TrainerJuice

I also like the look of it. It's more boxy ;-)

Lucas

I own both the hard top is nice cause you open tail gate & pull up on back glass to access the back. With soft top you open tail gate and have to unzip both sides of back window then throw on top of jeep to get out of way. To me soft top looks better and easy to ride topless & put back up if unexpected rain hits. I dont care how big and badass you are it's a pain in the @$$ and almost impossible to remove and reinstall hard top without dropping, scratching, or breaking anything. My big deal with soft top is where the back windows and held between rear doors and plastic frame becomes pulled out due to wind & flaps in the wind the back window is pushed in due to back wind and when it rains it leaks through these spots when this issue accrues. Evertime I park I have to make sure back window is in right spot incase rain hits. I'm more of a soft top in summer & hard top in winter guy. They both have cons & pros just have to decide which will be best for you.

Lucas

Must add the noise level on soft top is alot diff from yj & Tj models. Like they said the new soft tops are way quieter In my yj & Tj had to yell to carry on a conversation. And in jk it's almost as quiet as hardtop in my opinion. I was very surprised when I first test drove a soft top jk & infact wanted top get a rubicon with a soft top but the color and seats I wanted they could only find hardtops & to my surprise when I got it and opened back door there was a soft top in back too.

jryano

I've used both and the soft top is not as loud as I had assumed it would be. But I just love the look of the hard top on it.

greggnj

I have both hard and soft tops for my JKU. I only used the hardtop for the first day until I could get help to take it off (will be going back on soon). The soft top is a lot quieter than I expected and even my wife commented once while doing 80 down the highway (all closed up) that it's quieter than my Cherokee.
BTW- that's with AT's on the Cherokee and MT's on the JKU

Rednroll

You mean I have to pick just one?

I have both, and I love both....they both have pros. If I had to chose though, I would go with just the hard top. You can go topless just as easy with a hard top as a soft top if you have a garage with a lift...which I do. The reason I would chose the hard top over the soft top is for piece of mind. That slight extra security of knowing that when I park some where, the hard top can't be unzipped, or slashed when folks with not so good intentions wander by. I travel a lot and often have to park my JK in airport parking lots, weeks at a time. Everytime I come back from a trip and I have my soft top on, I can't help but fear that someone has broken into my JK when I was gone and it's always a sigh of relief when I do my initial inspection and find everything is alright. Still that uneasy worrying I could live without if I had to.

I have a JKU...so I also like the taking off the front freedom panels of the hard top.

Summary:

Hard top pros
- Quiet Comfort
- Freedom panels
- Security
- Don't have to worry about scratching windows in car washes

Soft Top pros
- Convenience of putting top up/down when on the road
- More open air options (front folded back, back windows out only, rear window out only, fully down)
- No need to worry about storage place for it.

Running Man

I have both a TJ (soft top only) and a JKU (soft and hard tops). The JKU is so much quieter with the soft top than the TJ. So much so that I sometimes forget it's a soft top, until I have to leave something valuable in the back! Truth in advertising though, I have half doors on the TJ and full doors on the JKU, which makes a big difference. Bottom line, you will not go wrong with the soft top on the JK. For what it's worth, it's also very easy to break down.

remark

I like your list so I added to it.

Hard top pros
- Quiet Comfort
- Freedom panels
- Security
- Don't have to worry about scratching windows in car washes/or trees/or bushes
- Rear window makes it much easier to access the back than the softtop
- Easy to add insulation for weather and stereo improvement
- Easier to clean, doesn't need special attention as it get older (think 303 protectant, etc)

Soft Top pros
- Convenience of putting top up/down when on the road
- More open air options (front folded back, back windows out only, rear window out only, fully down)
- No need to worry about storage place for it.
- More headroom/ fishing pole storage
- Less likelyto break or damage if you offroad and tip into a canyon wall.
- Doesn't loosen up when after a hard offroad trip with a lot of torquing of the frame or just a lot of bumpy dirt roads.

BigE

I have the 2012 JKU with both tops. The hard top has been hoisted up in the ceiling of the garage. Well, until just last week so most of my experience has been with the soft top.

It may be quieter than in previous model years but the softop has flexible vinyl windows so... it is only incrementally quieter than going topless. That's okay... it's a Jeep and it's topless most of the time anyway. I agree with the others. I do worry about leaving anything of value in the vehicle with the soft top mounted. Regardless, I love flipping it on and off quickly and the flexibility it provides. It is also the look that I prefer.

I've got a whole one week under the hard top and it is most certainly quieter, although at highway speeds, I can hear an air leak (whistle). I've ordered a headliner set so I expect the noise level to come down further upon installation. With regard to removing, stowing, and dropping it on, my electric Harbor Freight hoist and rack system worked perfectly as designed. I had no problem with assembly at all. An easy one person job.

I am happy to own both.

GearWhore

I'll see your list and up you:

Hard top pros
- Quiet Comfort
- Freedom panels
- Security
- Don't have to worry about scratching windows in car washes/or trees/or bushes
- Rear window makes it much easier to access the back than the softtop
- Easy to add insulation for weather and stereo improvement
- Easier to clean, doesn't need special attention as it get older (think 303 protectant, etc)
- Slightly better highway mileage (about 1-1.5mpg I notice)
- Doesn't rattle when offroad
- Rear window defrost and wiper

Soft Top pros
- Convenience of putting top up/down when on the road
- More open air options (front folded back, back windows out only, rear window out only, fully down)
- No need to worry about storage place for it
- More headroom/ fishing pole storage
- Less likely to break or damage if you're offroad and tip into a canyon wall
- Doesn't loosen up when after a hard offroad trip with a lot of torquing of the frame or just a lot of bumpy dirt roads (have never had this issue)
- Less weight up high

I run the hard top for winters (and sometimes longer road trips) and the soft top in the summer. It is really nice to have both options, but storage of the hard top is always a consideration. When I switch to the hard top in the fall I'm always reminded of how much quieter it is. I'm also reminded how much I like the look of it. When I switch to the soft top in the spring it is nice to have all the previously mentioned open air options. I do have to remind myself to keep the console and glove box locked though and I'm much more cautious about what I leave in the Jeep and where it's parked.

If I had to have just one, I'd take the hard top. The freedom panels really give a pretty good open-air feeling but much more secure and quieter. It also isn't hard (though sometimes inconvenient) to remove the hard top in a couple minutes with a buddy (don't ask your 100 lb girlfriend though).

I did just pick up and extra soft top though...any takers?