Comparing Thule Dock Glide and Rhino Rack Nautic 581 Kayak Carrier

Updated 09/02/2020 | Published 08/31/2020

Question:

Hello, still hesitate between ordering Thule dockglide or Rhino nautical 581. I have a 19foot foot fiberglass kayak and Thule Aero Tfoot slots bars. Thule saddles: is using Tfoot slots mounting allows some kind of theft protection with the undermount, hidden, sliding bolt, since the Aero bars themselves have a locking cover at the end that prevent sliding them out ? Does the locking covers on Rhino saddles add protection ? Compare to Thule, looking at the Nautical 581 saddles , they do not seem to have some kind of standoff that put them away from the bars. Once the kayak sits in place and staps thighten, are the Rhino saddles preserve enough space between the bars and kayak hull might not be such a poblem with plastic kayak but can crack fiberglass if not the case ? Which one would you recommend for T slots mounting on Aera bars, since Nautical 281 are 100$ cheaper and have a locking device ?

asked by: Hughes D

Expert Reply:

I'd go with the Rhino Rack Nautic 581 Rear Loading Kayak Carrier # RR581 as it's basically the same design as the Thule but with more features and costs less. You can install the Rhino Rack to the top channels of your Thule Aeroblade bars and this rack is also lockable so you get the best of all worlds.

expert reply by: Jameson C