Wet Okole vs. TigerTough Seat Covers

People love their Wet Okole seat covers. There’s a loyal fanbase raving about these American-made, waterproof seat covers.

What's their claim? Seat covers that don't swelter in the summer or freeze in winter, waterproofed, and a fit that's tighter than a new pair of gloves.

They're a competitor we recognize. They're dedicated to enhancing vehicle interiors and protecting them from daily wear and tear. Wet Okole has a rabid following, and at TigerTough, we appreciate good competition.

But we need to take a quick pause to tell you that when we googled what Wet Okole means, we found out that in Hawaiian, it means wet butt. Nope, we didn’t make that up. 

Anyway, we ordered a set for a 2023 Ford F-150 to compare them with TigerTough seat covers.

Let’s do this.

Watch the video review

Packaging

Now, we know this isn’t a factor people consider when ordering seat covers. But it’s still important to note since packaging can give you a glimpse of how a company treats their customers.

Wet Okole Packaging

Wet Okole covers arrived in the largest box we’ve ever received for a single set of seat covers. These covers are bulky on their own, so the box is understandable. It was branded well and came with information about the company and color instructions. 

TigerTough Packaging

TigerTough seat covers ship in a branded poly mailer with full-color instructions specific to your exact vehicle. So, if you ordered covers for a 2018 Toyota Tacoma, you’ll get instructions on installing TigerTough seat covers on a 2018 Toyota Tacoma.

Design and fit of the seat cover

Wet Okole Design and Fit

Wet Okole’s seat covers have nylon-covered neoprene laminated on a half-inch of foam. It’s a thick cover and looks great installed.

The covers come in multiple pieces (we love that!) for the best fit. And thankfully, Wet Okole labels which seat cover goes on the driver’s seat. (They don’t label the passenger seat cover.) Does this matter? Absolutely. You need to make sure you have the correct covers on so that the airbag can deploy in the event of a collision.

And bonus: the set we received also included a center console cover.

We like the way the Wet Okole looks. It’s very attractive. However, it’s stiff with that ½” foam backing. If you press on the seat back, you’ll notice gapping between the cover and the seat. This is because the foam isn’t pliable. And after a while, that foam breaks down, and the cover won't fit as nicely.

Wet Okole also does a lot of decorative stitching in the seat back. This looks nice, but it makes the fabric weaker.  

TigerTough Design and Fit

TigerTough seat covers come in three pieces and wrap the entire seat, much like Wet Okole, but they are installed differently, which we’ll get into later. 

Our covers are made from 1000-Denier CORDURA® and are proven to withstand intense abuse. There’s no foam backing on our covers, so it hugs the seat. We also don’t have any decorative stitching, except for embroidery, but because that’s in an area with minimal wear, it doesn’t weaken the seat cover like decorative stitching.

"We design for strength first and looks second."

Sheldon Zitzmann, TigerTough Marketing Director

Installation

Wet Okole Installation

It took us approximately 17 minutes to install a Wet Okole cover. We rated these as medium difficulty. The instructions were pretty poor, but because we know seat covers, we knew what to do.

However, we had issues getting one of the straps through. The instructions said that you’d need to possibly remove the plastic molding on your seat to get the strap through. We didn’t want to do that on our boss’ truck, so it took a little longer for us to install.

Here’s how their seat covers are attached:

• One strap running from side to side
• Two straps running underneath from front to back
• One loop around the seatbelt plug

TigerTough Installation

TigerTough took us 9 minutes to install on a seat. Yeah, we know our seat covers, so this probably took us a little faster than most people.

We try to be as specific with our instructions as possible and offer installation videos for every vehicle. 

Here’s how TigerTough seat covers are attached:

• The seat bottom runs all the way along the underside of the seat, attaching to itself with heavy-duty hook & loop.
• We have our Stringlock that runs around the perimeter of the seat bottom and cinches it like a drawstring around and underneath the seat to ensure it doesn’t shift.

Check out our full installation expectations to learn more.

Headrest

Both seat covers have headrest covers, so that’s a win! They also both tuck into the headrest mounts nicely. There’s not much more to say about that other than if you’re covering your seat, you need to cover the headrest. 

Seat back

Both brands have a custom look for the seat back. They also both have options for custom embroidery and seat back pockets.

Wet Okole Seat Back

We’ve touched on this earlier, but the back of the Wet Okole seat covers have decorative stitching, which looks very attractive but isn’t great for durability. You'll also see the gapping here when you press on the seat cover.

TigerTough Seat Back

Our seat covers fit snuggly to the back without any gapping or unnecessary seems.

Seat Crease and Bottom

Since both seat covers are made from multiple pieces, they have clean-looking creases that fit the seats well.

They also both tuck into the plastic trim of the seat allowing access to the seat controls. We like the way TigerTough’s fit more snuggly on the bottom half, but if we removed the plastic trim to install the Wet Okole covers as they suggested, we might like that fit more than we do as is.

Airbag safety

Quick history lesson: most cars made after 2014 will have side airbags due to federal regulation, many deploying from the seat. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that between 1996 and 2012, 2,252 lives were saved by side and curtain airbags–before regulations were even put into place. At that time, only 42% of vehicles on the road were equipped with side airbags. That percentage is much higher now.

We know you take safety seriously, whether it’s in your personal vehicle or if you’re managing a fleet. 

Wet Okole Airbag Compatibility

We don’t love the way Wet Okole does airbag compatibility with their covers. They have a slit on the side of their seats for the airbag to deploy. But, the slit isn’t as long as the tearaway seam on the factory seat, so we have concerns that an airbag could get stuck during deployment. However, Wet Okole says their seat covers are tested, so we’ll take their word for it.

TigerTough Airbag Compatibility 

Our seat covers have a visible tearaway seam that goes the entire seat length. Our covers have been independently tested to ensure that an airbag will deploy in the event of a collision. We hope you never have to find out, but rest assured that our seat covers are deemed safe with airbags.

Waterproofness 

Not all waterproofness (that’s a real word) works the same. This one is best shown in the video, but we’ll break it down here too.

Are Wet Okole seat covers waterproof?

Yes, they are, but they also soak up the water like a little sponge. The seat underneath stays dry. However, if you spill something, your cover will remain wet for a while. You’ll want to blot the seat cover and keep the windows open if you can so that they’ll dry out.

Otherwise, Wet Okole will live up to their name and leave you with a wet butt.

Are TigerTough seats waterproof?

They are, and they’re also hydrophobic. Does that mean they’re scared of water? Pretty much. They can’t even absorb liquid. 

In the video, you’ll see that the water poured on the TigerTough seat cover beads up and rolls off. So yeah, your floor may get wet if you spill on your seats, but you can wipe up your seat cover and sit about it without worrying about wet pants. Do you want the portion of the video where we do that? Maybe as a gif?

Warranty and Returns

Wet Okole Warranty and Returns

This is one of our biggest disappointments with this brand. They have a 90-day limited warranty, and it only covers manufacturer defects. In terms of returns, they don’t accept returns if you aren’t happy with your purchase. So you get what you get. 

TigerTough Warranty and Returns

Our vehicle seat covers have a two-year, unconditional warranty. If something happens to your TigerTough seat covers, we’ll replace or repair them. It doesn’t matter how they got damaged; we’ll happily make it right.

If, for some reason, you don’t like your TigerTough seat covers, we’ll accept returns within 30 days of you receiving them. You just need to be sure they’re in like-new condition still.

Price

Seat covers can range from $50 to hundreds of dollars. For comparison, we used a 2023 Ford F-150 covers. 

How much does Wet Okole cost?

We ordered a set of their standard bucket seats for $374. This is a fair price for seat covers since they can get pretty expensive if you pay for something custom.

How much does TigerTough cost?

To cover your two front seats with TigerTough, it will cost around $297.

Overview

We like Wet Okole. Not enough to quit our jobs and go work for them, but they have a decent seat cover. But if we were sitting down with you over a beer, we’d probably say that we expected more from Wet Okole based on their cult following, but we don’t doubt that the covers will protect your seats for years.

It all comes down to preference in the end. Both covers are made in America and have great reviews.

If you want fun colors and that beach vibe, Wet Okole would be a great option. We still don’t love their warranty or return policy, though.

If you want something rugged and meant to withstand hard use, like construction equipment or excited farm dogs, we’d encourage you to try TigerTough. After all, if you don’t like our seat covers, you can return them.

Maybe after reading this comparison, neither of these brands appeal to you. Then you should definitely check out the best seat covers for work trucks and find something that meets your needs.