Roof boxes, and the published ski length nobody checks

The question to answer before you shop

Do you actually need a box, or do you need a rack? They solve different problems and cost very different amounts.

A ski rack carries skis and boards only, clamps to your crossbars, costs a fraction of a box, and leaves them exposed to road salt and to anyone with a bolt cutter. A box carries skis and everything else, locks, keeps road spray off, and costs between $700 and $1,100 at published prices. The car racks page covers roof, hitch and inside-the-car options.

The honest test: if the problem is that the skis do not fit in the car, buy a rack. If the problem is that the skis, four sets of boots, four helmets and a week of luggage do not fit in the car, buy a box.

The specification that decides it

Every roof box publishes a capacity in liters and most buyers compare on that number. It is the wrong number. A box is a long shallow shell and what matters for skiing is its usable internal length, which the makers publish separately as a maximum ski length.

The top row is the page. An adult ski is commonly 160 to 175 cm and a taller skier may be on 180. The Pulse’s published 155 cm covers children’s skis and most snowboards and not much else on an adult trip.

The picks

Thule Motion 3 L

The pick if the reason you are buying is skis. A published 180 cm maximum ski length is the longest here and the only one that comfortably clears a tall adult’s skis, with a published capacity of 5 to 7 pairs or 3 to 5 snowboards.

440 liters, a published 165 lb load limit, and a SlideLock system that separates locking from opening - which sounds like a detail and means the box cannot be left unlocked by accident at a highway rest stop with your skis in it. PowerClick mounting with a torque indicator that clicks when it is tight.

It is also $1,099.95 and 43.6 lb empty, which on a tall car is a two-person lift. Budget for somewhere to store it for eight months of the year.

Yakima SkyBox NX LG

The pick if you intend to keep it for the life of the car, because it is the only box here with a published limited lifetime warranty. On a plastic shell that lives outdoors on a roof for a decade, that is worth more than the 5 cm of ski length it gives up to the Thule.

16 cubic feet, published to fit skis and boards up to 175 cm, with a full metal opening handle that locks the gear inside and the box to the car, and SKS locks included. Universal hardware published to fit factory and aerodynamic crossbars.

Two gaps: Yakima does not publish a maximum load, which both Thule boxes do, and at 47 lb it is the heaviest here.

Thule Pulse 2 M

Marked as the skip above, for skis specifically. For everything else it is the sensible buy: 400 liters, a published 165 lb load, central locking, the same PowerClick mounting, and $699.95 - four hundred dollars less than the Motion.

At 31 lb empty it is the only box on this page one adult can get on and off a roof alone, which is a real quality-of-life difference twice a year.

Packing a box for a ski trip

• Heavy items low and central, in the car. Weight on the roof raises the center of gravity and changes how the car handles in a crosswind. Boots are heavy; put them inside the vehicle and put the light bulky things up top.
• Skis bases-together, tips to the back. Bases facing each other protects the edges, and tips at the rear reduces the chance of a lifted tip in airflow.
• Nothing loose. A box is not a suitcase - anything that can slide will slide forward under braking and hit the front of the shell.
• Take it off after the season. A box costs real fuel economy year-round and there is no reason to carry one in July.

And the item people forget: wet boots do not go in a box overnight, they go somewhere they can dry. The overnight drying page covers how and the bags page covers what to carry them in.

A box solves the drive. If the skis are also getting on a plane, the ski bag roundup covers that half - and the published empty weight that decides how much else you can pack.

One thing a box does not do

A locked box is a deterrent, not a safe. The shell is plastic and the lock keeps honest people honest; it will not stop someone determined, and a box left on a roof overnight at a highway rest stop is a known target.

The practical rule is the same as for any car: nothing stays in it overnight that you would mind losing. The gear theft page covers where skis actually get stolen, and the answer is mostly outside lodges at lunchtime rather than off roofs.

If you are flying rather than driving, the traveling page covers airline ski bags and fees and none of this applies.