Backcountry Getaway Goat Tailgate Pad Review #loamwolf #tailgatepad #mtb

Backcountry’s Getaway Goat is a feature packed tailgate pad that is available in two sizes. The mid-size option measures in a 54-inches wide and claims to hold 5 bikes, with the full-size option measuring in at 58.5-inches wide and claiming to hold 6 bikes. Instead of designing two pads to fit flat and curved tailgates, Backcountry opted to design a compression fit system that can be adjusted to the array of tailgate sizes. Securing the pad to the tailgate are four cinch straps – a much better option than the standard three found on most other pads. The Getaway Goat’s outer shell is constructed out of the commonly used 600D polyester, coated in a DWR finish. The pad protects your vehicles paint with a polyester polar fleece on the inside of the pad. On the topic of protection, Backcountry outfitted the downtube straps with an additional carbon-friendly liner to help protect the bikes finish. An adjustable rear flap works to accommodate a range of tailgate handles and backup cameras. A unique feature to the Getaway Goat tailgate pad is the large rear storage pocket, designed to hold a number of parts, tools and/or dirty gear.

THE DIRT
First things first, the install. The Backcountry Getaway Goat Tailgate pad installs in less than 5 minutes thanks to the familiar 4 strap retention system. Backcountry’s Compression system is the real highlight on this pad, this system helps refine the fit on tailgates that have a convex lip to them, like the one on my Sierra. A quick pull on the Compression straps and the pad now has a “tailor-like” fit on the tailgate, which helps to keep the pad body flush with the tailgate as well. While the tailgate handle flaps do not look as refined as the handle cut-out on the RaceFace T2, they do offer easier access to the handle and better backup camera visibility, so It’s a reasonable compromise.

Now for what really matters – carrying the bikes. At first glance, The Getaway Goat looks like it has all the right stuff to keep the bikes in place and secured, and for the most part it does just that. Unfortunately, once I began loading bikes into their slots, I noticed that the fork indentation was improperly aligned (in line with the downtube slot), this does not sound like a big deal, but once a second bike was added the issue became apparent. With this design, the fork of the second bike solely sits on the tire of the first bike, not utilizing any of the fork padding. This was with both single and dual crown bikes in both 27.5 and 29-inch wheel sizes. The first bike sits okay in the tailgate pad, but once you add another bike into the neighboring slot the bike sticks up high into the air. Having a six-bike tailgate pad that doesn’t fit 6 bikes properly is a bit of a problem. Now, it is entirely possible that this fitment issue could initially stem from modern, curved tailgate designs but it is hard to say for certain. The downtube straps do a solid job of keeping the bikes in place and have yet to leave any marks on the bikes, but they’re not suitable for a monstrous eMTB downtube.

Outside of that rather large issue, the Getaway Goat Tailgate pad has proven to be durable and shows little signs of wear after months of use and baking in the Oregon summer sun. The large inner pocket on the pad has come in handy many times, being able to store pedals and any undesirable gear that doesn’t deserve to go back in the gear bag after a ride.

The Wolf’s Last Word

I really wanted to like this Getaway Goat tailgate pad, but the design oversight on the fork slot placement has made that almost impossible. That slot needs to be moved over a tick to not be perfectly in-line with the frame to allow for the front wheel to sit at the proper angle. If that change gets made, it will make the Getaway Goat pad an easy recommendation. The rest of the pad is well built and offers plenty of great features and can easily be adjusted to accommodate many of the full-size tailgates out on the market today. As of now, if you are in the market for a tailgate pad, the RaceFace T2 remains my top recommendation out of the pads I have tested.

Price: $169.95

Buy Now | Backcountry Getaway Goat: https://bit.ly/3y0p67Q

#backcountry #getawaygoat #tailgatecover #tailgate #emtb #shuttling #top10 #bikeshuttling #f150 #tacoma #duramax #powerstroke #frameprotection

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