AN OPERATION THAT’S CONSISTENTLY SOLVED OUR MOST PRESSING OFFROAD PROBLEMS.

We’ve been tight with the guys from MSA 4X4 since we started this magazine, and for good  reason, they make quality problem-solving gear.

While unpacking from a Far North Queensland sortie, we recently noticed just how much MSA 4×4 gear we carry with us, and figured it was about time we sung their praises from the rooftops.

We’ve been punishing their products in our convoy over the last couple of seasons of TV and we’ve never been remotely let down by anything in their range, which is a big feat considering the gnarly kays we’ve driven.

Founder Shane Miles got his start in WA, coming up with supremely useful offroad products mostly made from canvas.

And while no one else in the game can beat them in that space even today, the inventions they’ve come up with in recent years – the ones we’ve been using in the middle of nowhere – reads like a ‘Greatest Hits’ package of modern 4WDing…

~ You can start off with their first game changer – the original Water Bra.

~ Or their most famous invention, the (world’s first) Drop Slide.

~ Then there’s their Explorer aluminium drawers, which has changed the way we can access the goodies from a drawer, whether we’ve been on the fly or lazing around camp.

~ Next up, we’ve got their Fridge Barrier system, which the editor’s had in his rig for the last two years. This has been a lifesaver given his flamboyant ‘driving’ style.

~ Even during our recent mission to the Gulf, our associate editor – who’d done his back unloading a boat a few months back – was finally able to get around in his rig pain-free because of their adjustable Air Lumbar Support gear.

And these items are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a reason for their continued success and it has a lot to do with Shane not wanting to release anything to the public until he’s done about 2-3 years perfecting it.

“It all comes back to necessity, and not being able to source the perfect product that we need. We think way outside the square and design the products that we think will cover any downfalls in the market.

“When we design anything new, it has to be as safe as possible; we’re all about safety. It also must be extremely tough; we can’t have any failures, and with our pretty ordinary outback roads, it must be the highest quality that we can manufacture.

“We have 14 original designs now, with many that have been ripped off by other companies because we didn’t understand the patent process when we invented them. What’s even worse is that some of these companies even go so far as to claim them as their own designs.

“Our original Water Bra was invented back in 2003, and there was nothing in the market like it at the time. Our original Rear Wheel Bag was invented back in 2004.

“Due to the large-scale popularity and commercial interest in our original products, we now attribute a significant amount of time and money to defending our designs from cheap imitations.”