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Your cart is empty.The Swagman CONTOUR is a simple and effective way to transport a kayak on the roof of your vehicle. It makes loading and unloading your craft a piece of cake. The rack’s high density foam padding protects the hull from being scratched.
twistytravster
Reviewed in Canada on July 16, 2018
Edit:I have one gripe about this rack. The J shaped bars are 2 pieces, separated in the middle where the rubber base is located. Inside the separated tubes, there is no rust protection. So what keeps happening is that rust debris from inside the tubes keeps coming out and finding its way all over the roof of my car whenever it rains. It just takes a spray of WD-40 to treat the issue. But this could have been prevented by using plastic/rubber plugs to cap the end of the tubes that are not protected from rust.Original Review:You can't beat the price to the quality. There are cheaper racks available, but they are made so terribly that you can nearly bend the metal with your bare hands. The Swagman rack is very sturdy. I appreciate the tool-less design. I was able to bring the rack with me when I went to pick up my kayak and bolt it on by hand right then and there.As for the universal fit, they DO fit any size and shape of crossbar. I think what most people are forgetting is that this rack is only for affixing the kayak in a vertical position. You DO NOT rely solely upon the Swagman rack for mounting the kayak. The straps must always be looped through your crossbars as the main support. For this reason, as long as the rack tightens onto your bars - even if not perfectly secure - then they do fit as intended.
Ryan
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2018
These absolutely cannot be beat for the money. I use them with my square rack and the quality is really nice, I see no reason to buy any other big name kayak rack for more money because these are really nice
Knowlton Fan
Reviewed in Canada on January 9, 2018
Holder has rubber pads so that the kayak does not scratch - it also prevents the kayak from sliding - which is a pain if you are trying to position properly front to back (especially by oneself ).I had difficulty the units to the rack on my SUV - again probably because there is too much friction between the kayak and the rubber pads.Tie downs could have unique attachments so that tie down attachment is easier once the kayak is in place
Customer
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2017
I actually bought these so I could screw them onto my garage wall, and hold the kayaks there, as I already have a trailer to haul the kayaks in. They work perfect for what I wanted, and the foam has held up to them being used over and over!
Orin J Howerton
Reviewed in Canada on March 16, 2017
The rack itself is great, very sturdy and comes with both the short mounting bolts preinstalled, and a set of longer bolts for oversized bars so you're covered either way. On a Sportrack square crossbar this fits great with the universal mount and short bolts so works well for me. the cam straps that come with it are pretty short and are definitely where they tried to save money, but the bow/stern ropes are pretty nice so I can't fault it too much. Overall if you're looking to save a few bucks on your rack this is a great alternative to the bigger name solutions.
Sentry Screens
Reviewed in Canada on August 6, 2016
This was my first time ever hauling kayaks on our 2016 Ford Explorer. The product was simple to put on our roof. But I struggled a little with figuring out how to tie down the kayaks. A simple YouTube video explained this and everything worked great.My only suggestion to the seller to improve their customer experience, is provide a video on how to tie down the kayaks using their product. Other than that, I'm really pleased with the rack holder and their quality.
M. Masters
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2016
I purchased these J racks to hold my wifes 9'6" SOT kayak, these racks worked perfectly fine for holding my wife's kayak down for our 600 mile trip we took. I will add that the product comes with two cam straps as well as ropes to tie down the bow and stearn. I used ratchet straps (not tightened too tight) and the cam straps on the racks themselves. These racks had no issue fitting with the included hardware on my "Oval" style Rola racks on my SUV. The product seems to be of good quality and while I will likely be leaving the racks on, it would only take 5-10 minutes to remove or install (if that.) Overall these racks are comparable to the more expensive models that my friends bought, I cannot speak to the longevity of the product since I have not owned it long, but they seem like they should hold up well and have quality hardware. I will of course update this review as time goes on.
Marshall
Reviewed in Canada on November 28, 2016
Have used them a few times by now, and for the money the are hard to beat. I checked out Thule and other premium brands, but the cost is way more than these. I have tested them at high speeds of 80km/h+ with 2 14ft kayaks and they held extremely well. They held solid and I didn't notice any movement looking in the mirror to see above.The mounting plates that attach to the cross bars could have been moulded into a better shape, but maybe this was their best design for an average fit on vehicles bars. Also, the long bolts that attach the mounts need to come with shorter bolts, as I have a pretty common passenger van that I had to actually cut the bolts shorter so they wouldn't impact the roof. Small annoyance, but it should have been thought of for vehicles with shorter crossbar roof gaps. Overall love these for the money, they get the job done!
Rik B
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2014
There is nothing particularly wrong with these kayak carriers. They will do exactly what they are designed to do, but for the same price you can get two sets of the budget ones that work just as well. These do feel much sturdier and Im assuming will likely last longer -- but my other budget brand carriers work just as well. If you are constantly transporting yaks back and forth maybe they are worth the premium but if your a weekender you may need the premium quality these bring to the table.
eric43s
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2010
Very high quality. Rack is sturdy and was easy to install. There is foam or rubber anywhere that the kayak would touch. The straps even have pieces of cloth that cover the buckles so they won't scratch the boat.
Buy more stuff
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2010
I purchased these racks for a 2010 Toyota Rav 4. I received them pretty fast, Amazon is great for shipping quick. I purchased these instead of the Thule brand racks because they were a much better price. The only problem is that the knobs that came with the racks to tighten the rack onto your vehicle cross bars are too close to the roof of the Rav 4. I ended up purchasing shorter bolts and wing nuts inorder to keep them from denting or scratching up the roof of the vehicle. I am pleased with the current set up, and the racks are very sturdy and make loading our kayaks easy. these racks actually cradle the kayak so you don't have to hold onto it while it is being strapped down. I would not want to install and remove these racks very often though, it does take some time to get them all on (I use 4 of them). I plan on leaving them on all summer long and removing them for the winter.
Peter Duffy
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2010
This is a fantacstic Kayak Rack.I have a Isuzu Rodeo with factory fitted roof rack and a Potomac 9.5ft recreational Kayak (Dicks sell them for [...]). The cross bars are slightly arched and so if I had bought a Thule or other make I would have to buy convertor brackets. But, this rack fits perfectly at afraction of the cost of the big boys. The padding on the rack is great and the straps are perfect for the job. Kayak was very secure and no movement at all. The only change I made, was that instead of the rope & hooks supplied for front and back of the Kayak, I bought 2 4ft flat bungees. These secure the front and back of the kayak much better and quicker than the ropes supplied.All in all, I would highly recommend this Kayak Rack.Thank you Swagman for giving us an excellently priced alterntaive to the Thule rip off.
Maryann
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2010
These do not fit on a Rav4 - I was very disappointed as it said they would fit on factory installed crossbars... however, the return process was very quick and easy.
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