Kayak Rack Buying Tips for Sea Kayakers
We don't sell roof racks, but we want you to have a good system to carry your kayaks safely. The most common cause of serious damage to sea kayaks is from transporting them -- not from using them. On the highway you want to both protect your kayaks from damage and prevent any liability issues from their flying off and causing damage/injury to others. Good racks are not cheap, but they are necessary. Also learn proper techniques for tying your kayak both to your roof-rack and to the car (do both for the sake of safety, so no single failure such as a buckle or knot slipping will cause a serious problem).
There are two main kayak rack manufacturers, Yakima and Thule. Both have been on the market for years, and both make racks to fit most cars and light trucks. The most obvious difference between these two brands is that the Yakima system uses round tubes for the roof bars while Thule uses rectangular tubes for the roof bars. There are many advantages to a rectangular bar over a round bar. Everything else being equal, a rectangular bar is: stiffer, stronger, quieter on the highway (round bars sometimes buzz), and clamped on accessories won't twist around the bar (very annoying when sliding your kayak forward or backward to balance it while loading). Yet in the case of kayak roof racks, the devil isn't really in the details of the rack -- it is in the details of their accessories. Both Yakima and Thule make racks that are similarly priced, reliable, and versatile (with accessories for many types of sports equipment). You'll probably see more Yakima brand racks around the kayak put-ins because for many years Yakima had the upper hand when it came to kayak accessories (the kayak cradle/saddle parts, stacker bars, etc.), and the convenience of these accessories outweighed the drawback of the round bars. But in the last year or so, Thule has created new kayak accessories that reverse the old paradigm. The latest Thule kayak saddles, stacker bars, and roller loading systems (the "Roll Model") are superb. So now you can have Thule's rectangular bar and good kayak accessories to go with it.
I haven't made a recent comparison of the accessories for bikes, skis, etc., it is possible that Yakima has the best of some of these other sport accessories. So if kayaking isn't your main sport you may need to choose your bar system based on some of the other accessories and make due with the kayak accessories offered for that rack system. However, most of the accessories for Yakima and Thule racks can be used on either brand's bars.
Two of the best concepts for making it easy to load a kayak by yourself are Thule's "Hullavator" drop down side loading system with assist for lifting kayak up onto roof and the Thule "Slipstream". The Slipstream slides out over the back of your vehicle and tilts down for loading. Once the kayak is strapped on you simply slide the whole system back onto the roof.