MaloneDownloader Folding J-Style Universal Car Rack Kayak Carrier with Bow and Stern Lines

I've had more than 10 years experience with kayak racks, and over the years have had 3 Thule styles of "J" rack, and 1 Yakima. The Malone racks beat them all, hands down. Seem to be heavier than the others, and more solidly built than the other folding styles I've used. The protective nylon sleeve on the bar padding is nice, and will presumably keep the padding intact; some of the other styles I've had just had "raw" foam pads, and would start to rip up in about a year.Attachment of these racks to the bar is really nice. It's a single HEAVY steel strap, contoured to hold round, square, or elongated factory bars. I have Yakima bars, and they attach with no problem. Other brands attachment systems have been junk plastic and have broken (Thule), or junk plastic and HAVEN'T broken (Yak). The last Thule rack I had did have a somewhat sturdier attachment than the old junk plastic ones that kept breaking. Anyway, the Malone attachments seem to be the sturdiest of the bunch, and easiest to install.Where the Malone REALLY shines is one the rack themselves; the little "ramp" with the hole in it. This is multi-purpose. First, when running kayak straps, you can feed the end of the strap through the hole, under the load bar, and back up through the hole before connecting to the buckle. This is surprisingly easy and quick to do, and really keeps everything solidly connected and neat. Second, the ramp helps slip your boat up into the cradle. I've caught my kayak on the ends of the other brands of rack enough to know this is a small, but nice, touch. And finally......This is so cool it deserves a paragraph of its own. Got a tandem kayak, or a heavy kayak, or getting a little older (me!), or you are just short? The Y & T guys make these load-assist racks, right? Monster contraptions with hydraulics in them, and cost about 450 bucks PER KAYAK, since they are mounted "permanently" to the load bars. The Malone "Telos" system makes all of that obsolete, including the cost. These are two detachable ramps, that instantly clip to those two cute little holes on the Malone racks where the straps go. Once attached, each ramp has a ratchet so that you can push up one end of the boat, then the other, until the boat is lifted from waist height up to the carrying rack. And you can lower the boat with them in just the opposite fashion. Toss 'em in the trunk when done. Best part is that you can use the ramps on both sides if you need to, or even with multiple cars, so instead of putting two of the Thule monsters on your car at a cost of 900 bucks, you can use a single Malone Telos system for about 215 (current price here). If you're in the market for a kayak loader, you NEED to go to the Malone website (maloneautoracks dot com) and see the Telos video. Warning, this video is a real tear jerker if you've already coughed up 900 beans for the Thule system!One last note - all of the Malone stuff is American made up in Maine. Nice when the best and cheapest stuff on the market is made in the USA.Ken - Author of "The Pellet Stove Almanack: Home Heating Joins the 21st Century"

I've been researching for a kayak rack for months and I'm so glad I chose the Malone Downloader folding j-style kayak rack for my 07' Element. The quality of the product is superb with heavy duty steel tubes, a folding mechanism that's well built, nice thick padding with their brand on it (I prefer to have no brands on the kayak rack to avoid anyone from snatching the rack), and a plastic base that looks like it can take alot of abuse. The straps that came with the package aren't bad either. Although it would've been nice if the bow/stern straps where ratchet like instead of tieing your own knots, but for the price. These straps and tie downs will do. With some practice, you can tie a knot strong enough to keep that kayak on. Folded down, the malone Downloader was barely noticable.Assembly- Assembling the rack on my Thule racks where a piece of cake. It came with two sets of bolts, one longer than the other just in case the rack was too thick. All together it only took me 10 mins to install the rack on my car.First impressions- After I installed the kayak rack, I noticed the rack's ramps to slide the kayak up the rack was a bit higher than I expected. I expected to have a difficult time placing the kayak onto the rack. I'm about 5'10 and my reach wasn't that high so I resulted to using a step stool to push the kayak up the ramp. It takes some practice, but I managed to put the kayak on the j-cradle without assistance, but I strongly suggest you have someone else guide you on to the ramps and together slide the kayak up the ramp in to the cradle to avoid any injuries. After strapping the kayak down, I set off to test the kayak rack's performanceDriving with the kayak- with this part, I had my GF follow me so she can see if the kayak was moving alot. I was going between 40-45 mph and she said the kayak didn't budge at all. She commented that by strapping the kayak down on all the recommended securely, she didn't see the kayak move at all. Especially when I was driving against the wind. I haven't tested it on the highways, but I'm confident that it will perform well.Conclusion- the Malone Downloader folding j-folding style performed well beyond my expectations and I highly recommend this for those who are looking for a fold down j-cradle without breaking the bank.