Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've had more than 10 years experience with kayak racks, and over the years have had 3 Thule styles of "J" rack, and 1 Yakima. The Malone racks beat them all, hands down. Seem to be heavier than the others, and more solidly built than the other folding styles I've used. The protective nylon sleeve on the bar padding is nice, and will presumably keep the padding intact; some of the other styles I've had just had "raw" foam pads, and would start to rip up in about a year. Attachment of these racks to the bar is really nice. It's a single HEAVY steel strap, contoured to hold round, square, or elongated factory bars. I have Yakima bars, and they attach with no problem. Other brands attachment systems have been junk plastic and have broken (Thule), or junk plastic and HAVEN'T broken (Yak). The last Thule rack I had did have a somewhat sturdier attachment than the old junk plastic ones that kept breaking. Anyway, the Malone attachments seem to be the sturdiest of the bunch, and easiest to install. Where the Malone REALLY shines is one the rack themselves; the little "ramp" with the hole in it. This is multi-purpose. First, when running kayak straps, you can feed the end of the strap through the hole, under the load bar, and back up through the hole before connecting to the buckle. This is surprisingly easy and quick to do, and really keeps everything solidly connected and neat. Second, the ramp helps slip your boat up into the cradle. I've caught my kayak on the ends of the other brands of rack enough to know this is a small, but nice, touch. And finally...... This is so cool it deserves a paragraph of its own. Got a tandem kayak, or a heavy kayak, or getting a little older (me!), or you are just short? The Y & T guys make these load-assist racks, right? Monster contraptions with hydraulics in them, and cost about 450 bucks PER KAYAK, since they are mounted "permanently" to the load bars. The Malone "Telos" system makes all of that obsolete, including the cost. These are two detachable ramps, that instantly clip to those two cute little holes on the Malone racks where the straps go. Once attached, each ramp has a ratchet so that you can push up one end of the boat, then the other, until the boat is lifted from waist height up to the carrying rack. And you can lower the boat with them in just the opposite fashion. Toss 'em in the trunk when done. Best part is that you can use the ramps on both sides if you need to, or even with multiple cars, so instead of putting two of the Thule monsters on your car at a cost of 900 bucks, you can use a single Malone Telos system for about 215 (current price here). If you're in the market for a kayak loader, you NEED to go to the Malone website (maloneautoracks dot com) and see the Telos video. Warning, this video is a real tear jerker if you've already coughed up 900 beans for the Thule system! One last note - all of the Malone stuff is American made up in Maine. Nice when the best and cheapest stuff on the market is made in the USA. Ken - Author of "The Pellet Stove Almanack: Home Heating Joins the 21st Century"