Ski Gear Review: Thule Roof Rack and Ski Carrier.
Tell ’em I Just Want My Racks.
pop quiz: the lyric above is from what song and artist? clue: Kim and Beyonce’s men say they must sit like royalty.
We drive from the UK to the Alps at least once a year. We buy a Tirol Snowcard so we can visit several ski resorts on one trip. So, we need a safe, convenient and practical way to transport our skis.
When you think of car roof racks the name that springs to mind is ‘Thule’. To be honest, we struggled to come up with any others, but did check out what Halfords had. Anyway, as is the usual way with our shopping, it starts with internet research and usually ends with an online purchase.
We didn’t particularly want a roof box. Our feeling was that this would lead to the skis being too awkward to get up and down off the roof. Also any snow left on the skis would convert to a puddle in the bottom of the box. We also didn’t need to travel long distances with stuff on the roof. There are only two of us, so all our stuff, including skis can go inside the car for the journey from UK to Alps.
Thule Snowpack Ski Carrier
We opted for a Thule roof rack with Snowpack L ski carrier (L = Long = 75cm). Our choice was the long version as we have quite fat skis and occasionally have friends join us so need to carry more than two pairs of skis.
We’ve had this set up for a good number of years now and it works for us, the lock needs a bit of WD40 now and again, but is still in an ‘as new’ condition. The rubber grips the skis well and we have never had a problem with movement. The skis are easy to put up on the roof and get down again, even for me!
Looking online at the Thule website, the design has changed a bit. The principle is still the same, so we’d certainly recommend.
We’ve started doing a bit more biking in the Summer these days. So our next purchase might be a bike rack! To be honest, I think I’m going to struggle to lift my bike (even though it is very light) up onto the roof of the car without damaging paintwork. A rear mounted Thule bike rack will probably my preference.
