Anyone who has ever owned (or ridden in) a Jeep vehicle (especially when the vehicle is topless) knows what a thrill ride it can be.  And during that thrill ride, more often than not the driver and/or passengers will need to grab something to hold on.  Since the roll bar with its thick padding is usually not a great place to grab - either your hand is too small or the padding rotates - you just need a good anchor point to grab.

This is especially true when entering or exiting the vehicle.  Thus the old rule of "supply & demand" kicks in.  The problem is that there was so much of a demand, too many companies decided to join in the mix.  This means various quality levels of these grab bars due to so many countries of manufacture with little or no concern for safety of the people who would actually use them.

In our particular case (as evidenced by the picture above) the grab handle implies little or no concern for the safety of the person who might grab it.

You see every company has its idea of the design of the grab point.  Some have two Velcro anchor point while others have three.  Some fit a certain diameter of roll-bar with or without padding.  Some have thick rubber or foam hand grips to cushion someone's hand.  The latter being the most important with regard to user safety.  I have seen people get their hand burned or cut on the heavy duty nylon webbing material.  The better quality grab handles look like these.

When choosing a good grab handle, the grip should be rubber or foam padded - not just plain nylon webbing and you should measure the outside diameter of your roll bar or roll cage bars to determine what size you'll need.

Another thing to look out for is the material of the "loops" or rings. The rings are the oval loops that the Velcro goes through in order to create a tight cinch on the bar.  Usually, the cheaper units are made with plastic rings.  These can easily crack from the pressure of cinching or even decay from the sun's rays over time.

With my first set of less-expensive grab handles, I cut out the plastic rings and replaced them with the metal chain links with the threaded link opening.  It took some "elbow grease" to get them in there, but it was well worth it because I can rely on them more.  You don't want to cause injury to yourself or a passenger because one of the loops snaps while someone is getting into or exiting the vehicle.

Note:  The heading implies that these grab handles are made specifically for the Jeep Wrangler.  Not true.  These will work on any vehicle with a roll bar or roll cage installed.

Price:  Again, price will vary depending on the company or country of origin - depending on features, quality, etc.  The cheap Chinese grab handles will be in the $12 range while the very well built Mastercraft grab handles with be in the range of $45 - $60 per pair.  Yes, there are all sorts of companies in between, but look for the features I wrote about above and make an informed decision.

Have fun out there.

OlllllllO  (Jeep Wave)

* * Please visit www.JeepRiver.com * *


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