# 1
Thule SnowPack Ski and Snowboard Carrier - Locking - 6 Pairs of Skis or 4 Boards - Silver
So easy to install onto Thule AeroBlade. Quality materials and convenient design. No significant noise noticeable from wind resistance when driving. etrailer provided great shipment/notification support and was great resource for how-to videos, commentary.
Better than I expected. Only comes with four core locks so be aware of that if you want six like I did. Bought two more locks from Thule with the same key #. Mounted this carrier on my Rhino Rack. Perfect fit and looks great. Would highly recommend.
# 2
Yakima FatCat EVO 6 Ski and Snowboard Carrier - Locking - 6 Pairs of Skis or 4 Boards - Black
Just got my Yakima Fatcat EVO 6 ski carrier (black finish) and I am stoked. Note that this is different than the Fatcat 6 (non-EVO, previous generation) carrier. This is my first ski carrier, but I and/or my kids ski about once a week at Alta and Snowbird when the lifts are running, so I expect it to get lots of use. Etrailer shipping was fast and item was packed in a sturdy secondary box. PROS: 1. I love the sturdy build and quality finish of the carrier. 2. The design allows many micro-adjustments to fit to your vehicle and to fit the skis. For instance the spring-loaded hinge on one end and the lock on the other end can naturally accommodate different thickness skis. 3. Carrier has a usable width (i.e. width of skis side by side) of 32.75 inches (832 mm). For those that are not skiing on 75-mm-wide skis from 30 years ago, this carrier might actually allow you to fit 6 pairs! 4. Separate mounting brackets for aero or for square/circle cross bars. The aero brackets fit securely on my Acura/Honda OEM cross bars. The flat part of your skis will be about 3 inches (76 mm) above your cross bars. 5. A built-in lift bracket that lifts by an additional 3 inches (76 mm) the hinged end of the carrier, if you have really tall bindings (I don't think I'll need to use it). 6. The aero brackets use a rubber coated steel strap to wrap under your cross bars. This strap has a quick release cam on one end that can be operated when the carrier is not key-locked. This means you can remove or install the carrier without tools in about 4 minutes, once you've done the initial install-related tuning. While the carrier seems sturdy enough to leave on the vehicle all winter, I expect I'll only install it on ski days. This feature really sets this model apart and for me was its biggest selling point. 7. Yakima packages the carrier in a nice-looking sturdy cardboard box with a flap lid. I can fit the two parts of the carrier in the box, with the brackets/straps still installed, for convenient storage (see picture). CONS: None so far, though I haven't yet actually hauled skis up the mountain! After this ski season is over and eTrailer asks me for a follow-up review, I'll let you know. I'm also thinking about seeing if the ski carrier can be attached to my small hitch-mounted cargo carrier. That would make loading and unloading the skis easier than on the roof.
First off...you can't beat the service of etrailer.com. I was looking for a ski rack for my son's 2012 Subaru Impreza with the factory roof rack (base model not the sport). I could find no reviews of anybody installing one of these on one of those. I took the plunge and will say that I am very happy with the outcome. The installation is a bit tricky and four hands help, but after the first one was installed we had the hang of it and the second one went on very quickly. Even with the expedited shipping this rack was about $50 cheaper than the Subaru ski rack. Again the etrailer.com service is fantastic. I have purchased products here before and will do so again.
# 3
Rhino-Rack Ski and Snowboard Carrier - Locking - 6 Pairs of Skis or 4 Boards
Nice ski/snowboard rack for the money, easy to install, Was able to hold 1 snowboard and 4 ski's (kids) I would not consider it 5 stars as its missing a few considerations for something you will be using in the cold (which IMO should be as easy to use as possible): * locks are a bit finicky, in fact one of the two racks refused to lock when any pressure was on the top bar (meaning anytime it has skis or boards in). I actually had to have to the top arm up, insert the key and slightly turn it, then close the arm in order to be able to lock it. * the latch mechanism must be perfectly aligned to close and that is difficult to do in the cold with gloves on if you are not directly in front of each component. So if your car is like mine you have to close one latch (which requires standing on the inside of the vehicle with the door open to reach it), then get down open the rear door and repeat. If the mechanism was designed with some sort of self aligning guide the extra steps would not be necessary as you could reach over and close the second one without moving.
E trailer I have a 2019 Mazda6 and purchased the rhino rack series 2500 parts (fit kit #DK289, foot pack #RRRLKVA, aero crossbars#RRVA126B-2), and the rhino rack snowboard/ski carrier #RR576. My car does have fixed mounting points underneath the strip on the roof so I opted to add them to my roof and not use the clamp for kit that goes in the door jam. Every time I entered the year, make, and model of my car, the parts came up with the clamp fit kit part #DK387 which I did not want. But after some research, I found the correct fixed mounting point fit kit. The site of course told me that this part wouldn’t fit my car but after looking at the customer reviews, I saw them used on Mazdas. All of the rhino rack instructions were not the best. We did have to make some adjustments. One of the instruction packs tells you how long you’re supposed to cut the rubber pieces that go into the crossbars based on your car but unfortunately, the measurements were wrong for my car (picture- front 166mm is wrong). The front bar length was about an inch too short and I had to add more rubber to make it longer to fit the fixed mounting points on my roof. After some time of trying to interpret the instructions, and looking up whatever available instructional videos were online, we finally finished installing them and they do look really nice. At higher speeds on the highway I can definitely hear more noise. The actual snowboard carrier is fine, fits all 4 boards fine. It is a little difficult to close once I have my boards in there because you have to push the top bar all the way down and hold it down to be able to turn the key to lock it. I’m just happy I don’t have to shove the boards in my trunk. I do like that all the parts in this series come with locks and keys. So far no problems. Overall good product.
# 4
Thule SnowPack Extender Ski and Snowboard Carrier - Slide Out - 6 Pairs of Skis or 4 Boards - Silver
Love it!!!!!! Great ski rack replacement for older rack. The extended slide is incredible. The eTrailer support helped me pick the model that worked for my car and crossbars. Another wonderful purchase from my go to source for bike/ski or other related products!
Used this last season for the first time. Found it lightweight and very easy to install; the main difficulty was getting front and back carriers aligned on the center of the vehicle as the clasps are offset. It was used to hold 4 sets of skis and did this quite easily. I think 5 sets would be no problem, but six sets might be pushing it especially if you are using wider skis. It is very much worth the extra money to get the extender/slide out option if you stand under 6' tall and have an SUV.
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