soft roof racks

[weetbix456]

Thinking about getting myself some of those soft roof racks that tie up through your car windows to cart my kayak and surfboard around..just wondering if anyone's used them before and how they hold up?? sea to summit do some for around $100 but there are some cheaper versions. any info much appreciated!

[baronessbunyip]

I have some of those which I use for my surfboard. I think I paid $60 or $80 a couple of years ago from a surf shop - don't know the brand. They are okay. You have to be careful about how you position the board because otherwise it will start to vibrate once you speed up (really noisy and annoying!!) and you have to make sure they are pulled tight - both of which can sometimes be a bit fiddly to achieve. The other thing is because the board sits directly on the car it's caused wax to rub off onto the back of the roof of my car which looks messy. I often wish I had proper roof racks but I've used these to take my board all round Tassie and they've stood up - so they do the job and they take up no room to keep them in the car. They are no good for those foam surfboards which you learn on because they cause dents.

[weetbix456]

thanks BB for the reply, we'll see how we go i guess unless i can pick up a set of cheapies from the wreckers or something. Not too worried bout the implications to my poor old beat up broomer, just hoping it holds the big heavy thing on the highways! I once brought a two person blow up boat, inflated it at the Sorell servo and got some1 to hang onto the rope as it hung out the back of the hatchback all the way to Carlton beach...