i love mine an i would say they are more of a hard rubber but has some good flex to it......as far as moving out of the way for something i believe it will it has good flex an movement to a degree, but it also depends on how you install them use crappy hardware an the slightest rock could rip it off if its not anchored in properly......im very happy with them dont think they took anything away from the look of the truck...... one word of advice i got from some members on here before install .......get some self taping screws an do not waste time using the crappy drywall screws they give you