Soft Bed Cover
To begin, let’s discuss the classic and ever-popular soft bed cover.
Soft tonneau covers make up a massive portion of the truck bed cover market, with most featuring lightweight construction, sleek designs, quick and easy installation, and budget-friendly price point. Soft bed covers come in several styles, including soft folding, soft roll-up, and soft snap; however, many key characteristics carry across all three sub-styles.
Aesthetics
Soft tonneau covers are sleek and stealthy, featuring a textured black finish. These covers mount to your pickup’s bed using clamp-on rails positioned atop the factory bed rails. When installed, soft bed covers extend between 1.5 to 2 inches above the bed rails for a mild, unobtrusive appearance.
Durability
Soft tonneau covers feature a soft outer shell constructed from one of two fabrics: canvas or marine-grade vinyl. The weather-resistant outer shell is stretched over an aluminum frame, providing moderate rigidity and reinforcing the cover. While relatively durable, the soft outer shell is prone to punctures, cuts, and abrasions.
Security
Soft tonneau covers aren’t known for their security due to the lack of locks and easily breachable design. Most soft tonneau covers don’t feature locks besides basic slam latches; if the tailgate is left unlocked, any thief can easily drop the tailgate, release the covers latches, and gain full entry into the bed.
Even if the tailgate is locked, any thief can easily access the bed with a boxcutter, razor, or pocket knife, regardless of whether the tailgate is locked.
Operation & Bed Access
Soft tonneau covers are easy-to-use and intuitive. From soft folding covers to soft roll-up and soft snap, it takes mere seconds to gain access to your pickup’s cargo area.
Depending on the style of bed cover, bed access may be limited. Roll-up and snap covers can be removed completely or moved against the cab, granting full bed access for loading oversized cargo. Soft folding bed covers, however, typically only grant partial bed access (⅔ or ¾).
Value
When referring to pure expenses, soft tonneau covers are by far the best value. Ranging between $150 to $300, soft tonneau covers are incredibly affordable and budget-minded. However, you are trading off some security.
Hard Bed Covers
Now, onto the other big player in the truck bed cover industry–hard tonneau covers.
Hard bed covers are known for durable construction, sleek and low-profile designs, and excellent security. Hard bed covers come in several styles, including hard folding, retractable, hinged (one-piece), bed topper, and hard roll-up, though several characteristics apply to all sub-styles.
Aesthetics
If soft tonneau covers are low profile, then hard tonneau covers are even lower! Depending on the style–excluding most hinged-one-piece covers and bed toppers–hard tonneau covers typically utilize tracks and rails that mount inboard of your truck’s bed rails rather than on top. As a result, hard tonneau covers sit nearly flush with the bed rails for a sleek, unobtrusive appearance.
Topper and hinged bed covers are case-by-case, though both typically feature a sleek color-matched painted finish that blends seamlessly with your vehicle.
Durability
Hard bed covers feature heavy-duty constructions, consisting of heavy-duty materials like fiberglass, aluminum, polycarbonate, and composite plastic, ensuring a rigid and durable product. When it comes to keeping your cargo safe, the additional strength and rigidity of a hard tonneau cover is an upside, ensuring your valuables make it to their final destination unharmed!
Security
Security is a facet where hard tonneau covers truly shine. Hard bed covers–apart from being structurally secure against punctures, impacts, and break-ins–are often equipped with key-lockable handles to prevent unauthorized entry. Especially if equipped with a locking tailgate, most hard bed covers are more secure than your pickup’s cab!
Operation & Bed Access
The largest variance among hard bed covers is operation and bed access, as all styles operate differently and provide different levels of cargo access.
For instance, bed toppers and hinged bed covers offer arguably the most limited functionality, limiting the types of cargo that can be loaded into the bed. Both cap cargo to items that fit within their explicit dimensions, unlike the other hard covers that offer nearly uninhibited bed access when retracted, rolled, or folded.
Value
Value is a subjective term. If we’re speaking exclusively to price, then soft tonneau covers offer the most value. However, hard tonneau covers offer a significant amount of features, superior durability, and security. If we’re discussing value from a “best-bang-for-your-buck” perspective, hard tonneau covers might just come out on top!
Conclusion (Which is Superior?)
So which style of tonneau cover is superior?
As a quick cheat sheet/recap for specs and features, check out the following chart:
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Tonneau Cover Style
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Hard
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Soft
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Aesthetics
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Durability
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Security
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Operation and Bed Access
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Value
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Ultimately, we find that hard tonneau covers offer the best aesthetics. With lower-profile designs or sleek color-matched paint, hard tonneau covers take a slight edge over their soft counterparts.
Durability-wise, hard bed covers also take the win. Canvas and vinyl just can’t compete with rigid, impact-resistant materials like fiberglass, composite plastic, polycarbonate, and aluminum.
Regarding security, it’s another victory for hard bed covers. With several key-lockable models and cut-resistant shells, breaking into a hard bed cover is nearly impossible, especially with a locked tailgate!
Operation & bed access is a tough race, but we opted to give soft tonneau covers their first victory. Most soft tonneau covers offer nearly complete bed access in seconds–a quality that isn't shared amongst all hard tonneau covers, including bed toppers and hinged covers.
When it comes to value, we’re also giving a slight edge to soft tonneau covers. For those that aren’t regularly transporting high-priced goods and tools to those that don’t leave their pickup unattended while loaded, soft bed covers perform excellently for a fraction of the cost.
If you’re counting, technically that’s three wins for hard covers, and two for soft. However, the real winner here is…neither! When it comes to selecting your perfect tonneau cover, the ideal product is truly subjective. Whichever tonneau cover best suits your needs is the superior tonneau cover for you, whether a soft or hard variant.
When it’s time to purchase your bed cover, browse our extensive selection. We offer all of the top brands, styles, and models. For product inquiries, general questions, or recommendations, contact our knowledgeable support staff.
