Review on Universal Carrier Kayaks Surfboard Rooftop by Matthew Owens

I bought this stand because it was advertised as being able to be used on any crossbar. While this may be the case, provided your handlebars are aerodynamically shaped, it really can't (safely) be used on a round handlebar system. With the thumbscrews, I couldn't tighten the struts enough for them to be stable on my Yakima crossbars. To use them on this system I had to replace the thumbscrew with regular nuts and tighten them with a wrench. Even then, the posts were not very stiff and could still be turned on the uneven bars with moderate effort. The first (and last) time I used the stand was for a family kayak trip down the Colorado River (about 4 hours). During the trip I had to stop several times because the fastening screws kept loosening and had to be tightened again. On the way back I almost lost the kayak because the front mounting plate deformed and could not withstand the pressure of the cross wind that arose during the movement. As others have pointed out, this rack really needs to have 4 mounting screws to hold each J-Bar to the bar. Just having two isn't enough because they don't provide enough room to prevent the pole mount from bending or loosening when side loads are placed on the kayak. Better hardware with better locking properties is also needed to prevent screws from loosening. Finally, the product description should also be changed to indicate that the system is not rod compatible, as that is indeed an unsafe option for this design.