Yakima Mako Saddles Rooftop Kayak Carrier with Straps with Tie-Downs

Awesome carriers. Easy to load. Got these for my truck canopy set up. They work great. Although manufacturer doesn't recommend it, you do not need front and back tied downs with these. We drive the interstate in Montana, 80+ mph and they have never budged. Originally got non folding j-style carriers for our other vehicle, used them once and bought another set of these. The j-racks are now used only for kayak storage. These are much easier and more stable.

Yakima Mako saddles rule!I can understand the impulse to save a few bucks by purchasing the landsharks or another brands saddles but don't do it. Why pay $3,000.00 for a fiberglass kayak and then beat the hull to death on your roof or worse yet lose the boat on the highway.Yakima mako saddles adjust to many different hull shapes, hold the boat very securely and provide a bit of cushion for the boat over bumps. I have used these saddles on several different fiberglass and poly boats and have been extremely pleased with the hull contact. I have not seen hull abrasions and roughening at the site of contact that occurs with other saddles. While the slight movement of the boat while traveling takes some getting used too - this is the saddle flexing, not the boat moving in the saddles - this action gives the boat a bit of cushion on 4x4 or rough roads. Very secure at highway speeds.Great product that should last you years and years.

The yokes work pretty well, though the strap retention system needs work; it's hard to get the nylon tiedown to stay in the tracks provided.My big gripe is the way the product is advertised. The photo for the ad shows two pairs of yokes -- one front, one rear. But when the product arrived, it turns out I needed to double my order -- the quoted price was just for one pair. I also had to buy the separate mounting system for my manufacturer's racks on the car, and they proved tricky to deal with. All in all, a good enough product, but expensive once you realize you need to order two of everything.

I wasn't sure how these would work out especially since the Yakima Q-tower rack has round bars. I was pleasantly surprised. For a plastic assembly it works very well and the saddles tend to wrap around the kayak hull when the strap is snugged up. There are small plastic pieces that act as wedges on the round bars when the mounting hardware is tightened up and they hold the saddles in place. I also like the way that the straps are routed around the saddles. It's done in such a way that the strap pushes up the middle rubber grip when the straps are tightened which grips the kayak. I felt so much more comfortable driving with the kayak on my roof after Mako saddles were installed on the front bar of my Yakima roof rack. The kayak stayed firmly in place whereas previously I could see the bow of the kayak moving slightly with the wind and slipstream. I should add that I always use front and rear tie downs and each pair of saddles comes with a tie-down in addition to a saddle strap which is a great bonus. The tie-down has two parts, one has a short strap with a loop and a cam cleat to tie to the boat. The other, longer strap has an S-clip and a loop to hook onto the car. On most cars there is a metal shipping loop on the front and back of the car on the underside. Hood straps are another alternative.I load my kayak over the trunk of the car and onto the roof because it weighs 70 lbs or more. I am now thinking of adding another set of Mako saddles on the rear of the roof rack because I do not want the underside of my kayak to distort on the rack. Kayaks are often weakest on their underside and stronger on the edge and gunwales. The Makos hold the kayak on the stronger edges like cupped hands.I'm hoping it will still be easy to load up with another set of Mako saddles. In addition I built a couple of PVC roller systems (I found on YouTube) to help the kayak on its way over the trunk and the rear window. I had looked into Yakima Hully rollers but they don't seem to get good reviews for heavier kayaks. Apparently they do not have roller bearings and therefore offer more resistance with the bearings being plastic on plastic. Too bad because they would seem to be the perfect combination for loading a kayak in this way. At around $100 I am not taking the risk with Hully rollers so I may buy an extra set of Mako saddles instead. I have not seen any feedback on how heat and cold affect the Mako saddles. I wonder how they will stand up but if they do it will be money well spent on holding the kayak in a very stable position while protecting the hull from distortion.If I can I will add a picture/video later to show how the loading/unloading works.

Doesnt fit my roof rack and this system is overpriced for what it is. Spend the extra money and get a good system

These were bought to carry my wife's kayak on a Jetta.The first problem was that she needed to lift the boat significantly higher if loading from the side than she'd had to do with her prior Yakima EvenKeel cradles. This was a problem for her at 5'2".The included securing strap's buckle did such a poor job gripping the strap that it would work its way loose immediately and was unusable.Since the boat is secured only to the cradles and they have quite a bit of wiggle built in, the boat tended to move around unnervingly above 40 MPH or so. Use the bow & stern tie-downs! The EvenKeel and other cradles are superior here since their straps go around the actual load bars.Though we used these a few times to carry a fiberglass kayak, they were purchased with the intention that they'd be used to carry her wooden kayak, a Pygmy Murrelet 2PD. This turned out to be completely impossible as the cradles' shape is simply incompatible with the flat planes and hard chines of the kayak. We've gone back to using the EvenKeel cradles and are very happy with them.On the positive side, they appear to be well made, except for the strap. They were very easy to install.

If you have a large vehicle this might not be the product, works great on a car! I have a large profile vehicle and it is not easy to use. Check out the Thule Hullavator well worth the extra money! 2 sets of the saddles will cost you a couple of hundred..... One set and hully rollers the same..... The Hullavator is double that but the absolute best out there!