Ski racks, and the measurement to take before you order one

The measurement, before anything else

A roof ski rack does not attach to a roof. It clamps to two crossbars, and if you do not have crossbars you are buying a roof rack system first and a ski carrier second - which is a far larger purchase than the one you came here for. The car ski racks guide covers that decision in full.

What is new here is the number. Thule publishes a required crossbar spacing of 23 to 36.8 in on the M, the L and the Extender alike. That is a tape-measure job that takes thirty seconds in a driveway, and it is the single check that decides whether any of this fits your car.

Capacity, which is published honestly

This category states capacity as a number of pairs, and the numbers are meaningfully different rather than marketing rounding. A snowboard occupies roughly the space of two pairs of skis, which is why the board figure is always about half the ski figure.

The caveat Thule does not print: the published number assumes bindings, which take up most of the width of a ski. Four pairs of narrow carving skis fit a four-pair rack comfortably; four pairs of wide all-mountain skis with chunky bindings are optimistic. If your household skis wide, and the shapes page explains who does, size up rather than down.

What this page ranks on

• 1. Published crossbar spacing. A hard requirement, not a preference. 23 to 36.8 in across this range.
• 2. Published ski and board capacity. In pairs, which is the one number this category states plainly.
• 3. Published loading width. Underrated, and the thing you actually interact with. A 19.6 in carrier and a 29.5 in carrier hold different amounts, but they also feel completely different to load in gloves with cold hands and a child waiting.
• 4. What it locks, and whether the lock is in the box. There are two separate thefts to prevent - the skis from the rack, and the rack from the car - and makers are vague about which locks ship included.
• 5. Published maximum load. Rarely read and occasionally surprising, as the table below shows.

The three, compared

Two rows repay a second look. The maximum load row is the one nobody expects: the dearest rack in the range is published at 92.5 lb while the two cheaper ones are published at 165 lb. And the locks row is the one makers are slipperiest about - the M and L pages both say the rack “locks skis to carrier” and “locks carrier to roof rack” without ever stating that a lock or key comes in the box. Only the Extender says included.

The picks

Thule SnowPack M

The one most households should buy, and the reasoning is arithmetic rather than taste. Thule publishes 4 pairs of skis or 2 snowboards, which is a family of four with skis, or two snowboarders with room to spare. It is the lightest at 10.6 lb, which matters because you lift it onto the roof yourself, and at $369.95 published it is the cheapest of the three.

It publishes the same 165 lb maximum load as the L and the same 23 to 36.8 in crossbar spacing, so nothing about the car-fitting decision changes if you size down to it. Rubber arms grip the topsheets without marking them, and the carrier locks both the skis to itself and itself to the bar.

Honest cons. The 19.6 in loading width is the real trade - ten inches narrower than the L, which you notice every time you load two pairs side by side rather than one. Thule does not state whether locks are included, only that the rack is lockable, which is a distinction worth settling before you order. And no warranty term is published on the product page.

Thule SnowPack L

The one to buy if the household is bigger than the car suggests, or if anyone snowboards. Thule publishes 6 pairs of skis or 4 boards against the M’s four and two, and a 29.5 in loading width against 19.6.

That width is the reason to pay the extra fifty dollars even if you never carry six pairs. Loading a ski rack is a two-handed job done in gloves, usually in a car park, often with somebody waiting - and the difference between a nineteen-inch slot and a thirty-inch one is the difference between threading skis in and dropping them in.

Honest cons. 14.2 lb published, which is three and a half pounds more to lift onto a roof than the M. The same unstated lock inclusion. And the same caveat as every rack here: published capacity assumes bindings, so six pairs of wide skis with tall bindings is the optimistic end of that number rather than the comfortable one.

Thule SnowPack Extender

Marked as the skip above, conditionally - and the condition is your roof height rather than your ski count. Thule publishes a raised design for added roof clearance with tall bindings, and it is the only carrier in the range whose page states that the One-Key locks are included rather than leaving it implied.

On a tall vehicle that is a real argument. If you are reaching up and over the edge of a van roof rather than leaning across a wagon, a carrier that sits proud of the bars and opens where your hands actually are changes the job.

The reason it carries the skip is published in the same spec list: a maximum load of 92.5 lb against 165 lb on both cheaper racks, for $569.95 - a hundred and fifty dollars more than the L for the same published six pairs. It is also the heaviest at 16.5 lb, and Thule’s compatible-bar list for this model quietly omits ProBar, which the M and L both name. Check your bar before ordering this one specifically.

Why all three are Thule, and what that costs you

Because Thule publishes and its competitors would not let us read. We went looking for Yakima’s FatCat EVO and PowderHound to put a second brand on this page - both are in stock, both are legitimate racks, and the PowderHound in particular undercuts everything here on price. Yakima’s site rate-limited every automated read we attempted, and the one page that did load was its Canadian store, whose prices are in Canadian dollars.

So this page ranks what could be checked. That is a limitation and we would rather name it than quietly present a single-brand page as a survey of the category. If you are shopping beyond this page, the questions to ask any rack are the five above: crossbar spacing, capacity in pairs, loading width, what it locks, and the maximum load.

When a rack is the wrong purchase

• You do not have crossbars. Then this is a far bigger purchase than it looks, because a bar system costs as much again as the carrier. The guide covers what to check on your roof.
• You ski two or three times a winter. Skis fit inside most cars with a seat folded, and a padded ski bag costs a fraction of a rack and protects the gear from the car as much as the car from the gear.
• You need to carry luggage as well. A roof box swallows boots, bags and helmets alongside the skis. The roof box roundup compares those on published ski length, which is the figure that decides whether adult skis fit inside one at all.
• You are flying. None of this travels. The travel page covers what does.

Living with a rack

Two habits save money. Take it off in summer. A carrier left on the roof all year costs fuel every mile, collects road grime in the lock barrels and weathers for nine months to earn you three. And load bases down, tips back. Skis go on with the bases facing each other and the tips pointing rearward, which keeps the edges away from the paint and the tips out of the airflow.

One more, learned expensively by many people: write a note and put it where you will see it. Garage doors, drive-throughs and low car parks have ended more racks than theft has. The rack is taller than your car now, and your brain does not know that yet.

Fitting it, and the two mounting options on the box

Thule publishes both of these on every carrier in the range, and which one you use depends entirely on the bars you already have.

• T-Track. Thule and many aftermarket bars have a channel running along the top of them. The carrier bolts into that channel, which gives the cleanest fit and lets you slide the carrier along the bar to position it.
• Speed-Link around-the-bar. A clamp that wraps the bar from underneath. This is what you use on round bars, on most factory rails and on anything without a channel - which is to say, on most cars.

Neither needs tools beyond what comes with it, and neither is the hard part. The hard part is deciding where along the bars the carrier sits, because that position has to clear your tailgate when it opens, clear the sunroof if you have one, and leave room for anything else living on the roof. Do that with the car on level ground and the tailgate open, once, properly - it is far easier than discovering the clearance problem in a hotel car park in the dark.

And check the torque again after the first drive. Everything on a roof settles after a few miles of vibration, which is true of boxes as much as carriers.

Who should buy what

• A family of four with skis: the SnowPack M. Four pairs published, lightest to lift, cheapest of the three.
• Snowboarders, mixed groups or carpooling: the SnowPack L, and the extra ten inches of loading width is worth the fifty dollars on its own.
• A van or a tall SUV: the Extender, accepting the published 92.5 lb limit in exchange for a carrier you can actually reach.
• No crossbars, or two trips a winter: none of these. A ski bag and a folded seat.