I was extremely lucky to take an extended look, and try, of soft upper windows that go on top of the hard half doors. And I have to say, even with all the bad trade-offs, I’m in love.
Just to get the bad parts out of the way:
- You have to zipper ALL THE WAY to get in and out.
- You have to hold the top of the window while getting in and out.
- It is super costly, about $1000-$2000 because they are made one at a time and custom fit. The zippers are particularly hard to sew in.
- The outer black ballistic nylon part stays permanently.
- To install, you need to permanently screw snaps along the top of all the hard half doors and, it looks like, up the front side of the trunk.
- It is not 100% waterproof. It cannot be temporarily used as a boat.
- To keep air moving, you have to unzip a bit that might flap.
- To put it back in after removal, you have to align the zippers, and that can be somewhat hard.
- You will have some condensation issues.
OK, now for the good parts. In my opinion, this is the absolute best, and possibly the most reliable, solution if you already have hard half doors.
- It is tight, it does not flap in the wind.
- We were kept pretty warm in 40 degree weather going 50 mph. And both of us are wusses. We wore sweatshirts with no hats, gloves, or coats.
- The defrost works well under 25mph or so in the front seat to help keep you warm.
- Visibility is great. It doesn’t inhibit the view of the side mirrors - at all.
- It cuts out most of the wind noise at higher speeds. We tested at 45-50 mph and could hear each other talk pretty easily.
- The wind noise is cut down.
- I can see us all getting used to zipping in and out, to the point of not thinking about it.
- You, your seats, and seatbelts will remain dry in a rain shower. Guaranteed.
- It uses marine grade vinyl for the windows. It is crystal clear.
The window material is expensive at $250 for a 54”x110” section. To make the windows, you have to put an oversized section over the area, make it tight, and mark out the window section. This way the window is as tight as possible.
Other design options have less water tightness, flapping issues, and ingress/egress issues. Longevity issues should also be considered. These uppers are about 2 years old. First 2 images are videos.
Still here? Interested? Contact me via messenger. I didn’t have a look at the newer full soft door prototype as the designer is at a “creative impasse.” To design a door that opens without traditional hinges or latch is, apparently, not so easy. But the design has a ton of promise.
1 comment
very nice write-up. "creative impasse" lol
Post a Comment