Yakima : Lift Ticket 6

Review:
The first rack I ever bought was a Yakima, and I was always very happy with it. It made numerous trips and assisted in keeping the in-car space a maximum. Needless to say, I was excited about the opportunity to review the new Lift-Ticket 6. It will carry 4 boards, two bindings-down and two bindings-up.

Yakima sells component systems to build a rack for your car. You can just buy the carrier if you have a factory rack, or buy a full rack system if your roof is naked. The rack system installation is a snap. For our application we used 4 "Q-towers." These are the points where the rack attaches to your roof. Some versions hook onto rain-gutters or side molding, others wrap between the car body and the door and "hug" the car. The Q-towers connect to the crossbars and then clamp onto the car. The kit includes a tape measure and the measurements to put the rack in the optimum place. The rack will probably take you 1-2 hours to assemble and install the first time. Once assembled, the whole rack system can be removed and reinstalled in less than 10 minutes. Because it is so easy to remove, I recommend opting for the locks, even though they are extra). It will run you around $50 for a set of 6 lock cores (you need 1 for each of the 4 towers, and 1 for each half of the carrier) and 2 keys. This may seem pricey, but it easily pays for itself the first time your boards don't get stolen. The locks take about 30 seconds to install, and you will be able to sleep at night knowing that your boards are securely fastened on the roof.

The Lift Ticket Carrier installs onto the crossbars in approximately 10 minutes; it's pretty pain free, and you can position them to open on either side of the car. I really like the new styling of the Yakima racks. They are a little more ergonomic, but not disgustingly so. The new latch seems a little more finicky than the old style, but it also seems sturdier. The release button is now much larger, and much easier to open with gloves on in cold weather. There are no major improvements from the older models, but then again it is hard to change something that has no major problems.

Having a roof rack, especially on a small car, can make a huge difference in how comfortable your drive to the mountains is. Most sedans can only seat three people comfortably if you've got a seat down for the boards. With your boards on the roof, you can squeeze one or two more people in; and having more passengers means there are more people splitting the gas.