Mastercraft Nomad Seats

[SFNick]

How long did it take for you to get the seats? also do you need the extra brackets that are sold for the seats?

It took me 7 days to get them in. It was during the holidays though. I didn't use the Mastercraft brackets 99$ was too pricey for me. If you plan on reusing your factory seatbelts then you will need the brackets. I just bent a piece of flat stock in a L shape & mounted it to the rear seat flor bolts & put in a 4 point harness.

 

[SFNick]

Oh & I did use the Mastercraft brackets for the rear seats.

 

[SFNick]

Couple of pics on the mounting brackets I used.

 

[AllAmericanInfidel]

Couple of pics on the mounting brackets I used.

Now that you have had them for a few months, I am curious what your impressions are of these seats. I am eyeballing them as well. Its between the MC Rubicon or MC Sahara seats. I realize comfort is subjective, but how do they feel compared to the stock seats? How 'deep' do you sit in them? Also, how is the support in the lower back area compared to the factory seats? The reason I ask is because I have never felt the 'need' for lumbar support with the factory seats, but am curious how these compare and if lumbar support would be worth getting. Last, how water resistant would you say the material is on the Rubicons and how quick do they dry? I get caught in the rain with no doors or top a lot! :grayno: Thanks, they look great!

 

[SFNick]

Now that you have had them for a few months, I am curious what your impressions are of these seats. I am eyeballing them as well. Its between the MC Rubicon or MC Sahara seats. I realize comfort is subjective, but how do they feel compared to the stock seats? How 'deep' do you sit in them? Also, how is the support in the lower back area compared to the factory seats? The reason I ask is because I have never felt the 'need' for lumbar support with the factory seats, but am curious how these compare and if lumbar support would be worth getting. Last, how water resistant would you say the material is on the Rubicons and how quick do they dry? I get caught in the rain with no doors or top a lot! :grayno: Thanks, they look great!

Well, I will start off by saying that the MC Rubicon seats are top notch in quality. They feel great to me & keep me in place while on the trail. They do sit just a hair bit lower than the stock seats. I'm 6"2' & with the window down the door makes a great arm rest now.

I've been told I have a fat ass & when I sit in the seat with a wallet in my back pocket it's very uncomfortable other than that I love them. I recently sat in a new Jeep & I kinda miss the ability to adjust lean but you definitely get use to not having it. I've never liked lumbar support I spend all my time trying to adjust it. Lol. As far as water resistant goes I've been caught once in a down poor the seats were soaked but they dried fairly quickly, way quicker than what my stock seats did.

Originally I posted I had one seat that was a MC Nomad. So I returned it & it took 1 1/2 months to get the Rubicon Seat in this time. Kinda sucked since I received the other 3 within a week. All in all they are great seats & I would buy them again.

P.S. The last MC seat I received smells like oranges.

 

[Ironwagon]

Personally, my Rubicon seat fits me like a glove and works like a champ - but I recommend getting their covers if you want the tweed to survive UV damage. I'm looking at my third set over the last ten years(Mastercraft recovered them) simply because the tweed disintegrates over time and crumbles. This isn't a wear surface, it's the upper outer corners that see the most sun as installed in my XJ.
Just throwing a t-shirt over the back would probably have saved mine.
That being said, I have a hard time switching to another brand because they work so damn well.

I just talked to them about their Baja RS seat, and they quoted a six week wait for a standard seat, nothing custom, but their Chinese made seats are in stock.

 

[AllAmericanInfidel]

Well, I will start off by saying that the MC Rubicon seats are top notch in quality. They feel great to me & keep me in place while on the trail. They do sit just a hair bit lower than the stock seats. I'm 6"2' & with the window down the door makes a great arm rest now.

I've been told I have a fat ass & when I sit in the seat with a wallet in my back pocket it's very uncomfortable other than that I love them. I recently sat in a new Jeep & I kinda miss the ability to adjust lean but you definitely get use to not having it. I've never liked lumbar support I spend all my time trying to adjust it. Lol. As far as water resistant goes I've been caught once in a down poor the seats were soaked but they dried fairly quickly, way quicker than what my stock seats did.

Originally I posted I had one seat that was a MC Nomad. So I returned it & it took 1 1/2 months to get the Rubicon Seat in this time. Kinda sucked since I received the other 3 within a week. All in all they are great seats & I would buy them again.

P.S. The last MC seat I received smells like oranges.

LOL! The oranges comment threw me off a little! Hey, the guys at mastercraft like a snack every now and then too! :crazyeyes: Anyways, thanks for the info. I have been looking at alot of the Mastercraft seats online, but I want something that is pretty water resistant at the same time. If I do go mastercraft, I think I might have to invest in the seat savers as well. In comparison, how was the material on the nomads? Did it seem like it would be more water resistant than tweed? it looks kind of 'neoprene-ish' in the pictures. The reason I ask is because it looks like the same materials the Sahara seats are.

 

[AllAmericanInfidel]

Personally, my Rubicon seat fits me like a glove and works like a champ - but I recommend getting their covers if you want the tweed to survive UV damage. I'm looking at my third set over the last ten years(Mastercraft recovered them) simply because the tweed disintegrates over time and crumbles. This isn't a wear surface, it's the upper outer corners that see the most sun as installed in my XJ.
Just throwing a t-shirt over the back would probably have saved mine.
That being said, I have a hard time switching to another brand because they work so damn well.

I just talked to them about their Baja RS seat, and they quoted a six week wait for a standard seat, nothing custom, but their Chinese made seats are in stock.

Hmm. I didnt even think about UV damage. I figured they would last a pretty long time concidering they are made for off road use and seem pretty durable. As mentioned above, if I did go with Mastercraft I think I would have to invest in the seat savers anyways, for water resistance when I eventually get cause topless in the rain. I was just looking at the Baja RS dirtsports as well, those are pretty sweet too. The Sahara seat is the chinese made equivilant, but 2 things have me worried. The first, of course, is Chinese build quality. SFNick mentioned the difference in build quality between the Nomad and Rubicon, I would imagine its the same case with the Sahara seat. The next thing is that the color matching rear seat covers that Mastercraft makes seems to match the Rubicon and Baja RS seat perfectly, but the Sahara seat seems to be made of the same material as the Nomad. I know its probably not a big deal, but if they didnt match it would drive me and my OCD crazy!

 

[SmokinV10]

What do y'all do about the side airbags on the newer JK's? Also, it was mentioned that it sits a bit lower than stock. Is the height adjustments that the stock seats have still there or are you saying it sits lower than stock at the lowest setting?

 

[SFNick]

LOL! The oranges comment threw me off a little! Hey, the guys at mastercraft like a snack every now and then too! :crazyeyes: Anyways, thanks for the info. I have been looking at alot of the Mastercraft seats online, but I want something that is pretty water resistant at the same time. If I do go mastercraft, I think I might have to invest in the seat savers as well. In comparison, how was the material on the nomads? Did it seem like it would be more water resistant than tweed? it looks kind of 'neoprene-ish' in the pictures. The reason I ask is because it looks like the same materials the Sahara seats are.

The nomad material isn't waterproof at all & looks like it would tear easily. If I get a chance I'll take a couple more close up pics of the materiel. My cousin just bought a set of the Nomads. He loved them until he saw the Rubicon Tweed. Lol

 

[SFNick]

What do y'all do about the side airbags on the newer JK's? Also, it was mentioned that it sits a bit lower than stock. Is the height adjustments that the stock seats have still there or are you saying it sits lower than stock at the lowest setting?

Can't help on the side air bag, mine is a 08. I'd imagine you just wouldn't have them & the air bag dash light would stay on. The seat hight adjustment is built in to the stock seat so you would lose that feature.

 

[2013rubirick]

I just ordered the Mastercraft rs's for my 2013. I'm taking my leather seats out and putting these in. I don't have the side airbag so I don't have to worry about that.

 

[metalic]

Well, I purchased the Nomads & I wasn't happy with the quality or the fact that the seats needed to be modified in order to work with the JK seat bracket so I sent them back & ordered Rubicon seats. I received my Rubicon seats today but they sent me one Nomad in the mix. So I thought I would do some side by side pictures. I will say the Rubicon in my opinion is well worth the extra money & I think they will last way longer than the Nomads.
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Nick,
I've read through this and have a couple questions as I'm on the fence with this same dilemma. Are they both a comfortable seat? Can you tell a difference in them by sitting? I'm all for buying the USA made but the tweed scares me as being too nice. Our JKU is a trail toy and street driving is minimal and because of that and living in the Midwest it gets muddy, dusty inside and stays that way. I'm afraid the tweed may be too much. Opinion? I'm 6'4" and with stock seats my head is almost touching stock cage. Do these sit any lower? Now that you've had them awhile any regrets and would you buy again?

Thanks

 

[SFNick]

Nick,
I've read through this and have a couple questions as I'm on the fence with this same dilemma. Are they both a comfortable seat? Can you tell a difference in them by sitting? I'm all for buying the USA made but the tweed scares me as being too nice. Our JKU is a trail toy and street driving is minimal and because of that and living in the Midwest it gets muddy, dusty inside and stays that way. I'm afraid the tweed may be too much. Opinion? I'm 6'4" and with stock seats my head is almost touching stock cage. Do these sit any lower? Now that you've had them awhile any regrets and would you buy again?

Thanks

Good Morning,

I like both of the seats but you can definitely tell a deference in quality between the two. In my opinion, the Nomad is a stiffer seat and because of that you sit higher; the material used is thinner and snags easy. The Tweed material is tuff and looks great, I don't think it would be too much for your needs. However, my driver side seat is already showing signs of wear around the piping from me getting in and out of the Jeep, which is very disappointing for the price. I'm 6'2" and the Rubicon seat does sit a bit lower and offers plenty of clearance. Overall, I like the Rubicon seats and I don't regret spending the extra cash for them over the Nomads, but If I had to do it over I would get the adjustable back.

 

[metalic]

Good Morning,

I like both of the seats but you can definitely tell a deference in quality between the two. In my opinion, the Nomad is a stiffer seat and because of that you sit higher; the material used is thinner and snags easy. The Tweed material is tuff and looks great, I don't think it would be too much for your needs. However, my driver side seat is already showing signs of wear around the piping from me getting in and out of the Jeep, which is very disappointing for the price. I'm 6'2" and the Rubicon seat does sit a bit lower and offers plenty of clearance. Overall, I like the Rubicon seats and I don't regret spending the extra cash for them over the Nomads, but If I had to do it over I would get the adjustable back.

I ended up going with the Nomads but mainly as our jeep is mainly a trail rig and we was afraid the Rubicon's was nicer than we needed. I hope they hold up.


Are you running the factory seatbelts or just harness?
I'm running both and can't get the factory to buckle as it sits low and in between the console and seat.
If you have a solution please help

 

[jk12blk]

Do the Mastercraft Rubicon seats have the recline option? I did not see it listed as an option on Mastercraft's site. Is it a custom order? The Baja version has the recline option and after I chose a couple more options, I exceeded $800 for each Baja seat. Yikes.

 

[SFNick]

I ended up going with the Nomads but mainly as our jeep is mainly a trail rig and we was afraid the Rubicon's was nicer than we needed. I hope they hold up.


Are you running the factory seatbelts or just harness?
I'm running both and can't get the factory to buckle as it sits low and in between the console and seat.
If you have a solution please help

Sorry, I can't help with a solution to the factory seatbelt, I'm just running the harnesses. I have seen some other jeeps on here who are running both though.

 

[metalic]

Do the Mastercraft Rubicon seats have the recline option? I did not see it listed as an option on Mastercraft's site. Is it a custom order? The Baja version has the recline option and after I chose a couple more options, I exceeded $800 for each Baja seat. Yikes.

The rubicon and the Nomad us a fixed back seat.
Here's the Nomads in a JKU

 

[SFNick]

Do the Mastercraft Rubicon seats have the recline option? I did not see it listed as an option on Mastercraft's site. Is it a custom order? The Baja version has the recline option and after I chose a couple more options, I exceeded $800 for each Baja seat. Yikes.

The Rubicon seats do not have the recline option. Mastercraft does make a Sahara seat that is cheaper than the Baja and it reclines but you don't get any of the other options offered with the Rubicon and Baja seats.