YAKIMA JayLow J-Style Fold Down Rooftop Kayak Carrier - Securely Transport Your Kayak on Your Vehicle's Roof

Numb D. Plum: Overall I'm happy with the rack. Just disappointed with the amount of whistling wind noise when driving with the rack in the lowered position. For that reason I usually just leave it raised - maybe I should have just bought the cheaper non-folding version.

United States on Sep 11, 2023

Richard G. Price: Weird concept but it works. Had to study a video to get the strapping correctly but this works. The only thing I’ll add is that the locking mechanism seems a little cheapy and loosy? Otherwise holds up both my kayaks just fine. One JayLow will hold 2 kayaks, so 2 JayLow a would hold four kayak. I did find it irritating that it came w straps for only ONE kayak, but advertises as a tool for 2 kayaks—so therefore if you use two kayaks, you will need to buy another set of sinch straps and front to back straps if you use those.

United States on Aug 06, 2023

Destinie Olinger: This was easy to install and seems fairly sturdy. Just make sure you tighten everything. It is easy to load 1 kayak, but it seems like more of a pain than it's worth to load the second. I would just get 2 sets of j hooks and call it a day. I spent a little more money on this one rack thinking it would be easier to transport our 2 kayaks, but now I am ordering a second (at a lesser price). To be fair, it would probably be easier to load the second kayak on a shorter vehicle, but we have a 4Runner and that is too tall to be trying to get the second one on.

United States on Jul 18, 2023

KevinKevin: Update- customer service reached out to address my concerns and rectify the situation. I have updated my rating and will continue to look at Yakima for my transportation needs.
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Receive straps sewn incorrectly around the rubber part of the mechanisms not around metal. Not useable. Have emailed customer service multiple times over last few weeks and no response. They work and do look nicer than more generic j hooks, I experience wind noise when folded.

United States on Jul 02, 2023

The NuthouseThe Nuthouse: Well, we spring for two sets as you can see. They work absolutely great, were a breeze to put on, and we did get the locks also so we can leave them on through the summer. The straps that come with them are so easy to use and seem to hold tight without crushing the kayaks. Very happy that we can load up on a nice day and hit the water without a huge production. They also fold down and blend in fairly nice when not in use, very happy

Canada on Sep 15, 2022

Hugo: These are even easier to install than I anticipated! They're solid, and by supporting 2 kayaks, it saves you on having to buy 2 pairs. The cheaper non folding alternatives are a pain to set up! If you park your vehicle in a garage they most likely won't fit, meaning you'll need to take them off every time! It takes 30-45 minutes to put on/ take them off! It made me never want to go kayaking. Now with these, it's a breeze!

Here's my main complaint and it's a significant one. Yakima is earning extra revenue by selling the locks separately. This, in my opinion is poor customer service! That should be included in the racks! If it was, I'd give it 5 stars. The locks aren't cheap either, and again, it's functionality that should just be part of the racks. Just include them, and increase the price slightly. That said, they come off super easily, so it's not a huge deal, but still, I want to eventually have the ability to lock them so that'll be an extra expense in the future for sure.

Canada on Sep 08, 2022

Stephen May: Good product, well built. Fits nicely on our 2018 RAV which has dealer installed roof rack.

Canada on Jul 14, 2022

Richard What?: These are the best J racks I've ever used. Solid construction with no assembly required. They fit tightly to aero cross bars and I'm able to easily carry two 12 ft kayaks knowing they will not move. The load assists are a real bonus when getting the boats on. I did not bother getting the locks as they mount and dismount so quickly I just take them off and lock in the trunk.
Worth the money.

Canada on Jun 28, 2022

Nature / Food / Music loverNature / Food / Music lover: UPDATED: After 4 years, still LOVING this rack! Received it in less than a week, small compact box. Incredibly easy to set up - it fit right on our Toyota Highlander rack, very clever design. We used it for two kayaks as well as for one kayak. We actually placed the second kayak on its keel, with foamies (which we had) but tied it to the rack and the other kayak. We had to improvise a bit as our vehicle does not have metal front hook, but we got it to work. It was GREAT! I can't get over how easy it is to install and to use. Our kayaks have never felt so secure! Wow. We are very, very impressed.

Canada on Sep 17, 2017

Fred Swartz: ** This somewhat negative review is to alert buyers that they might not work on some car roof racks. For many others these will be fine and I can believe 5 stars could be appropriate. **

Background: I'm seriously into the Yakima system for kayaking. Our cars, selected for putting kayaks on the roof (lowish with roof rails) are a 2008 Subaru and 2014 Volvo XC 70. The round Yakima crossbars are mounted on both cars and this is fine except that fairings were needed to stop the howling wind noise. I've been using the Yakima Hullraiser Aeros (which I call "J cradles") and Yakima Mako Shark Saddles. The Yakima Hullyrollers didn't work for me and am waiting to carry three kayaks before trying the new Yakima BigStack. The current J cradles have been satisfactory but something was needed for the new car and the JayLows looked great -- ramp on end to facilitate loading, they fold down, and they can be used vertically to stack two kayaks. But here's what I found out when they arrived today from Amazon.

Surprise: The mount system is quite different than the current J cradles. Most notably it takes up 10.5 inches of bar space whereas the J cradles take up 4.5 inches. There are...

United States on May 25, 2014