be all black, but just to see what they'd look like in a different color they sent me two in tan. I'm including the tan ones in the photos below because it's easier to see the detail on those than on the all black ones.
The pocket version has two 7" x 3" x 1.5" pockets. They're perfect for sunglasses, masks, tools and many other things.
The Tactical version is intended to hold a tactical flashlight, two pen-sized items, and two other items in pistol-magazine sized pouches. In this photo I've got a Leatherman multitool in one pocket and a Swiss Army Knife in the other and the pocket flaps are open.
The tactical version also has a strip of PALS webbing to hold a small MOLLE pouch in the event that a smaller tactical flashlight is used (photo below).
Checking them out in my LJ...
The tactical version with the same items and the pocket flaps open to show the tools and a photo with the flaps closed:
In this photo a smaller tactical flashlight is in the holder and a small MOLLE pouch is in the center:
I've got a few small suggestions for improvements to these before they go into production but they are small changes so these are very close to production-ready.
About the tactical flashlight in the last photo - when OO told me they were about to send me some preproduction Roll Bar Buddies to test, I got in touch with AuxBeam and asked them if they had any new tactical flashlights that would go well with these. They suggested these: https://auxbeam.com/products/led-ha...high-lumens-for-camping-outdoor-emergency-use. Seemed like a good fit so I asked them if they would send me two to test.
One nice feature these flashlights have is a USB port (micro USB) for charging the battery. In this next photo it's just completed charging from my laptop. The light turns green when it's charged, it's red when charging.
Also in the photo above is the correct battery - the flashlight doesn't ship with a battery (I suspect because of regulations restricting shipping of products with Lithium-Ion batteries), so the buyer will need to source a battery themselves. It's a standard 18650 battery; these can be found on eBay and many other online sources if you can't find them locally (I couldn't find them in my small town so I ordered them from eBay).
The flashlight has three modes:
- One click of the power button: bright
- Second click: half power
- Third click: "SOS" strobe mode. Could be useful as a warning flasher for roadside troubles.
The lens slides in and out to focus the beam narrow or wide; a nice feature.
The AuxBeam web site lists the brightness at 800 lumens, which is pretty bright, especially for a flashlight that only lists for $11.99. I did these two photos after dark - the camera is set to manual exposure mode so both photos accurately depict the before and after illumination. I set the manual exposure to approximate what I was seeing with the naked eye:
Then I turned on the flashlight:
I like these flashlights. They're compact, very bright, very affordable, conveniently rechargeable through USB (and they fit very nicely in the Tactical Roll Bar Buddy ).
I slipped a preproduction band over my seat and took a few photos. A Zip & Go bag in my LJ:
Zip & GO bags attach with a zipper; the seat bands also support MOLLE pouches on a leather PALS strip:
There are versions for early and late model seats; this is what it looks like from the front on an '03-'06 TJ seat:
And what it looks like from the back on a '97-'02 TJ or a YJ seat (this is a YJ but the same band also fits the '97-'02 seats):
I've been using an earlier prototype version in my LJ for a while, in this photo from the summer I've got a Cool Bag picnic cooler hanging from the Zip & Go zipper on the passenger seat:
Zip & Go bags in the Quadratec Anniversary Jeep:
Another new product OO will be releasing soon they call "Roll Bar Buddies". There are two versions - a pocket version and a "tactical" version. They plan for the production ones to be all black, but just to see what they'd look like in a different color they sent me two in tan. I'm including the tan ones in the photos below because it's easier to see the detail on those than on the all black ones.
The pocket version has two 7" x 3" x 1.5" pockets. They're perfect for sunglasses, masks, tools and many other things.
The Tactical version is intended to hold a tactical flashlight, two pen-sized items, and two other items in pistol-magazine sized pouches. In this photo I've got a Leatherman multitool in one pocket and a Swiss Army Knife in the other and the pocket flaps are open.
The tactical version also has a strip of PALS webbing to hold a small MOLLE pouch in the event that a smaller tactical flashlight is used (photo below).
Checking them out in my LJ...
The tactical version with the same items and the pocket flaps open to show the tools and a photo with the flaps closed:
In this photo a smaller tactical flashlight is in the holder and a small MOLLE pouch is in the center:
I've got a few small suggestions for improvements to these before they go into production but they are small changes so these are very close to production-ready.
About the tactical flashlight in the last photo - when OO told me they were about to send me some preproduction Roll Bar Buddies to test, I got in touch with AuxBeam and asked them if they had any new tactical flashlights that would go well with these. They suggested these: https://auxbeam.com/products/led-ha...high-lumens-for-camping-outdoor-emergency-use. Seemed like a good fit so I asked them if they would send me two to test.
One nice feature these flashlights have is a USB port (micro USB) for charging the battery. In this next photo it's just completed charging from my laptop. The light turns green when it's charged, it's red when charging.
Also in the photo above is the correct battery - the flashlight doesn't ship with a battery (I suspect because of regulations restricting shipping of products with Lithium-Ion batteries), so the buyer will need to source a battery themselves. It's a standard 18650 battery; these can be found on eBay and many other online sources if you can't find them locally (I couldn't find them in my small town so I ordered them from eBay).
The flashlight has three modes:
- One click of the power button: bright
- Second click: half power
- Third click: "SOS" strobe mode. Could be useful as a warning flasher for roadside troubles.
The lens slides in and out to focus the beam narrow or wide; a nice feature.
The AuxBeam web site lists the brightness at 800 lumens, which is pretty bright, especially for a flashlight that only lists for $11.99. I did these two photos after dark - the camera is set to manual exposure mode so both photos accurately depict the before and after illumination. I set the manual exposure to approximate what I was seeing with the naked eye:
Then I turned on the flashlight:
I like these flashlights. They're compact, very bright, very affordable, conveniently rechargeable through USB (and they fit very nicely in the Tactical Roll Bar Buddy ).