Soft Roof Racks

[Northside Chic]

Hi guys

I'm considering purchasing a kayak for the first time however I'm not sure if I will like it or not so was wondering if it would be better to start off with soft roof racks first rather than getting the proper roof racks. I have a Hyundai Tuscon and it already has roof rails on it. Can anyone advise on whether the soft ones are any good? Pro's and Con's?? Thanks

[Doyley]

i have used the soft racks for surfboards before i bought proper ones. they work and they hold the boards in place, however because they have a soft bottom and sit directly on the roof when you tie the boards down it can dent the top of your roof (although it does pop back out). Any sand between the soft rack and roof will scratch the paint as they move a bit on the highway and when accelerating and braking. The main problem i had with them is they press on the door seal and will let a lot of water through if it rains. Like i said this is for surfboards but i am guessing it would be the same setup for a kayak. i would spent the extra money and get the cross rails for your car (and if u do buy them get the whisper bars as the others will make a 'howling' noise when traveling)

[Binder]

I'm not familiar with the car, but I used them on my Rio for a while while I was trailerless, a "seak" set from anaconda, I think $40 or $50 on special, they usually are a semi regular sale item. They did an excellent job.

Main issue is to be very careful putting them on and off, make sure there is no sand etc under them as it wont do your paint much good if there is. Remember to twist the straps, otherwise you will think the world is coming to an end when you hit 80kph.

usual precautions with a yak on top of your car, wash car down well afterwards if you have been in the salt. Work out a way of loading and unloading that is easy, particularly if you cant hold the yak above your head.

Also experiment on which way is best, particularly if your tallish. I started with mine with the front of the yak to the front of the car because I thought that would give smoother air flow, but the nose dropped to far down and caused vision problems. So I changed to having the bum facing forward and all was good.

[bootyinblue]

I sold a pair on here a while ago for a great price. If the purchaser wants to offload them and put them in a post pack for you, it would be a great way to see if they would work before taking the plunge.

I used my for a wave ski which weighed about the same as Binders yak above and had no issues.

And yea twist any straps you have on your racks or boat for that matter and they wont vibrate. You only need 2 or 3 turns in them.

[bersim]

My family has soft roof racks for our yaks and they're great for small trips although they can slip a bit for longer trips, but that doesn't matter if you check them every so often when travelling big distances.

James

[RUSSIAN]

Got normal roof racks (plastic ones) and use them a fair bit with the surf ski and the odd kayak...

it works great and has never slipped

just remember to strap them on :woohoo:

cheers