Hard To Pull Off The DEXON Velcro Patch Collection
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30/07/2026
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5-10 min read
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Nobody plans to become a patch person. You start with a rig. Then you modify the rig with either the big pieces first, generally exterior before making your way into the interior. Some say the inside is what counts the most as it’s where you will be finding yourself most of the time. But nevertheless, personalising an off-roading builds excitement, offers happiness and even better, a form of transportation to be able to reach places you just wouldn’t in a Tesla. So at the end of the day, the small stuff matters just as much as the big stuff. The details are what make a build yours. That's roughly how we ended up designing eight velcro patches and losing several weeks of our lives in design, materials and campaign creation, so worth it.
Ordinary Was Never Going To Cut It
We'll be honest, patches were always on the product roadmap. From day one, we knew they were going to be part of what we built. But knowing something belongs in your ecosystem and actually doing it justice are two very different things, and we weren't going to rush it and we took the same amount of time and effort we would as if this product line was a tier one driving light. The more time we spent in the field, travelling in our beloved n80 HiLux and our newest fleet member, our Ford Ranger Super Duty, camping in places that took some effort to find, the more we noticed that the 4x4 and camping accessory space had a velcro patch problem. To us, they were all so generic. Either a brand logo in a common silhouette, or even worse, printed with little to no grip. And look, we are not a patch toffy nose type, we love and accept all velcro patches, but cruising down the freeway with the windows down enjoying some much needed Shania Twain, only to be slapped in the face by a Smiley “insert brand” really through your whole day off. They ended up making great fire starters, but thats our cheeky little secret.
So we got to work. And the brief, was to avoid designing something basic, it just doesn't suit our personalities.
From Concept To Stitch, And Back Again
The design process started exactly how most of our better ideas do, some rough sketches, an idea thrown around in the carpark before work or generally as our head designer mentions, in his early morning shower. Weird. After jotting them all down, it was mouse and fingers to the iconic Adobe Illustrator we went. We had two clear directions from the start. The first was cheeky originals, designs that reflected our personality as a brand, the kind of thing that sparks a conversation or at least earns a raised eyebrow. The second was travel inspired collector designs, patches rooted in real places we'd actually been. Destinations we'd camped in, tracked through, photographed at sunrise and reluctantly left on a Sunday arvo.
Getting both directions to sit cohesively as a collection took longer than we expected. Every design was obsessed over in house, from the initial concept sketch through to fabric selection, colour matching, sizing and the final stitch quality. Nothing got signed off until it looked exactly right in hand, not just on screen. This process also sparked some new ideas which we might decided to do in the future, #watchthisspace. The cheeky side of the collection needs very little explanation. The Smoko patch exists because every great off-road trip involves at least one extended smoko that was supposed to be five minutes, not to mention its border line nostalgia “wink”. The Eggplant exists because we have a brand personality to uphold and frankly the 4x4 community has an excellent sense of humour. Our OE Style Push Switches and Overhead Auxiliary switches include the eggplant as an option, so how could we not offer this as a velcro patch? The Sizzle patch, a perfectly rendered piece of steak, came from too many campfire conversations about who brought the good cuts and who brought the snags. Not to mention, all of our best barbecues always happen on our trusty Webber Q, shout out. The Jerry Can patch is for anyone who's ever stood at a bowser, hand in an empty pocket, wondering how fuel got this expensive. And the constant reminder of our mid year fuel crises, or is it just a sneaky teaser for something else to come?
The travel inspired side of the collection is a little more personal. The Coastal Drift, The Dunes, Alpine Region and High Country patches each represent places that shaped us as a brand, framed in a window silhouette that sits cleanly on any surface. These are the patches for the people who wear their adventures on their sleeve. Or their drawer system. Or their YETI cooler. More on that shortly.
“We think of these patches as a reflection not only of our travels but an insight into the brand and our personalities”
High Country - Photos by Geolian
Built To Actually Stick Around
Here's where we get into the practical side of things, because a patch that looks good but falls off after three trips is just an expensive sticker, cough, “insert brand”.
Every patch in the collection is crafted from 100% polyester embroidery, a finish that holds its colour, shape and detail through every adventure, every light wash and every kilometre without fading or fraying. We tested them hard before we were happy. The embroidery quality is the thing we get asked about most when people hold them in person. It's noticeably better than the printed options and is a carry through design choice in all of our merchandise. The hook and loop backing is premium grade. It goes on easy and once it's on, pulling it off cleanly takes genuine effort. Which is where the campaign name came from. Hard To Pull Off is both the literal truth of the backing system and, well, everything else you want it to mean.
Compatibility is broad by design. They work on fabric drawer systems, roof liners, bags, packs and any hook-and-loop compatible surface. For the YETI crowd specifically, which is secretly us, they sit perfectly on the Hopper Flip Soft Cooler, the Camino Carryall Bag, the Panga Duffel, the Ranchero Backpack, the Daytrip Lunch Bag and the Daytrip Tote Bag. If it's got hook and loop on it, our patches will stick. We would also love your imagination to find other places these bad boys will stick to, we have a few ideas up our sleeve.
“We have always been patch people, but to have our very own designs now makes it extra special, if you get my drift? We think they kick arse compared to whats on the market”
Mount Stirling, Victoria - Photo by Geolian
The Box It Comes In
We've talked about this before on the switch cap blog and we'll say it again here, packaging matters. Every patch arrives in 100% plastic free packaging. A cardboard outer sleeve, perfectly maximising the internal realestate for cater for the whole collection and keep simple. Nothing unnecessary. Nothing that ends up in landfill for decades while slowly convincing the planet it was a bad idea. We made this call early and we've never second guessed it. The boxes also look genuinely good, which helps. Shout out to our head designer and co-founder, G-Man.
Collect Responsibly. Actually, Don't.
Eight designs. Zero boring options. Patches that go on a HiLux roof liner just as naturally as they go on a Ranger drawer system. Designs for the ones who like things cheeky and designs for the ones who wear their travels with a little more reverence.
We made them because we couldn't find anything worth buying. Turns out that's usually the best reason to make something.
They're available now at dexon.com.au and we suggest not stopping at one. Nobody ever does.
The DEXON Velcro Patch Collection is compatible with any hook-and-loop surface including YETI Hopper Flip Soft Cooler, Camino Carryall Bag, Panga Duffel, Ranchero Backpack, Daytrip Lunch Bag and Daytrip Tote Bag.
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