It's been two weeks since I dropped my Grenadier at the dealer - it was time for its first annual service, applying the software update, replacing a leaking rear pinion seal and diagnosing several error codes. The errors were due to a faulty plug in one of the wiring harnesses and it took a while to get that diagnosed and a new segment of the harness sourced and replaced. But I've got it back and all seems well now. And the speed limit click can be turned off permanently now.
While the Grenadier was out of my hands, I spent a little time sewing something new for it. I while back I designed a pocket panel for the small rear door for Overland Outfitters; it's in production and I've been using one in mine for a few months now - for me, the series of pockets are perfect for a range of small items I need to carry. John Brindell of Agile Offroad saw it and said that he would prefer one larger pocket rather than a series of smaller ones, so I sewed a prototype. This is how a lot of the Overland Outfitters gear gets started - someone make a suggestion to OO or to me, I design something based on that suggestion, and usually I sew a prototype for testing before turning it over to OO for them to accept or reject. Sometimes I turn over drawings instead of sewing a prototype myself, but in this case I decided to sew one to John's suggestion.
I usually do samples in tan because it often photographs better than black, although most OO products do get offered in either tan or black. Here are a few photos of both versions - the one with five pockets and the new prototype I sewed. Probably the large pocket version would have a small pocket in the upper right corner, but for this sample I put a small MOLLE grid there to see if that might be useful.
What do you think - single large pocket (either with one small pocket or a small MOLLE grid in the upper corner) or the 4-pocket version?
Just for reference... the small pocket version that's in production now.
Next sewing project - I've done a design for the compartment in front of where the jack is stored. Stay tuned.