Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsHeavy-Duty Materials, But Several Poor Design Issues, Weak Stitching in Parts
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 26, 2020
I needed a storage organizer that I could put on the passenger seat in my car. Its longest or widest side had to be under 22 inches. At the time, Amazon sold only only three trunk/passenger organizers that have that measurement: FORTEM, MIU COLOR, and AmazonBasics. This FORTEM organizer was the best reviewed and highest-rated among the three. So it was the (first) one I picked out of the three choices. After having used this organizer for a couple weeks, here are some of my problems with it:
1. The center/middle divider is NOT removable. The divider is stitched onto the interiors of the storage organizer. While the overall construction of this organizer is heavy duty, the connections (where the divider and organizer are stitched together) are very thin and could tear easily. If the stitching tears, then I will have to throw away the entire organizer because the divider and organizer are one piece.
2. The non-removable divider also restricts the flexibility of the organizer. If I wanted to remove the divider so that I could have a bigger compartment to carry a bigger item, I would not be able to do so because the divider was non-removable and stitched into the middle. Moreover, I could not swap or reverse the two sides of the organizer, (i.e., one side could be further divided with a smaller secondary divider.) As I was using this organizer on the passenger seat, which side of the organizer was facing the driver - i.e., which side had more compartments - made a difference.
3. The bottom is non-slip... BUT the base plates are not. The base plates are split into two half-sized portions. The two base plates can slip and slide inside the organizer and through the opening at the bottom of the center/middle divider, and they did in my organizer. IMO, a better design would be: the base plate was a single foldable full-sized piece, so the base plate could latch onto the edges/walls inside the organizer and stay in place; alternatively, the base plates could have included Velcro to secure them in place.
4. The other external side of organizer (i.e., the side without the big FORTEM logo) has a single pocket with a Velcro loop-and-hoop closure. The closure does not work: the hooks and loops are too short to grab tightly onto each other, i.e., the Velcro closure could not stay stick together.
5. The organizer includes two securing straps. Those straps, when fully extended, are too short to be useful. I wanted to wrap the strap(s) around the passenger seat to secure the organizer. The straps were too short for me to do that.
6. I have used the storage organizer for only two weeks, and some stitches have already come off. The materials are heavy duty and high quality, but the stitching (at least in parts) is not.
IMO, this is just a very average storage organizer. Its pro: heavy-duty, thick and quality materials in most parts. Its cons: poor designs, and poor stitching in parts. I know other users have highly rated this organizer, and many review websites have consistently ranked this as being one of the best trunk organizers on the market, (which is why I bought it.) However, my personal experience has been its functionality is limited due to its design issues. I ended up returning this one and replacing it with a MIU COLOR with cover trunk organizer.
