Quick Product Review – Covercraft “Noah” after 2 years
After reading and replying to RedXray’s thread in “Off-Topic” on his looking for suggestions on a car cover, I realized that I went through some of the same decision processes when deciding on a cover a couple of years ago. And since I make use of forum opinions on stuff here, this seems like an opportunity to give a little feedback.
To help put the descriptions into real world photos, I walked outside and took the following shots this morning. Nothing staged, even a trash can in the background (no, I DON’T mean the PT Cruiser!), etc. These area shots taken “in the wild,” with the Covercraft Noah in its natural habitat. I decided to uncover the car for the first time in almost 3 weeks. It stayed covered because we had rain, winds, and general "WTH happened to summer?" weather.
The cover will be 2 years old in August, and is used about 90% of the time, meaning sun, rain, snow, whatever. Sometimes the car is inside, but from maybe April to Sep/Oct, it is outside, but like I said, mostly covered. While the fit may appear a bit loose in spots, it actually fits the car quite well in person. In these pictures, I am only using the cover lock which was originally ordered with the cover. I do have “gust locks” also, but like MarkD51 mentions in his reply to RedXray, I also use “aftermarket” tarp holders. Mine I got from Home Depot, but the idea is the same as MarkD51’s – they are more robust in holding better than the ones that came with the cover. I have 2 of these covers now, and I did not order the “gust locks” with cover #2, so there’s the “walk the talk” on that. If you are subject to gusty and even brisk winds, you’ll want something in this area. It doesn’t “flap,” but what happens is the air can get underneath and poof it up, and if that happens it can billow enough to lift the cover off one end or the other. I’ve never had one come off, but I’ve found it after a windy episode “showing some leg” if you will.
The little “here’s what ya gotta do” card that comes with it says roll it out on the car, roll sides down and put the mirrors in their pockets, then stretch the bands over the front and rear and snug it down. It does just take seconds. Removal is reverse, and the instructions correctly remind you that you have to take the front and rear ends up before you can roll the sides and clear the mirrors. The fit is not so loose that you can take just whatever approach.
I have never done anything to this cover except that it's been rinsed down a time or 3 with plain water. The mfr recommends washing it, and then letting it dry, right on the car. I would agree with that. It sheds water wonderfully, but allows the car to breath. I can uncover the car at any time and it is not damp, no condensation visible under the cover. To me, that’s a big deal. The other reasons I went with this cover (going off other various forums and comments) was for some UV protection, and “oops” protection. It is all a compromise since there are covers that are better for primary UV protection, others that maybe protect from physical damage (but at the cost of bulkier cover). For me in WA state, this was a great compromise, and as noted, was good enough I didn’t hesitate getting a second (ok, yeah, for the 8 year old PT, but hey, it's the wife's car, and she IS the cook……)
The cover is of multi-layer construction. The various sites can describe what the materials are better than I, but in our terms, the inside of the cover is soft and very short-threads (I know - what does THAT mean?) Best I can do for ya, but I included a picture of the interior fabric as well.
So the pictures – begins with as fitted at about 2 years of age. Sorry I can't help the sun angles as it's early morning and so not much light across horizontal surfaces. But, after a few weeks of “not nice” weather, the uncovered car is ready to drive as is, or if you prefer, it is QD ready. Note: If you keep a slick car (BFWD on this one) the removal is almost a challenge because as you are rolling up the sides, it wants to slide off (cover landing in sand/debris = NOOOO!!!). I’m just sayin’
After reading and replying to RedXray’s thread in “Off-Topic” on his looking for suggestions on a car cover, I realized that I went through some of the same decision processes when deciding on a cover a couple of years ago. And since I make use of forum opinions on stuff here, this seems like an opportunity to give a little feedback.
To help put the descriptions into real world photos, I walked outside and took the following shots this morning. Nothing staged, even a trash can in the background (no, I DON’T mean the PT Cruiser!), etc. These area shots taken “in the wild,” with the Covercraft Noah in its natural habitat. I decided to uncover the car for the first time in almost 3 weeks. It stayed covered because we had rain, winds, and general "WTH happened to summer?" weather.
The cover will be 2 years old in August, and is used about 90% of the time, meaning sun, rain, snow, whatever. Sometimes the car is inside, but from maybe April to Sep/Oct, it is outside, but like I said, mostly covered. While the fit may appear a bit loose in spots, it actually fits the car quite well in person. In these pictures, I am only using the cover lock which was originally ordered with the cover. I do have “gust locks” also, but like MarkD51 mentions in his reply to RedXray, I also use “aftermarket” tarp holders. Mine I got from Home Depot, but the idea is the same as MarkD51’s – they are more robust in holding better than the ones that came with the cover. I have 2 of these covers now, and I did not order the “gust locks” with cover #2, so there’s the “walk the talk” on that. If you are subject to gusty and even brisk winds, you’ll want something in this area. It doesn’t “flap,” but what happens is the air can get underneath and poof it up, and if that happens it can billow enough to lift the cover off one end or the other. I’ve never had one come off, but I’ve found it after a windy episode “showing some leg” if you will.
The little “here’s what ya gotta do” card that comes with it says roll it out on the car, roll sides down and put the mirrors in their pockets, then stretch the bands over the front and rear and snug it down. It does just take seconds. Removal is reverse, and the instructions correctly remind you that you have to take the front and rear ends up before you can roll the sides and clear the mirrors. The fit is not so loose that you can take just whatever approach.
I have never done anything to this cover except that it's been rinsed down a time or 3 with plain water. The mfr recommends washing it, and then letting it dry, right on the car. I would agree with that. It sheds water wonderfully, but allows the car to breath. I can uncover the car at any time and it is not damp, no condensation visible under the cover. To me, that’s a big deal. The other reasons I went with this cover (going off other various forums and comments) was for some UV protection, and “oops” protection. It is all a compromise since there are covers that are better for primary UV protection, others that maybe protect from physical damage (but at the cost of bulkier cover). For me in WA state, this was a great compromise, and as noted, was good enough I didn’t hesitate getting a second (ok, yeah, for the 8 year old PT, but hey, it's the wife's car, and she IS the cook……)
The cover is of multi-layer construction. The various sites can describe what the materials are better than I, but in our terms, the inside of the cover is soft and very short-threads (I know - what does THAT mean?) Best I can do for ya, but I included a picture of the interior fabric as well.
So the pictures – begins with as fitted at about 2 years of age. Sorry I can't help the sun angles as it's early morning and so not much light across horizontal surfaces. But, after a few weeks of “not nice” weather, the uncovered car is ready to drive as is, or if you prefer, it is QD ready. Note: If you keep a slick car (BFWD on this one) the removal is almost a challenge because as you are rolling up the sides, it wants to slide off (cover landing in sand/debris = NOOOO!!!). I’m just sayin’
