Hi guys,

Just wanted to post a quick and kind of stupid story for your entertainment. Last weekend was a beautiful, hot and sunny weekend here in Southern California. Other than a bit of dryness (wildfires, anyone?), it was perfect. I wanted to take advantage of this paradise so I packed up the dog and we went out for a nice hike up to Potato Chip Rock. This is an approximately 8 miles with 2,000 ft elevation change hike and we figured it would take up most of the day (including quite a bit of a drive to get there).

Anyway, I always pack a ton of water for both myself and the dog. Some snacks and of course camera gear. Dog also has a backpack to carry some of his own gear.

So off we go! Great day, weather is probably high 70s / low 80s and lots of sun.

Then we get there and I can't find my sunblock. Which, of course, I know I had packed in one of my trusty plastic bins. Which, of course, I left sitting in the middle of the garage. Yep. I am a brilliant one.

Pretty mad at my stupidity. But this is also why I try to be packed up the night before, and not the day-of. Since I can't fix my stupidity, I thought I'd try to find a solution for gear storage to avoid this situation in the future.

So after a bit of research, I found my solution in the Blue Ridge Overland Gear MOLLE Seat Back Panel. I've seen the 4th Gen and 5th Gen folks on this forum get MOLLE panels covering their rear side window, which seemed pretty ingenious. For poverty 3rd Gen folks like myself, we would need to do a bit of drilling to get the same panel. Same goes for rear ceiling attics. I'm not quite ready for that yet. Plus this seat back panel uses up some dead space and keeps everything pretty much within arm's reach.

When I got the piece, I actually thought it looked a bit small. Clearly well made (and Made in the USA), tight stitching and with a stiff pack panel. It also has convenient Velcro rows up on top and one at the bottom too. Useful for patches (though a better use may be a rip-away first aid pouch).



In addition to a 'general' pouch, I got one made for radios so that my ham no longer sits awkwardly in my glove box.



In my research, I read about cheaper MOLLE systems that are not constructed as well and will sag. This goes for MOLLE panels as well as pouches, so I didn't want to cheap out on either.



On the passenger seat of my 3rd Gen 4Runner. Though the panel looked small when I unboxed it, it is the perfect size for the seat. Now I'll never be without sunblock! Going to throw a few maps in there too. And I still have space for another pouch.

I may end up getting another seat back panel for the driver's seat too.



Potato Chip Rock. With Dog.

All this, because I forgot my sunblock.

Why not just put the sunblock in your glovebox?

Hrrrmmm.. I wonder if a fire extinguisher would fit on there...

This.. Or why not put it in your backpack?

why not apply sunblock before you leave the house?

Nice setup.. what size did you get? 14” or 18”

I dont see the radio pouch on the website.. i am considering adding 2 of these to the back seats, thanks for the info

you, sir, are far smarter than i.

no but seriously, it's because this solves other organizational issues for me at the same time. when i had a sleeping platform, i carried some extra stuff with me that i liked to have when i am in my truck: zip ties, box cutter, bungee cords, ratchet straps, some recovery gear, air hose, etc. all of this fit neatly in plastic bins under the platform. but without the platform, i hated having these random bins just laying around.

i think yes, but i wonder if that might be too heavy? idk how heavy an extinguisher is.


bc i'd want to re-apply. though your idea would've been preferable to none at all lol

14" x 20"

the radio pouch i bought on amazon - but you can see the colors match up really well.

i guess if you want to be safe about color match, just get all black everything.

shoot, bros. i like this thing so much i may end up getting a second one

$52 just for the panel without pouches? Seems a bit expensive to me. I could build something like that using a second hand chest rig for cheaper than that.

and how much time would it take for you to construct it?

i thought the same about building out my fuse box and switches and all. but in the end, a switchpro-type system would've been both cheaper and less time-consuming. don't regret it because it was a fun mental exercise too. but still, i find that when peopel claim they can build something for cheaper, they (1) don't include time & labor, or (2) won't actually ever do it.

idk, my time and energy is worth more than spending $52 on this thing, even if the materials were free. sewing doesn't seem as fun as planning out switches and a fuse box and tearing up the inside of my rig. but your calculations may vary..

I'm all for DIY, but Blue Ridge Overland makes very high quality gear and I'm sure it's worth every penny of the retail price. I stopped by the Blue Ridge Overland shop while traveling through Virginia. I was blown away by how nice the crew is and I was even more impressed when I saw that all of their storage solutions are made in-house. It's high quality American-made stuff.

You would be very hard pressed to do so. I've been making a seat panel from a large flat molle panel that needs to be folded to fit seat back. It was the least expensive thing on eBay and that was somewhere near $30.

Then as mentioned it will sag, so it needs at least top reinforcement. A couple of bucks. Then straps, fasteners, several more $.

I would have -gladly- paid $50 for a panel to the exact specs I wanted and I already have lots of straps , fasteners, hook and loop, etc..

Sure you could take a razor blade to a cheap chest rig but you are going to earn that $15 in doing so and it won't likely be as solid and functional as that one above.

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@violation

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Not sure if you tried this or not, but I mounted mine on the passenger seat and didn't like the way it blocked the back seat. Not to mention you can't access anything on it while driving. So I mounted mine on the passenger 2nd row seat. Now I can get out, fold down the seat or in cases leave it folded down, and I have a molle -table- to grab whatever. It's so much easier to use. Not to mention, when the seat is up, your gear is more hidden. You might give it a try and may be surprised how well that works.

Waaay better than leaning over in to the back seat, doesn't upset your passenger by moving the seat, just a lot better overall for me.

Plastic bags are what I use.

Look up the 10 essentials online, i have a few kits that have all those things, one in each of my cars and a more formal go-bag. But that way if i forget to grab my go bag i have backup essentials. A ziplock under a passenger seat suffices.