Michigan is windy, and my j-style carrier combination with a Wilderness Systems Tsunami made me nervous on the highway and so I compared the Malone Seawing with the Great Lakes Kayak Wing. Both are very similar designs, at least they use the same basic principle of a v-shaped holder. Both works equally well in keeping my kayak safely attached to the roof at highway speeds. Both allows me to keep the carrier installed on my Subaru Forester and park in my standard garage. Both offer different combinations of advantages and disadvantages so that it was a difficult choice about which to keep. The Malone Seawing is made out of rubbery plastic and seems like it would be more durable. This aspect is further underscored by the lifetime warranty, rather than the 5 year warranty of the Great Lakes Kayak Wing.
The Malone Seawing is a lot faster to install than the Kayak Wing. This is because the Malone uses only two fasteners per wing rather than the 4 with the Great Lakes model. Also the oblong wing nuts on the Malone is much easier to tighten than the nubbly nut on the Great Lakes model. The Great Lakes model has a velvet covering, which allows the Kayak to slide easily onto the roof which is a plus. My only real gripe with the Malone is that it whistles when you drive with them without a kayak loaded even at moderate speeds.
All in all its a bit of a toss-up, and i couldn't really pick one over the other. My recommendation would be that if you want to keep the carrier attached to your car for the season, then the GreatLakes would be better despite the harder install because of the whistling of the Malone,. But if you want to frequently install and take down the carrier, go with the easier to install Malone.
