The Finest Ski and Snowboard Racks

The toughest a part of any ski day is getting your gear and associates to the hill.  We’ve all acquired fond reminiscences of being jammed at the back of a automotive with skis poking round your head on the annual pilgrimage to the mountains. 

Fortunately, a sweep of handy choices is out there for safely transporting skis and snowboards to the ski space or backcountry trailhead without having to sardine them inside your car. From hitch racks to roof rack designs, it’s simple to seek out one of the best accent to your car. With the correct match, you possibly can shortly load/unload the hardgoods, preserve your sticks (and noggins) secure, and hit the freeway with out fear. 

We appeared round for one of the best ski and snowboard racks, examined probably the most aggressive designs, and located some very stable contenders at a variety of worth factors.

On the finish of our checklist, you’ll want to take a look at our complete purchaser’s information, FAQ, and comparability chart. In any other case, scroll via to see all of our really helpful buys.

The Finest Ski and Snowboard Racks of 2024

Ski and Snowboard Racks Comparability Chart

Scroll proper to view the entire columns: Worth, Carry Capability, Ease of Set up, Rack Kind, and Locks.

How We Examined Ski and Snowboard Racks

The oldsters behind GearJunkie spend quite a lot of time within the mountains. From every day resort rips to cross-country ski laps, we love taking our skis and snowboards to the corduroy. Like most skiers and snowboarders, we regularly use our autos to get to the beginning level. We’ve mounted our roof and hitch racks onto sedans, SUVs, vehicles, and every little thing in between. 

After years of normal use and testing, we’ve recognized one of the best ski and snowboard racks available on the market. We completely assess each ski and snowboard rack that we take a look at, right down to the final screw. A ski and snowboard rack needs to be simple to make use of, ergonomic, sturdy for the long term, safe, and versatile. We deep-dive into the set up, opening and closure methods, supplies, locks, and extra so that you just don’t need to fiddle. We’ve weighed dozens of racks in opposition to these requirements.

The fashions on this checklist are nearly as good because it will get. These ski and snowboard racks provide a wide range of kinds from hitch to roof mounts, compact or prolonged in measurement, modularity for 12-month use, and a wide range of worth factors so you’ll find the proper rack to your crew and wagon.

Why You Ought to Belief Us

Our lead tester and photographer is Eric Phillips, an avid skier and snowboarder based mostly in Crested Butte, Colorado. Phillips — who’s additionally an automotive fanatic and focuses on our motors content material — has used a plethora of autos and racks to get his gear to the snow in all kinds of climate. That features quick ticks to his native hill and multi-day powder missions. Tinkering on autos is one among his favourite hobbies, and ski racks are the proper accent for all times in a ski city and for a powder hound.

Most of the ski and snowboard racks featured right here have been with us for a lot of seasons. Even after common publicity to the weather and racking up miles on tough roads, they’re nonetheless going robust. Whether or not you’re a downhill skier, snowboarder, Nordic skier or someplace inbetween, we’re assured you’ll discover a rack to assist get your gear to the mountains. As new racks roll out, we’ll you’ll want to preserve testing and replace our checklist to mirror the present market.

Purchaser’s Information: Find out how to Select a Ski and Snowboard Rack

All kinds of ski and snowboard racks present the good thing about conserving your sharp edges away from the automotive’s inside whereas conserving the seats open for passengers.

Two main kinds of ski and snowboard racks dominate the sphere. The primary is roof racks, which mount on the roof of your car utilizing manufacturing facility or aftermarket crossbars. The second is a hitch rack, which connects to your rig with the hitch receiver.

In the event you can’t or don’t wish to raise gear overhead, and worth is not any object, select a hitch ski and snowboard rack. If you wish to get monetary savings and aren’t involved about lifting your gear or probably getting sullied by the automotive’s soiled physique, then a roof rack is for you. 

Learn extra of the professionals and cons under, in addition to the fashion variations inside every class.

Forms of Ski and Snowboard Racks

Roof Racks: Professionals

Roof racks take pleasure in nestling your gear lengthwise alongside the top of your car, conserving them away from street grime. The checklist of contaminants is fairly intensive, spanning unburnt gas, tar, salt, grease, and cement mud, to call just a few.

One other benefit of roof racks is that they don’t comprise entry to the first cargo storage.

Roof racks are typically cheaper and weigh far lower than hitch racks since they require fewer supplies.

Roof Racks: Cons

Relying on the peak of your car, one draw back is that roof racks could be a bodily stretch to load and unload. Loading typically includes lifting skis or snowboards above your head after which absolutely extending your arms to position the gear on the rack.

Sure typical designs provide a sliding function to carry the loading zone additional to the sting of the car. However basically, hitch racks are significantly simpler to load. 

They’re typically single-purpose, whereas hitch racks are extra typically modular, so you possibly can convert the bottom to carry bikes in the summertime with further equipment.

Some roof racks with skis loaded can hinder the hatch from opening, relying on the size of the car and the gear.

Whereas one among our favourite ski and snowboard roof racks can flip down for aerodynamics — the Küat Swap 6 — and a quieter trip, most roof racks stick up and dock gas effectivity. Like wind blowing via sails, some can add noise to your automotive trip, similar to a gentle whistle.

Hitch Racks

Hitch racks to your skis and snowboards connect to the car beneath the again bumper utilizing a manufacturing facility or aftermarket hitch. Our consensus is that hitch racks are a lot simpler to load and unload, as they’re much nearer to the bottom and don’t contain lifting your snow tools overhead. 

Beneath the umbrella are two kinds of hitch racks: swing-arm or swing-away and tilt. The subcategory refers to how the rack may be repositioned in an effort to entry your cargo area within the car.

Tilt Hitch Rack

Tilt racks just like the Gravirax GR-4 Hitch Mounted Ski Rack can enable the rack to lean again at an angle, enabling you to open a hatchback or drop down a tailgate. This makes it potential to lean in and seize a backpack, parking zone grill, cooler, or let your canine hop out. Tilt racks are sometimes extra light-weight and cheaper than swing-arm racks.

Whereas they’re dipped away, they don’t provide utterly unrestricted entry to the rear of the car.

Swing-Away Hitch Rack

Swing-arm or swing-away racks make the most of a heavy-duty arm that may be locked into a hard and fast place behind the car whilst you’re driving. But it surely presents the flexibility to unlock and swing the rack away from the rear of the car to get to all of your baggage.

Typically, a swing-away operation tends to maneuver the rack additional out of your trip than a tilt hitch rack. This yields better entry to the first cupboard space of the car. It additionally strikes the rack out of the best way, in an effort to extra simply pull out heavy or cumbersome objects.

Our favourite swing-away rack is the Yakima EXO SnowBank Exo System Snow Mount. The wonderful construction swings a full 180 levels away out of your car, supplying you with unobstructed entry to no matter’s again there.

Hitch Rack: Professionals

Hitch racks are heavier-duty and have extra transferring elements than roof racks. The profit? They will maintain significantly extra weight than roof racks and provide extra versatility. Most swing-away ski and snowboard hitch racks may be transformed for summer season use, together with the flexibility to hold bikes, cargo bins, and extra.

Whereas many hitch racks and roof racks can maintain round 4 snowboards or skis, some hitch orientations can carry extra alongside. The Gravirax GR-4 Adjustable Ski Rack has a 10-ski mannequin. However hitch racks often max out at 2 snowboards whereas roof racks can match as much as 4 snowboards.

Most significantly, hitch racks are a lot simpler to load, unload, and customarily function in comparison with roof racks. You don’t have to raise your skis or snowboard overhead or, for some, climb onto a tire or seat to succeed in the locking mechanisms. 

Hitch Rack: Cons

Broadly talking, hitch racks for skis and snowboards include larger worth tags than roof racks. Sturdy and extra supplies come at a price.

Moreover, hitch racks are sometimes heavy and may be onerous to put in or transfer alone. 

In any other case, the draw back of hitch racks is that grime, muck, salt, and different street grime can construct up excessively alongside the again of a car (and your gear) in comparison with the roof, particularly if a rack is low to the bottom. That is as a result of air vortex that happens behind a car because it strikes via the air, sucking grime from the street and swirling it behind the car. Better clout results in the problem being exacerbated for vans, vehicles, and SUVs.

Hitch-mounted racks maintain your cargo straight on this vortex, which results in soiled skis and snowboards after driving at freeway speeds. In the event you reside or drive someplace the place they salt the roads, this might result in rust forming on the metallic ski edges. 

That’s one motive why we propose configuring the Yakima EXO SnowBank Exo System Snow Mount with the EXO TopShelf, in order that the skis and snowboards may be extra elevated above the bottom.

Rack Capability

One of many first issues to think about when selecting a winter gear rack is what number of skis or snowboards you usually take with you. Racks typically carry wherever from 4 to six skis or 2 to 4 snowboards, so you may have some choices. Some designs carry much more. The max amount we’ve discovered is 10 skis (within the 10-ski mannequin of the Gravirax GR-4 Adjustable Ski Rack) plus 2 snowboards with the aftermarket sleeves.

Typically, a snowboard takes up the identical room as 1.5 pairs of skis, which means a rack that may maintain 6 pairs of skis can solely maintain 4 snowboards. You’ll be able to combine and match each skis and snowboards on one rack, however your carrying capability will go down. 

Bear in mind, you possibly can all the time carry fewer skis than a rack’s capability, however by no means greater than a rack’s capability. And also you by no means know whenever you’re going to choose up just a few extra buddies to trip with.

Some hitch racks have non-compulsory add-ons that may add extra ski or snowboard capability to the rack. Roof racks should not have aftermarket add-ons for capability.

Car and Journey Compatibility 

Each kinds of ski and snowboard racks in our information require sure standards out of your car to securely mount the racks.

Crossbars

Roof racks require manufacturing facility or aftermarket crossbars to be on or put in onto your car’s roof previous to rack set up.

Crossbars often are available in sq. or spherical shapes. They prolong from the motive force’s facet throughout the roof to the passenger facet and are what a ski rack mounts to. Don’t let that confuse you with roof rails, that are customary on most autos. Roof rails attain vertically, towards every bumper, and perpendicular to the crossbars. Roof rails are what crossbars mount to.  

Most racks provide common crossbar compatibility, however some, just like the Yakima FatCat EVO 6, are designed to work with Yakima-specific crossbars.

In case your automotive doesn’t have crossbars, don’t fear. They’re pretty simple to put in your self like in our DIY information, or have your native auto store set up them for you.

Hitch Receiver

Hitch racks require your automotive to have a hitch receiver in your car, which is the place the hitch rack can bolt into place. Autos often include a hitch receiver, which is a metallic tube that’s mounted to the body. However don’t fear, aftermarket hitches are quite common, and you’ll find one for nearly each make and mannequin. Most are DIY installs, however a good auto store may also help you put in one correctly.  

Hitches typically are available in 1.25-inch and 2-inch sizing. It’s necessary that you just confirm the dimensions of your car hitch receiver prior to buying a rack. A bigger, 2-inch hitch can carry heavier masses, which is nice if you happen to plan to hold a swing-away hitch rack. It’s additionally price noting that some racks include an adapter to suit both measurement.

One factor to notice is that even with a hitch put in in your car, the rack may not all the time operate completely. For instance, the Yakima EXO SwingBase hitch rack wouldn’t open on our tester’s Subaru Outback with an aftermarket hitch put in as a result of it was too near the bumper, however the rack labored simply advantageous on our testers’ Ford F-150 and Toyota Tacoma. 

Ease of Use

A lot of the ski and snowboard racks in our information are comparatively simple to make use of, however every has tradeoffs.

Hitch racks are sometimes simpler total as they don’t contain lifting skis or snowboards above your head after which absolutely extending your arms to position them on the rack. You don’t have to danger getting filth in your garments, which might generally occur with a roof rack.

Locking a roof rack includes reaching even greater or probably stepping on the tire or a seat with the door open to succeed in the rack, in an effort to pull down with sufficient power to interact the locking mechanism. 

Some good racks now provide a sliding function to carry the loading zone past the sting of the car and above the bottom. Nonetheless, working a roof rack all the time includes some stage of reaching up.

Hitch racks carry the loading zone from the highest of the car right down to chest top or decrease, which means you gained’t need to get in your tippy toes or climb your car to succeed in the rack together with your tools. In addition they can swing open to permit full use of your rear hatch. Some roof racks with skis loaded can hinder the hatch from opening. 

Sure roof rack launch buttons are bigger or extra ergonomic than others, which we discover are simpler to function with gloved palms.

Pads

Pads are the rubber materials that comes into contact together with your skis or snowboards alongside the bottom and prime sheet. Practically all of the racks in our information use a rubber pad to safe your skis in place, whether or not that’s on the hitch or roof.

A lot of the pads are both curved or rectangular in form, and a single strip stretches from one facet of the arm to the opposite. The rubber compresses round your skis to grip them and forestall motion as soon as the arm is shut.

Our testers have been impressed with the GripLock rubber on the Küat Grip 4. The GripLock rubber makes use of a zipper-like format with alternating rubber tooth that match collectively flush when the rack is closed. We discovered the grip to be excellent, and it gripped skis and snowboards tighter than different designs, irrespective of how extensive or slim.

Locks

There are two important kinds of locks relating to ski and snowboard racks. Locks that safe the whole rack system to your car, generally known as crossbar or hitch locks, and locks that safe your tools to the rack, generally known as ski locks. 

General, locks play an necessary function in deciding which rack is greatest to your wants. Do you intend on residing on the street or conserving your skis and snowboards in your car for prolonged intervals of time? Go along with a roof rack that has an built-in crossbar lock. In the event you’re simply doing day journeys to the ski resort and gained’t have gear tenting in a single day on the rack, you might not have to spend money on a rack with built-in locks. 

Rack Ski Lock

Having the ability to lock the rack when your skis or snowboard are inside is a crucial element. Not solely does it forestall your skis or snowboards from being stolen, however it could actually additionally be sure that the rack doesn’t pop open whenever you’re zooming down the freeway.

Most racks in our information combine the lock into the closure operate, basically requiring the rack to be locked earlier than you drive away. The one rack with out a ski lock is the Gravirax GR-4 Hitch Mounted Ski Rack.  

Crossbar or Hitch Lock

After spending your hard-earned bread on a ski roof rack, the very last thing you need is your rack to get stolen out of your car. That’s why built-in crossbar locks are an necessary facet of a ski rack.

The racks we’ve examined with out these locks are the Gravirax GR-4 Hitch Mounted Ski Rack (which attaches by way of hitch receiver), and the Yakima FreshTrack 4 and Rhino-Rack Ski and Snowboard Service #576, which affix to a crossbar. Even with the ski lock engaged, anybody with a easy set of instruments, a couple of minutes, and muscle would have the ability to take away the whole rack from the car. 

Built-in Aftermarket Locks

A number of manufacturers provide aftermarket upgrades to unify and customise the important thing cores between your tools. We suggest the funding for ease of use and never needing to handle as many keys, particularly you probably have a set of racks or equipment.

Manufacturers with common key-and-lock-core upgrades embrace:

We favored that the Yakima FreshTrack 4, Yakima FatCat 6, and Yakima EXO System all have the SKS improve choice. As does the Rhino-Rack Ski and Snowboard Service #576.

Keys and Key Rings

Our testers have been most impressed with the locks and keys on the Küat Grip 4 and Küat Swap 6, which got here on a sturdy key ring and with sturdy plastic-coated heads for simpler grip with gloves on and within the chilly. 

Most different racks supplied quite meager metallic keys with no reinforcement or key ring.

Open and Closure

One of many largest pains with ski and snowboard roof racks is opening and shutting them in chilly and snowy situations.

Launch Button

Opening the rack with gloves includes first unlocking the ski lock, then urgent the discharge button or pulling the discharge deal with.

Our favourite design was on the Küat Grip 4, which makes use of a deal with to open the rack versus a button. We by no means had issues opening this rack, even with heavy-duty mittens in freezing situations. 

Closure Latch

Closing the rack, however, takes much more effort and often includes stepping up — for shorties, perhaps onto the tire or working board of the car — to have the ability to attain the open rack’s arm and fasten it down.

When absolutely loaded, sure roof racks can take a bit extra grit to clamp down. Most roof racks have a multi-stage closure mechanism, which means you’ll have to firmly press till you hear two or three clicks.

Performance: Open and Closure

We discovered that with the ski and snowboard hitch racks being nearer to the bottom, they have been a lot simpler to shut and lock into place than any of the roof racks.

The simplest rack to open and shut total was the EXO TopShelf, that are the arms that safe skis and snowboards on the Yakima EXO SnowBank Exo System Snow Mount. This was as a result of the orientation of the rack was horizontal, and we might simply attain it whereas standing in our winter boots.

Locking Mechanism

It’s price mentioning that the Gravirax GR-4 Hitch Mounted Ski Rack has no locking, opening, or closing mechanism. Skis relaxation vertically contained in the tubes like bats hanging in a cave. Additionally, we have been dissatisfied with how onerous it was to shut and lock the Yakima FatCat EVO 6 and the Küat Swap 6 when these two roof racks have been loaded to their scripted quantity. 

Extender Bars

Extender bars are a extra fashionable function rising within the ski and snowboard roof rack area. These inserts are like stilts, extending the vertical area between the automotive’s roof and the rack.

The upper hole permits room for bulkier ski or snowboard bindings. One rack we examined, the Yakima FreshTrack 4, has an non-compulsory extender bar that locations the rack at an angle, taking a triangular kind, to create extra space for bindings. 

In the event you plan on stacking snowboards — one going through up and the opposite going through down — you’ll want sufficient ceiling for the bindings. When bindings rub the roof, that may trigger extra put on, scratches, or dents on each.

If in case you have low-hanging crossbars or massive bindings, we suggest going with a rack that has extender bars. 

Meeting

Meeting refers back to the time from opening your package deal to having the rack prepared to put in. Some racks in our information just like the Küat Swap 6 come ready-to-go straight out of the field with no meeting required! You gotta love time-savers. Most different racks require some type of meeting, although, so seize your mocha.

Sure designs, just like the Thule SnowPack Extender, required half-hour of meeting earlier than the rack was prepared to put in. That’s on the upper finish of a construct. In the event you do plan on storing your rack within the unique field through the low season, be mindful the meeting occasions. You’d have to disassemble the rack to suit it again into the unique field. 

Set up

Set up comes after the rack meeting. This step refers back to the time wanted to mount your ski rack in your car.

We rated the set up of every ski and snowboard rack between simple, average, and tough based mostly on how lengthy it took to put in the rack. The opposite issue was the comprehensiveness of the instruments supplied. If we would have liked to seek out instruments, that was a shortfall.

Issue Rankings

Simple installs took quarter-hour or much less, from the unboxing to having the rack absolutely mounted — together with the meeting. Now, that’s fairly good. A reasonably difficult set up lasted wherever between 15 and half-hour. Troublesome installs have been half-hour or extra. Ouch.  

Whereas some installations took extra elbow grease, all of the racks in our information may be assembled and put in at house with out the assistance of an expert. Simply be sure that to learn the directions completely earlier than you begin and comply with every step. Additionally, set up your ski rack earlier than it begins snowing, or do it in a storage to keep away from making your set up more durable. 

Instruments

Of all of the set up instruments included with racks, the Küat Swap 6 and Küat Grip 4 had the very best quality. Then again, the INNO L INA951 instruments felt very economically made. They flexed when tightening, inflicting our tester to have one go flying. This was additionally the one rack the place we skilled a bolt stripping through the set up. 

Our longest set up time was 46 minutes for the Thule SnowPack Extender, partly as a result of absence of the required instruments. A T20 bit and Phillips-head screwdriver have been wanted per the directions however not supplied. Maintain this in thoughts if ordering this rack. The directions have been additionally not probably the most clear, as a result of they lacked textual content.

Aerodynamics 

For individuals who need one of the best gasoline mileage, this part is for you!

Typically, hitch racks are extra aerodynamic than roof racks, which implies they help higher gasoline mileage. Even probably the most aerodynamic roof racks worsen gasoline mileage than hitch racks. Roof racks result in drag attributable to wind hitting the rack because it flows over your car.

Hitch racks have much less drag as a result of they sit behind the car in a pocket of decreased wind and drag. The extra you may get your gear behind your car and out of the wind, the higher aerodynamics your rig will sport. 

To assist enhance your gasoline mileage whereas hauling gear, you can journey slower, however clearly, we suggest going the pace restrict for security. Highways speeds above 50 miles per hour drastically cut back gasoline mileage, studies the U.S. Division of Vitality.

You would take away your roof rack when it’s not in use, however that may even be time-consuming. and get hitch racks as little as potential in your car.

Some racks just like the Küat Swap 6 may be folded down flat to enhance the aerodynamics and gasoline mileage when not in use.

Hitch racks assist, as a result of the extra you may get your gear low and behind your automotive, the extra environment friendly journey can be when it comes to gasoline mileage. This may be enhanced by mounting your hitch rack on a low setting and even use a drop hitch when driving taller autos like 4×4 vehicles. 

FAQ

The quick reply is, often. The overwhelming majority of hitch-mounted or roof rack designs can maintain both skis or snowboards. The Gravirax GR-4 Adjustable Ski Rack is a extra ski-centric design that does want an extra accent to carry a snowboard: the Gravi Metal Snowboard Sleeve ($199).

Snowboards take up extra space on a rack than skis, which means a rack that may carry 6 pairs of skis can solely maintain 4 snowboards. Be sure that to examine the carrying capability of any rack earlier than you buy. 

Sure! Each skis and snowboards may be stacked in your ski roof rack. Stacked refers to having a pair of skis or snowboards sandwiched with their bases collectively. Technically, that’s one single set of skis and two snowboards, for example. This protects area in your roof rack versus inserting the tools facet by facet.

Simply be sure that there’s sufficient clearance for the binding on the underside between the rack and the roof of your car, as a way to keep away from pointless put on on each. In the event that they do hit, you may get extender bars to boost the peak of the roof rack and liberate area for stacking like with the Yakima FreshTrack 4.

Bear in mind, when speaking about rack capability, producers are referring to a single set of skis being stacked and snowboards being located facet by facet, but it surely’s completely okay to stack snowboards.

We wouldn’t suggest having sticking two skis with a snowboard on the opposite facet. It’s greatest to solely stack skis with skis and snowboards with snowboards, as a result of ski brakes and base compatibility.

Crossbars are the bars that run from the motive force’s facet to the passenger’s facet, throughout the car’s roof. They’re important for mounting a roof rack.

All roof racks require crossbars for mounting. Some automobiles include crossbars. In any other case, aftermarket crossbars are very simple to put in your self alongside together with your ski rack. They arrive in a set of two, and also you’ll want each to mount a ski roof rack.

You’ll additionally wish to examine that the crossbar form is appropriate with the roof rack. Every model producers their very own particular shapes with specific materials composites and finishes. However basically, there are oval, sq., heavy-duty (HD), and aerodynamic bars. Yakima, for example, presents 4 crossbar kinds that they’ve labeled JetStream (aerodynamic aluminum), HD Bar (heavy-duty), CoreBar (aerodynamic metal), RoundBar (oval).

Sure, you possibly can carry each skis and snowboards concurrently on one ski and snowboard rack.

A rack that holds 6 skis or 4 snowboards can maintain a combination of each, like 3 skis and a couple of snowboards. The width of a snowboard is roughly the width of 1.5 units of skis side-by-side.

We now have all seen the photographs and heard horror tales of skis being misplaced on the freeway after somebody forgot to lock their roof rack earlier than driving off.

Ski and snowboard roof racks, when used accurately, are one of many most secure methods to move tools to the ski resort.

The padded arms clamp down securely in your skis or snowboards with out hurting them. Freeway speeds gained’t hurt the rack or gear, both. Simply be sure that to comply with all of the directions through the set up course of and when loading the gear. Earlier than driving, all the time double-check that your rack is locked, whether or not there’s gear inside or not.