Malone Standard Foam Block Universal Car Top Canoe Carrier Kit

I drive a Honda fit (tiny car) and have a 17' fiberglass canoe (big canoe) that I only use once or twice a year. I used to borrow a gas guzzling SUV to transport my canoe. Not anymore. This product is simple, inexpensive, and works great. My canoe is approx 3 feet longer than my car and yes it looks silly, but it's functional. I wouldn't reccomend this for ever day use or say its better than a traditional roof rack. But if you've gotta get your canoe to the water and don't have a vehicle appropriate, this is a great solution.This product has essentially converted my little MPG machine into a fully functional SUV for my annual canoe trip. As long as you tie it down to both the front and rear of the car and use both straps through the doors or windows (ropes, straps, and instructions included), your canoe will stay firmly planted on your roof without scratching your paint. I drove in excess of 70 mph and handling and control stayed very manageable.If you use your canoe on a regular basis you may want to bite the bullet and buy a proper roof rack, otherwise you can't go wrong here. My local outfitter wanted over $100 for a similar setup (foam blocks & straps), but with prime shipping I saved a ton of cash to buy more beer for the coolers :-)

This system really works. The kit comes with four sturdy foam blocks, two tie-down lines, two metal hooks and two flat straps. The blocks have grooves to hold the upside-down canoe on the car roof by its gunwales, and provide enough padding to keep the weight distributed evenly. They're coated with a grippy surface on the bottom, so they don't slide around. The straps pass over the canoe and through the car door openings to hold the canoe down tight. The lines and hooks hold the canoe down at each end and keep it centered. I used this system to haul a 15-foot canoe about 80 miles, and had no problems. (The wind noise takes some getting used to.) There was no damage to my car. Two minor issues: the grooves are wide enough to fit any canoe, but are loose on mine and tend to fall off when the canoe is lifted; and the straps pretty much require three hands to tighten securely. So it's really a two-person operation. But I highly recommend this system.

The blocks are solid. Worth the price. The straps are cam buckles and are okay. Actually some of the better cams I've used. But for securing my canoe I used ratchet straps. The cams worked fine for about 50 miles but I was getting some noise and vibration from the wind and when I replaced them with some decent straps it went away. I'll save the straps for another use but won't use again for securing the canoe to my truck

I have gotten a chance to use this kit on several occasions now. The foam blocks are sufficiently tall enough to allow the loads to clear the roof without interference when used without any roof rack. The blocks are sufficiently soft to get a good grip on my cars roof and do not mar the paint finish. The blocks have slots on one side for a boat gunnel and slots on the other side for existing roof racks. I use mine without racks, but the blocks would protect the finish on the boat and rack, and would provide additional grip.The cam-straps are of high quality and are nicer and heavier duty than any other web straps I have owned over the years, The buckles are within a protective boot. The buckles provide a tight secure grip, and allow a very taut secure tie-down. I simply open the car doors and wrap the straps around the load and around the car roof. I was a little concerned about the car door rubber weatherstripping, but saw no harm to them after a number of highway trips. As with any straps, be sure to twist them a few turns so they straps do not vibrate and “thrum” the car at highway speeds.The auxiliary ropes for the ends of the load are plenty strong, but the rope material is smooth and slippery. Extra care to tie proper knots, with a few extra half hitches is recommended. I almost knocked off one star for these slippery ropes, but the kit is so much better than any other I have tried or inspected that I’ll keep the five stars…The ropes and straps fit within a provided cardboard box, and I was pleased and surprised that the whole kit actually fits neatly back into its original package – a neat clear plastic rectangular bag. This is kind of wonderful, as it encourages me to keep the kit with me all of the time; ready to launch any time I need it for an unexpected find!The kit is perfect for metal or wooden boats, and can be used for light loads of long lumber – I’ve used pieces of closet pole for the cross beams to carry long boards.This kit is the best in its class...<update>please be aware that some cars have side curtain air bags under the roof side, which may be interfered by the straps wrapped under the car roof? Pull your car manual to ensure that you do not interfere with side airbag function? My cars are OK...

seems to be of good quality and should work as designed, but packaging did not include the advertised Carrie bag, and there are no S hooks for the bow and stern lines

Works awesome. Have used it 3 times now. Good quality in the straps. I expect these to last at least 3-5 years, or until we get a car with an actual roof rack/mount system.I have an 18.5 foot aluminum canoe. I was super skeptical about this system for this canoe.I do not make interstate or trips longer than 20 minutes with this setup but, think it would be just fine given you tied off the bow and stern.Also, for the bow and stern ropes, I would recommend making sure your car has a good spot to tie off on. My car does not and I need something welded on underneath the car to affix the stern line to. Bow line I just loop around the grill, undesirable, but working for short trips.Read the instructions, know what you're working with.

This carrier kit does exactly what it says it does. We used this on our 2005 Honda Element that does not have the roof rack. It worked perfect! The sponges that it came with have superior grip, more than the ones we had before. The straps that wrap around the car through the windows are the trick. You can tighten them down so tight so the canoe is secure. We even drove on the expressway and it did not move at all. Thoroughly satisfied with this product.

This product was acquired to carry a 16 foot fiberglass canoe on a Ford F-150 extended cab truck. The foam pads have a very effective rubber surface to grip the metal roof when cinched down firmly by the straps. Do attach the ropes to both ends of the canoe before hoisting the canoe onto a truck (much easier to attach them that way). During a drive over twisty bumpy roads, the canoe was securely snug and did not move an inch. Excellent product and I feel it would work as well even on a small car. Well recommmended.

I drove 800 miles with this canoe on top of my truck, it never shifted once - I added an additional rope to strap down the rear end of the canoe. Foam blocks kept the canoe off the roof of my truck, and saved it from being scratched. I watched a YouTube video to install. Good product, as described, value for money - I don't have a roof rack.

Foam and equipment is superior to anything I got in store for same price. Foam pieces are solid and flexible with grip features under the foam so it doesn't slide out of place. Straps go all the way around inaide the car unlike the store ones that damage the window sides. Highly recommend.

The foam blocks held up pretty well for my large (17 foot) canoe - they even went through a short rain storm with no problem. The ropes were of a good length and strength. The straps were of little use as they did not ratchet to tightened - everything had to be tightened by pulling. Wound up using a better set of straps.

As stated this was made for car top carrying or for a car top rack. I have a truck and the rack was a bit larger than the slots for the rack. I cut the slots slightly larger and it seems to work well. I had problems with ratchet straps with no foam blocks loosening off while driving rough roads. This seems to have solved the issue and works well.