Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)My overall impression is that for the price, functionality and ease of installation the Thule 91725 is helluva bargain! I'll probably buy another Thule product because of this purchase.
Description:
Not to offend people or something by stating something that may be obvious to some, but the "Thule 91725 Flat Top" is simply the carrier portion; it doesn't include the carrier base, i.e. you should already have a carrier base installed or you'll have to get one.
The carriers themselves work just like any other carrier with locks and large release buttons. These are wide carriers. So, if you're thinking of getting a couple sets for a mid-size or compact car, it's probably not going fit side by side (e.g. one that opens to the left side and one that opens toward the right side of your vehicle) unless your roof width is wide enough to accomidate or you have extra wide base. The rubber pieces in the carriers to hold your skis/boards in place are teardrop-shaped; the wider end holding the skis or boards in place. Each of the two ski racks comes with 2 clamps and each clamp is composed of two pieces: basically two wide/obtuse-angled "V"-shapes that when joined together with unique hex-screws on each tip, form a diamond shape. The special hex-screw driver is/should be provided with the package.
Considerations:
You'll probably want to account for the clearance between the roof and your ski carrier base's crossbars: assuming your bindings are already installed on your skis and/or board, if you use this carrier, and if your carrier base has only a 3" or less clearance between it and the roof of your vehicle and you place your bidings upside down then your bindings will probably hit the roof top (and probably not fit). In which case, you can always place the bindings up, ski/board base down toward the roof (with a set of skis laid side-by-side), but you won't be able to fit as many skis or snowboards.
Pros:
1. Fairly easy to install (took me about under 10 minutes including alignment): just 8 hex screws for 4 clamps (2 screws per clamp) to mess with.
2. Fairly easy to operate with big white release buttons.
3. "V" shapped clamps will fit just about any crossbar (e.g. eye-shaped, square and/or circular).
4. Comes with locks to secure skis/snowboards onto carrier and hex screws that are unique so it's not very easy to disassemble the clamps without the unique hex screw driver that's provided.
Cons:
1. May not provide enough clearance for some factory-installed base "racks", especially those that are fairly flushed to the roof. Thus, you may not be able to fit as many skis or snowboards.
2. Although the hex screws are unique (you will probably have a difficult time finding these at the local ACE Hardware or something), it is possible the hex screws can be loosened with the proper hex wrench or hex screw driver, i.e. the screws are exposed so even though you lock the carrier there's nothing covering the hex screws as an extra measure to mitigate tampering. Obviosly, if the Hex screws are removed from the carrier base, the entire carrier can be removed...along with your skis or board.
3. I'm not sure, but the teardrop-shape rubber material to keep the skis/snowboard held together in the carrier does not appear to be the type that will last for years, not that it's a big deal, but that's my assessment on it's "durability" and ability to maintain elasticity. I'll find out in 10 years.'08-'10 Subaru Impreza's w/OEM or factory-installed ski/snowboard carrier base:
I'm not sure how this will fit other vehicles, but I can certaily testify to how it fits on a Subie STi. I have a 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi and this carrier's clamps fit perfectly onto the eliptical/"eye"-shaped OEM crossbars; I believe the ski base I have is the same OEM item for all '08-'10 Subaru Impreza models (including the WRX and the STi's). So, if you have an '08 or later model Impreza with the OEM ski base, the Thule 91725 is close to perfect. Again, not to offend people or anything, but just make sure the carriers are aligned properly; on the Impreza the passenger/rear portion of the roof is a little narrower than the driver/front portion of the roof. So, if you align it based on the roof line edges, then the carriers will be offset. And when you place the snowboards/skis they'll be skewed instead of parallel to the whole vehicle (if you're concerned about wind drag noise). '08-'10 Subaru Impreza ski and snowboard carrier base OEM part number is E361SFG300 and is a lot cheaper when you order it through an Subaru OEM distributor than from a dealership.
The Impreza's OEM carrier crossbars had enough clearance so I can place a set of skis together (base-to-base) and snowboard upside-down or two snowbaords together (base-to-base) without any part of the bindings (with the exception of the dangling ankle riser on the snowboard) touching the roof top.
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