Rating:

I decided to buy the Hullaport and am very happy that I did. Now instead of struggling to get my kayak on my rooftop carrier, I have a much easier time lifting it up and plopping it into the J-style Hullaport. The load straps with quick release buckle are substantial and do the job of securely holding the kayak to the Hullaport. The additional bow and stern lines with ratchets are a really convenient way of giving added security when you’re hauling your boat. My kayak is absolutely solid when enroute.

As for worrying about someone stealing my Hullaport racks, no worries. It is a simple matter of unscrewing a single screw to remove and stow them inside my vehicle, or as I more often do, I take the entire rack off and stow the whole shebang inside my car. I just can’t be bothered with the whole locking thing and would rather just take the rack off when not in use. It takes about 1 minute and to me, is worth the small amount of time it takes.

Thule racks are of very high quality and come with a terrific warranty. You’ll pay a bit more than other racks but I believe that the quality and flexibility of the racks speaks for itself.

Rating:

There is virtually no movement when traveling over bumps and >70 mph on the highway. In fact, it moves far less than my bikes do when they are on the roof rack. Getting the boat off is a breeze too (assuming it’s light enough and your car isn’t too tall for you). You unlatch the 4 straps and lift the boat right off, takes all of 45 seconds.

As far as wind noise of the J-hooks when you DON’T have a kayak on the roof – you don’t even need to worry about it. Each J-hook fits on top of the rack and a plate swings underneath the roof rack and gets screwed to the J-hook via a thumb screw. And that is the beauty of it… when the kayak isn’t on the roof, you undo one thumbscrew, swing the plate around, take the whole J-hook off and toss it in your car/truck. Saves on gas mileage and noise. Putting it back on takes 1 minute. The whole installation and removal of the J-hooks is so fast that getting the more expensive 835PRO with the fold-down J-hooks almost seems useless. Why fold it down and have someone steal it right off your car (these do not have thule locks or any lock for that matter) when you can just take it off in 20 seconds and lock it in your vehicle!

For those worried about locking the kayak to protect from theft while transporting, I have seen specific “Kayak Locks” made for J-hook style carriers that wrap around the kayak and roof rack (which I’m assuming the roof rack is locked to your roof…it should be!). They fit snugly too so you can’t lift anything off the rack to get at the J-hooks. They are around $50 or so but they keep your $1000+ investment secure!