Unless you can fabricate yourself, or live close enough to a fabricator and have the funds for fully custom, the decision is all about compromise.
My primary requirements were dual swing outs and a removable hitch (increases departure angle significantly). Secondary requirements were a dual can carrier and a place to mount the hi-lift (relocate from roof rack to get the CG lower). My tertiary requirement was an angled tire carrier on the swing out arm.
So...my ideal rear bumper would have all of the above AND be made of aluminum (bonus requirement!! LOL!).
As for my specific decision process based on the market I knew of...
Most of my other preferences came down to aesthetics AFTER cutting the list via the primary and secondary items above. Tertiary requirement was nice-to-have:
I do not care for the way the SSO and 4x4Labs have all that metal wrapping around the back end. There needs to be a decent gap there to allow for frame flex. I've seen the 4x4Labs in person and it really is well built. I'm sure SSO is as well. I also have no problem at all cutting the bumper skin, but the frame freaks me out.
SSO also recently stopped production of their rear at least temporarily (per their thread). IIRC this was due to a combination of workload in other markets they serve and the complexity required for bumpers on our vehicles (don't quote me on that though, on my phone a search is a pain in the ass; go find the thread and then call me out if I'm wrong; I'll correct this and link back if I am).
Love the CBI but no removable hitch. I'd have ordered the "@lawndart Special". Check his build thread as he built the ideal except for the hitch (though the dual hitches are pretty freaking sweet too). There just isn't a way to get the hitch with their bumper design.
Really like HeftyFab as well (Chris was awesome when we spoke on the phone), but I don't care for how they secure the swing outs (pins instead of latches) to the bumper when closed. I HATE squeaks and rattles and just feel like latches are the best option. They were my second choice, though, because I really, really debated going with aluminum.
I ended up with a one-off (well....two-off; [MENTION=122507]jdm_rider[/MENTION]) from Brute Force Fab. As this is just his second 5th Gen bumper, there are some tweaks needed, but Billy is awesome about that.
I do have a request for those that want the Brute Force Fab bumper: Please do not contact him about having one made. He is literally a one-man shop and doesn't have the capacity to add these to full production yet. He does want to produce them regularly at some point in the future, but just isn't in a position to take that on right now. He doesn't have a timeframe.
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