Most kayak damage, according to expert sources that escape me right now, comes from attempting to get the things from your home to the water on top of your car. I will confess to nearly breaking my Aquanaut in half last summer but thats another post. Everyone remembers the days of lashing the canoe to the roof and the gray foam pieces tied down with that cheap nylon rope. Back in the days of cars with rain gutters you could get a fairly economical rack that would actually hold your skis/bike/boat on your roof very solidly. The advent of the gutter less car, in my opinion, was the event the fueled the rise of the $400 Yakima and Thule systems. I have friends with factory racks on their vehicles and you can still rig a decent carrier using the foam and straps with that type of setup. Most of us however, get to choose between round and square, the Thule and the Yakima. Which is the best? I'd like to hear some opinions. Hully rollers vs the Thule slide system, vertical unit vs the standard setup......? To me its kind of like like Schlitz vs Pabst, Ford vs Chevy, or any other mass marketing induced preference. I've heard people cite differences but I just can't seem to get my arms around them. Is there any enlightenment from rabid fans of one system or the other? I own a Thule simply because they were on sale when I decided I needed a high end rack. And that, I suspect, may be the case with most people.
