Hi Guys, At the risk of getting in trouble with the Roverlanders newsletter editor I am going to give you guys a sneek peak at the article I wrote for the July newsletter, just don't tell Pamela. So for what its worth here is my impression of the Pillowtracks. At our last Founder’s day I was lucky enough to win a set of recovery air bags that were donated to the event raffle by Pillowtrack. Out of respect for their generous donation and in the interest of evaluating the product for our members I offer my impression of the Pillowtracks. The kit is comprised of two inflatable air bladders, each sheathed in durable vinyl-like outer bags that have a thick rubber tread pattern bonded to the sheathing. Each Pillowtrack has a 'soil side' (ribs) and a 'tire side' (rectangle), the black rubberized tread surface seems well up to the job and nothing seemed to suffer from the stresses of trail and truck. The Pillowtracks came in a wrap-style carry cover along with a spare bladder, some printed information and a demonstration DVD (although on a technical point my particular DVD was a bit glitchy). I can tell you that I was very impressed with the overall quality of construction; all of the components are nicely manufactured and assembled with care. The application of the product seemed very intuitive and the DVD cleared up any questions there may have been. I can say that the Pillowtrack would be most useful for vehicles with limited clearance and street biased tires where there is often a need for just a bit more height to cross a ditch or get unstuck without endangering bodywork. In situations or terrain that are not littered with other options for bridge building like in sand or open prairie the Pillowtrack may be your best option of a traction aid. The Pillowtrack can be used in several ways, for mobility or recovery. For mobility the Pillowtracks should be fully inflated prior to crossing the obstacle and then driven over (e.g. as a filler crossing a ditch). During recovery operations the Pillowtrack should be placed under the wheel with least traction, inflated and then driven over. They can even be used to lift a Land-rover in certain circumstances and using a partially inflated pillowtrack can aid in sand recovery. The Pillowtracks can be inflated by mouth but in practical terms a compressor really speeds things up. My only criticisms are minor. Firstly, the air fill hose fits very loosely on the barbed nipple of the air bladder and required me to affix it with zap straps which luckily I had with me. Eyal Benjamin, the Managing Director of Pillowtrack informs me that they are already planning modifications to address this problem. Secondly the Pillowtrack is reasonably bulky to store in an already full vehicle. I suppose this bulk is worth the trade-off if as mentioned earlier you are on a day out in a near stock vehicle and perhaps travelling solo. However if you are exploring in a modified vehicle already equipped with such things as a winch, a locker, oversize tires, lift kit etc. you are less likely to want to sacrifice the much needed storage space, especially on a long trip. Also and perhaps unavoidably the Pillowtracks get very muddy under certain conditions and require much cleaning upon returning home. The wrap style carry cover is easy to use but not very effective at keeping your vehicle from wearing much of the accumulated mud, this could be a factor for some of our more fastidious members and could be remedied by carrying a fully enclosed storage bag. Finally one must consider the cost of the Pillowtracks. The company’s web site lists the kit at $295.00 US (April 2009). So in a world of off-road recovery options they are not the cheapest or the most expensive toys you can buy but I know from my early experiences off-roading in stock vehicles a product such as the Pillowtrack would have hugely bolstered my confidence in returning home on time and without body damage. For the hunter or fisherman who travels side roads by themselves the Pillowtracks might be nice to have along. |