By Jon Maib
It was a year ago that I first met the JTops team at the 2nd annual Crawl for a Reason out in Gilmer, TX. They had brought their line of products to display at the event and I got to see all the stuff they were making. To be honest, I had not heard of JTops at the time and it was cool to see some new products.

Over the last year, I have watched them grow and have seen so many people purchasing their sunshades. I was excited when I was invited down to their showroom in Frisco, Texas to see what they do and what their products have become. I had the opportunity to sit down with the owner, Mike and discuss the business, the struggles, the products and the success. Mike is very passionate about his product and the quality that goes into it. He is constantly looking into new ways to improve and make his products better.

JTops sunshades are one of the best shades on the market today. You will find that they tend to be a bit on the higher price than some of the other sunshades out there, but there is a reason behind that. These shades use a Twitchell Textilene synthetic fabric that is made of PVC coated polyester and are designed to reduce heat transfer and reduce the harmful rays from the sun. This fabric is also flame and fade resistant. On top of that, the sunshades are stitched with a GORE Tenara thread that resists UV sunlight, chemicals, saltwater, extreme weather, and even acid rain so it will not break down over time from the constant exposure to the elements.

Instead of using a bungee or Velcro type of strap that can wear out over time, the JTops use a strap with a U.S. made, military grade UV resistant quick snap memory buckle that is easy to cinch down to make the top sit flat and taut. This keeps the top from flapping around while traveling at higher vehicle speeds. To further ensure there is no flapping, JTops has installed powerful Neodymium Magnets into the fabric that attach to the center roll bar. In my review of this top, at 75mph on the highway, this top makes very little noise and does not flap much at all.

One of my favorite features that JTops offers, is the ability to add an LED light strip that plugs into your existing tail lights giving you additional brake, blinker, running and reverse lights to the top of your Jeep. Another great option is ability to customize your top! For a little extra, you can have your top customized to the personality of you and your Jeep. JTops works with Vinyl Customz and Signz who will work directly with you on a graphic of your choosing (or you can pick one of theirs), they send it off to get printed and it is then put together with all the high quality materials, giving you a unique, one of a kind top! While I was visiting the showroom, they had just received a personalized top that had just been completed and it was beautiful!

On top of making sunshades, JTops USA also makes soft top boots, trail door skins and tonneau cargo covers. I picked up one of the tonneau covers while I was there. These are designed with the same high quality products of the sunshades and gives you added security in keeping stuff in the rear of your Jeep when your top is off. With that said, someone could still get into it if they wanted; this is more of an out of sight out of mind kind of safety. I love the tonneau cover and will use it every time the soft top comes off!

The tonneau is easy to put on, it uses 2 latches that attach just behind the passenger seat that you stretch over and attach to the soft top channels on the tub. The rest of the tonneau then gets slipped into the channels the way a soft top connects. The rear of the tonneau has the same powerful Neodymium Magnets that connect onto the tailgate. This cover really gives the Jeep a good look helps keep stuff from flying out of your Jeep when the top is off.

I've been using the sunshade and the tonneau cover for about 2 weeks now and I love having these. They are easy to attach to your Jeep, you can feel the quality in the buckles when you cinch the top down and there seems to be about a 5 degree difference sitting under the sunshade. I don't feel like my head is burning when I stop at a light or sitting on the trail. As a Jeeper, I love the feeling of the open top Jeep, the JTops USA sunshade still provides me with that open feeling, all while giving me some protecting from harsh Texas sun.

Be sure to go check out all these great products over at JTops USA or at our partners, Extreme Terrain. The quality is unmatched, they stand behind their product and it's all made here in the USA!

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