Thursday, April 15th, 2004...3:19 pm
Yakima Strap Thang Review
Yakima Strap Thang Review:
Received an email from Wetsand saying 
they are now a Yakima dealer which is good news for Yakima fans. I checked out the “Strap Thang” which I bought some months ago. Wetsand is offering it for $49.99 (can be had for $44.99 searching with froogle).
When I was debating what to get for my next tie down system for my surf rack (having the last two last about a year each) I first thought of the Yakima Strap Thang because it looked quick and easy to use, perfect for those lunchtime sessions when you gotta hurry to get back to work. I read some very bad reviews on the product here. However I found a shop in NJ that was dumping them for $32.
The Strap Thang worked great at first. It was easy to install and I could load and unload boards in a flash. Driving at 75mph on the freeway with two longboards was fine, the boards didn’t lift off the roof and there were no strange noises. However after a few months the straps started to stretch, and were especially sensative to temperature. What was tight for a daw patrol was unsafely loose in the middle of the day. Not so cool for long disance trips where you just want to throw you gear on the roof and forget about it.
So my bottom line is these things start to break down and become stretchy after time and are too temperature sensative. I’m sure if you but them inside your car when you aren’t using them they would last longer, but that takes away the quick and easy from the equation.
Update: Chance writes in:
“Sorry Pope have to disagree with you on the Yakima straps. Leave mine on the roof, been up there for two years, no problems. I suspect you didn’t start off tight enough. I put a Volan 9′ Single Fin and a Yater HP up top double stacked with whatever my kid bring along too. Never had an issue.”
Update: July 5, 2006
After 2 years of owning these they finally broke. I had long ago stopped leaving them on top of the car fearing the UV effects on the rubber, and used them only about once a week or so because usually the shorty goes inside the wagon. However on a Rincon Longboard trip with Bear one of the straps broke when loading up for the return trip. Wham. We didn’t get stranded in the Rincon lot because I had a packup system, not trusting the Yakima.
Back home on a call to Yakima, they offered to send me a new set of the straps for free. They said usually they sell replacement straps for $16 but if you ask nicely they’ll send you a set for free. They also said starting March of 2006 the warranty was now lifetime (but still would charge for straps with ‘wear and tear’).
Still looking for the perfect strapping solution…
4 Comments
November 18th, 2006 at 7:25 pm
So far so good with a years worth of use on the Strap Thang. The stretchy rubber has always made me nervous and after reading the reviews I’ll use ratcheting straps. At least the Strap Thang will keep the boards from sliding around while I’m ratcheting the nylon straps tight.
November 19th, 2006 at 10:10 pm
Strength is in simplicity. I understand the need for the perfect strapping solution. It would be a great feeling to know that you could strap down your board(s) and not have to think about them at all during the drive. I’m a big promoter of the simple rack with bungee cord system. It hasn’t failed me in 15 years. The bungees stretch properties allow it to compensate for temp differences and if they show wear (usually in about a year of constant use and exposure) they are cheap to replace and easy to find. The only trick is finding the proper length to allow for the cord to go over the board, under the rack, back over the board, under the other rack and then back to the other hook of the bungee. It sounds complicated but if you play with it, it’ll all make sense. Both my 9′6 and 10′0 have survived many hours on the San Diego bound I-5 this way. Strength is in simplicity. Best of luck
December 29th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Got that stap thang around 2001 and the first I used it I lost a brand new baord. I was driving from Michigan to New York and after stopping at a toll plaza and then proceeding a lost a board with no warning. Really bummed and would never use the prouct again.
September 13th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
I’ve used Yakima racks and the StrapThang product for over ten years now. They work fine with two caveats:
Caveat 1) Unless you are going a short distance at low speed (just across town, not on the freeway), you need to put a second, non-expanding strap on the front bar to keep the boards locked down. I use a standard nylon luggage strap for this, you can use almost anything similar. In over 10 years of using this in conjunction with the Strap Thang I’ve never lost a board, having been through low level thunderstorms in Baja, 100mph freeway runs, etc.
Caveat 2) You need to replace the StrapThangs every 2-3 years as the sun and repeated use does take its toll. This (to me) is a small price to pay for the otherwise great convenience the StrapThang offers.
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