Thule 825 Port Side Kayak Rack Reviews
Thule Racks has answered Yakima Racks' very competitively priced HullRaiser Aero j-cradle style kayak rack. Thule seemed to be losing market share in this category of j-cradle style kayak carriers. The Thule 835XT Hull-A-Port is very similar to the Yakima HullRaiser Aero. Both attach directly to all types of car rack cross bars including all Thule bar styles, Yakima round bars and most factory installed roof rack crossbars. Both work with all kayak styles and also include bow & stern tie-down straps. The problem was the 835XT Hull-A-Port was about $20 more than the Hull Raiser Aero price. Now Thule Racks has fired back with the 825 PortSide. A very lean and mean version of the 835XT at a price that currently beats the Hull Raiser Aero price (Yakima also has a cheaper HullRaiser model but it doesn't attach directly to factory racks). Thule has simply stripped off the superfluous cloth covering on the foam pads and replaced the ratcheting tie-down straps with a non-ratcheting version. Admittedly it's not as convenient to have to manually tie-down the bow and stern instead of using the ratcheting mechanism included with the 835XT, but how hard is it really to pull the rope tight and tie a simple knot? As with the 835XT Hull-a-Port the 825 attaches amazingly easily to all base rack crossbar styles. Has plenty of padding for a plush ride for the kayak. We also love how easy it is to load a kayak. Just place one end of the kayak onto one of the cradles then lift the other side into the other cradle. The heavy-duty straps cinch the kayak down very tightly too. Our favorite feature is that the kayak is positioned on its side, leaving plenty of room to attach another 825 Portside to the crossbars if you want to carry another kayak.
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