Mutt wrote:
I can't imagine they would last very long, or hold up to too much abuse.
I agree. I really like the design, they are very sharp looking skids, but having seen what some real serious rock crawling has done to 3/16" steel gas tank and belly skids, those will not last. Saving a little weight will not save your drivetrain or gas tank when the going gets tough. Those skids will crack and fail right at those brake points. And aluminum does not slide on rocks very well, they snag and hang up.
I think if they made them out of 3/16" steel, maybe A50, they would have a great setup. In its current form, you will shred your money all over the rocks on the trail. If you are prerunning in the sand, then aluminum skids are good because they won't be abused as much and they are light weight, but I don't see anyone running the baja in a 4000lb KJ anytime soon. The most practical material for the KJ in the states is steel. How much difference is an extra 50 or even 100lbs going to make to a KJ? If you really want to save some weight, take off all the doors, otherwise load up on all the armor you can get. For anyone running trails that get any kind of rock contact, these probably wouldn't be a good idea. If you just like the look, or only hit the backwoods forest roads to get to a good fishing or hunting spot, then they should be all the armor you really need.
Sorry for the long post, just my thoughts.
Edit: Oops, just seen that Darby already agrees that they are not ideal for hardcore rockcrawling.
