Are you talking about the octagon pattern cloth? It looks good, not a big difference imo (it's very subtle). The wife's car has it (she didn't like the sport seats). I've not seen an actual checkered cloth, but that would be interesting.

Btw, you can get the puppy some booties, that would fix the problem. I used to live in Huntsville btw, that's where I bought most of my vertibles. That's where I learned to appreciate cloth interiors.

 

Oops, sorry Scott, I didn't realize you posted while I typed. Lol, I wish I could say it was a MINI, but alas, it was a mustang. But if my record of ownership holds (I usually put between 100-150k on my cars before trading them or else), I may hit close to 200K on this MINI. Although, I have been drooling over the 2nd gen turbo cars...

 

+1.

My three previous verts had leather and the only problem I had was with poor dying, resulting in staining when wearing jeans or other non-colorfast clothes. Sweating was never a problem, and I'm a faucet when the humidity gets above about 30%.

My Mini has leatherette and I hate it, so I'm considering the Okoles. Do they really work? I scuba dive and can't stand the feeling of neoprene on my skin, so I'm a bit worried about that. But I'd rather solve the sweat issue, so if they work...

 

The checkered cloth seats are called checkered/carbon on the configurator. I dunno if they really look better or not. I have never seen them in person

Do a NAM search. There are some threads where people have talked about the wet oakles in depth. Reading about them made me seriously want some but I just haven't jumped in & bought them yet. You could probably learn enough from those threads to answer all your questions

 

Yes, they do work. It's very different than being in a wet suit, as you're sitting on what would be the *outside* of the wet suit.

 

Gromit is my third convertible. The first had cloth seats and I never had a problem with the heat or cold making for uncomfortable driving. The second had leather seats. I had always heard how much better they were, but (to me) they weren't anything special, and I thought definitely worse than cloth. I still got "sweaty back", but not as bad as vinyl or leatherette.

Gromit has leatherette (purchased from dealer stock) and the heat and cold was really bad with them. I got Wet Okoles for Christmas and both my wife and I love them. We haven't had them through SE Missouri's normal 100+ degree/100% humidity summer yet, but the 90 degree heat waves we've had so far have been much better than the leatherette.

The big difference for us is getting in the car after it's been sitting in the sun with the top down for a while. With both the leather and leatherette, you could hear your skin sizzle when you got in the car. The Wet Okoles don't cook you when you first sit down, and seem to cool off much faster than either leather or leatherette. When it's cold, they warm up much faster, too. They are well made to fit the seats and IMO look like they belong, not like a lot of seat covers out there. Another thing I like about them is they're a breeze to clean, which is nice since mine are copper colored and tend to show dirt pretty easily.

 

OK, I ordered the okoles today. We'll see how they do. They're not cheap, but they're not like buying Sparco Milano2's @ over $1000 per seat!!! PLUS, I won't lose my side airbags

 

So has no one recovered their seats aftermarket? I ordered with Leatherette with the intention of putting in aftermarket custom leather. The aftermarket stuff is usually of better quality, and you can choose any color you like, customize it to your heart's content and wallets demise.

 

I'm considering having custom seats done, but right now its out of my range.

 

Ordered my Okoles yesterday. It's 103 today - wish I had them now!

EDIT: scratch that - make it 106. Ugh. Good day to watch Netherlands take it to Russia.

 

I not sure what the great love of leather is other than just looks. My Saab had gorgeous leather seats that were cold in winter (thank god for seat heaters) and hot in summer (I think my daughter had second degree burns from sitting on a seat that had been sitting in the sun). So I ordered the cheap cloth seats for mini cabrio and love it. Even when the car has sat out in the sun, I can get in the car and not worry about seat burn. Not only that, but I am not so paranoid about what I put on the seats (including Athena the not so bright wonder mutt). I also think the cloth breathes better than leather or leatherette. I do have to say the BMW/Mini did me/us a favor by not giving us "flocked" cloth seats.

 

Originally Posted by bamatt
For me the reason to pick leather or even leatherette is for looks. While I agree 100% cloth is sooo much more functional in a cabrio & I kinda wish I had it on these 98°/98% humidity Alabama days, I find the look of cloth to be cheap. I have wondered if this new checkered looking cloth looks a bit more upscale but the cloth seats I have seen in MINIS thus far just wasn't for me

One day I am going to spring for the wet oakles but I worry about Petey the puppy's rough pawpads messing them up because man his pads feel like sandpaper. Maybe I need to get him to start moisturizing


~~~ Maybe treat him to a PAWdicure ~~~ LOL!!!!!!!!!

 

Because if I forget to dose my kids with Dramamine, leather is MUCH easier to clean off than cloth!

My top is down all the time. I wear clothes that "wick" and dry quickly. I know that when I get out of my car, I look like a sweatrag sometime, but I don't care - I've just been motoring!

 

I wouldnt buy a car with anything but leather seats, I like the look and the feel. For me its less a cabrio issue, than a general air flow between myself and the seat.
Do the wet okoles help much with this? I'm half considering getting one of the beaded deals, then covering it with a seat cover.

 

IKEA has sheep skins that will fit the seat pretty well for $40. I'm looking for someone who wants to trade their fabric regular seats for a nice 2-tone vinyl sport seats.

 

I've had the Okoles for almost two weeks. I can say without hesitation that they did the trick.

 

On the other post that mentioned CoverKing seat covers, that look nice in the pics, I found a site that sells them for $150 with free shipping [for the front seats.]

Don't know about the quality or anything, but I might buy a set for the front. Might be an alternative for chipping away at spending $2000 for all the add-ons and accessories I am getting. [You know how that goes. By the time one "gets this, gets that," it sure adds up fast.]


http://www.autoaccessoriesgarage.com...mat=neosupreme

 

I gave up on frugal MINI modding about $14,000 ago...

But I hope you succeed where I failed!

 

Is Okole a vendor on NAM, if so, can you do a review about your experience with the product.

I'd like to read your review because of your pre-purchase concern about neoprene [not liking the feel based on your SCUBA wetsuits.] And also your 106 degree days.

What color did you get [solid or two-color?] Are you pleased with the color choice?

Was it still hot by the time you got them, so you can tell us your before and after experience in that 106 degree weather you have been having?

I'm thinking of springing for the higher priced Okoles because I suspect the quality is really there, they will hold up well, look great and fit perfectly.

But I am also curious about your situation on blazing hot days. [I overheat easily so my rich corinthian vinyl seats might be like sitting on a hot skillet.] I suspect the Okoles breath nicely in hot weather.

Thanks

 

I don't believe Okole is a vendor on NAM. I got mine here.

I ended up getting solid charcoal with light grey piping. They look fantastic. My only gripe, and it's a minor one, is that the charcoal sample they sent me was darker than the article that was actually used. It isn't bad by any stretch, especially considering my color scheme is dark grey/black to begin with, but it was a slight surprise that they were lighter than expected. If I did it again, I'd probably do black with light grey piping.

Here is what I mean regarding color:





Lead time was quoted as 18 days, but they were ready in 11. That was nice. In lieu of having them shipped, I opted to have them installed for free at their Costa Mesa store. The install only took 30 man-minutes and didn't seem all that difficult (granted, I only got fronts and they were installed by two guys who install these things all day long).

Fit is nearly perfect - as good as it could be considering it's a cover. There is a little separation in the center of the seat back at first, but it goes away after just a few days as the covers "form" to the seats (my passenger side cover is still puffed out because I rarely have passengers in the car!). Also, they don't slide around like other seat covers do, which is nice.

Here is a pic:



You can see how the passenger seat puffs out more. I just have to insist that my wife ride with me more often. Disregard the misfit headrest covers - I'm constantly removing them to put up my Brownflyer windscreen, which utilizes its own headrest covers. Also disregard coloring - it's sunset so they are picking up the red/orange/purple in the sky. The top pics are closer to the actual color - still light but not horrible.

Fortunately, we haven't had any triple-digit days since that last post, but I've left the car out for hours in the direct sun on 90+ days and there was no problem with heat. I also no longer sweat and have not stuck to the seats once since I got them. I still am not a fan of the neoprene "feel", but I could see myself forgetting about that rather soon. I'm already pretty well used to it.

This is the first car I've ever owned that did not have leather seats, so my experience with covers is limited. That said, I haven't seen another seat cover that looks as right on the Mini as the Okoles do. Do I wish I had leather seats? Sure, but these are a fine substitute.

 

Thanks for the excellent review and pics.

 

What does it mean, I can't figure it out?

 

Miracle Max (Billy Crystal's character), to Inigo (Andre the Giant), as he tries to revive Westley. They are discussing what Westley just mumbled, which sounded like "true love" -

At which point Max' wife busts in calls Max for what he is, a LIAR, LI-AR! Of course, the witch never had it so good...

You can watch the movie twenty times and pick up something new every time.

 

Thanks for the nice pictures. You convinced me to try them.

 

I got Wet Okoles and, while they look nice and professionally made, I don't think i'm any cooler than I am without them on!! As a matter of fact, I think I may be hotter on them... I took them off the seat backs and headrests and just left them on the seat bottoms and it really doesn't make a difference. I now wish I had invested the $500 that they cost me into just having my seats reupholstered leather!!!