I thought about getting a bikini top for my 4dr Sahara. My question is, is the Bestop Bikini top water/weather proof? I havent been able to find this out anywhere. I need a top that is easy on/off and is waterproof. I just had my first run-in with rain while having my hard top and doors off last week and I DONT want it to happen again.

Thanks!

 

the material is water resistant just like a soft top. It will keep a straight down rain off the seats. However they are better suited for sun shade than rain protection.

 

You WON'T BE HAPPY WITH THE BEST TOP!

Wait until you see how they fold over the top material between the front and rear door pilar. The air gap is terrible and I had my local 4x4 shop try to install it twice and even Bestop Rep said they will not be fixing their BOO BOO. Poor Quality for a quality manufacturer.

Look at on installed and you will see what I am talking about. I have NOT found on yet but I am still in the market for one.

 

If you have the hard top, couldn't you just run the Freedom Top panels by themselves?

 

sorry, and no disrespect intended, but asking if a bakini is waterproof, is like asking if a bathing suit is water proof.

water won't go through the material, but it will go around it, and you will get wet if you are driving in the rain.
Bakinis are intended to keep some (not all) wind and sun off you. Drive in the rain and you will get wet.

Again, no disrespect intended, but, oh man...

 

Exactly. One of the worst purchases I made. I knew the windjammer was pitiful, but I didn't expect as many leaks as the rest of the top has. If you get any amount of rain during the summer you'll regret it.

I am lucky we get very little rain in the summer, so I'll have a chance to put mine back on.

Bestop's response? *Shrug*

they made it to my own personal ban list.

 

Thanks everyone. I just kinda wanted to know if I'd be protected from the elements with it. Doesnt sound like a good investment though. The reason I asked if it was waterproof is because in the pics on the Quadratec website the top looks see-through. I couldnt tell what kind of material it was composed of. Guess I'll pass this over then.

 

The "see-through" pics are of the mesh top. The regular bikini is the same material as the factory soft top.

 

I thought I’d add some information for 2DR owners who might be wondering about this.

I had the Bestop bikini top on my YJ and I have one for my JK. I think it works well.

NO, it’s not leak proof, but it's good for an emergency top. That’s the main reason I got it. I just throw everything in the back if there’s a chance for rain. Common sense alone tells you it’s better than no top in the rain.

Below are photos of my JK with Beastop products on it. I drive my JK in the rain all the time this way. A little rain leaking in the jeep won’t hurt it. I never had the door surrounds, or the wind jammer on my YJ, and I drove it in the rain like this.

As you can see, with the wind jammer, there’s a gap between the sport bar and the door-frame but it is kind of shielded.

In short: The bikini top isn’t leak-proof, but it does work as an emergency top and you don’t look quite as foolish as driving in the rain with your top down and doors off.

 

Bestop isn't the only option. There are two versions of the Mopar Sunbonnet,
which is their goofy name for their version of the safari top: One for hardtop
owners, one for softtop owners. I used to be the former, but picked up the
softtop just last fall.

Anyways, regarding the Mopar Sunbonnet for hardtop owners:

There are two, large Velcro panels used to secure the top to the roll
bar above the driver and front seat passenger. The disadvantage with
this is they also cover up any grab handles you may have installed there.
However, the advantage is that they better secure the safari top from flapping
in the breeze than the Bestop (search and you will find plenty of complaints
about this). Because of the way they attach, if you have the doors on there
will be a gap about a foot long, and about large enough to barely fit your
open palm into, between the door and the roll bar. Make a turn with water
from rain on the safari top, and you'll find it running down the inside of the
door.

For the Mopar Sunbonnet for softtop owners:

Because you own the softtop, you own the door rails/frames. You can also
buy the door rails if you're a hardtop owner, and I recommend this if you can
afford it (or, better yet, for a couple hundred more buy a softtop here on the
forum from someone who doesn't want it!). Anyway, the safari top attaches
to the door rails/frames just like the softtop does. I just installed mine for the
first time yesterday, but if it leaks, it's going to be very minor.

For the rear, the Bestop Duster and the Bestop Windjammer fit and perfectly
match the fabric. The Duster is a great product, the primary disadvantage
being that it takes up the tub channels where a trail cover attaches. But, I
still use my trail cover, and suffer a small amount of water getting on top of
the Duster.

As for the Windjammer: There are two versions, the Windjammer and the
Wrap-around Windjammer. For some reason, Bestop is not making a
Wrap-around Windjammer for the four door vehicles. However, for two door
vehicles, this almost completely encloses the cab. As has been mentioned
already, there is a gap between the top part of the rear roll bar, where the
Wrap-around Windjammer attaches, and the inside/bottom of the safari top.
However, at least on the four doors, this gap is several inches recessed from
the end of the safari top, so rain entering there is very unlikely. FYI, the
the Windjammer is the width of the outer edge of the two rear seat headrests.
The area between that and the rear edge of the rear doors is open--perhaps
a foot or so on each side.

A point of interest: RescueX took a Windjammer to a local upholstery shop
and for about $75 they sewed in some matching fabric into those gaps. He
said his 4-door JK was completely water tight, and drove it all summer a
couple years ago all over the country. Last time I spoke with him he did
mention he was selling the combo, primarily because all of that fabric severely
restricted his rear visibility. So, maybe that's why Bestop hasn't gone there,
yet, and maybe there's an opportunity to make those panels with some
transparent fabric.

A few more points to be aware of: If you buy the Mopar Sunbonnet, you DO
NOT need to buy the header channel--it's built into their versions of the safari
top. Also, the hardtop version requires some additional hardware (two
carriage bolts, nuts and brackets) to secure it to the roll bar. You don't need
that hardware with the softtop version, and won't receive it. Also, if you pick
up the Duster, you will need the rear channel bar and two plastic brackets.
Pay attention on the Quadratec website, because they will be recommended
to buy. However, if you already own the softtop, then you already own this
hardware and don't need to buy it.

Bottom line: The safari top and Duster are must haves. I've found that while
the Windjammer doesn't seem to enclose very much, it truly does cut down on
the wind for the rear seat passengers. And, when running doors off at
highway speeds, the tendency of the safari top to billow high in the front and
low in the rear is reduced.

And, finally, this is probably the best picture I have of my Jeep with the
hardtop version of the Sunbonnet (I have none with the softtop version):