EvenKeel

They are inexpensive, simple and effective. It does take some attention to detail, patience and a measuring tape to install and also may need to load and unload a few times with adjustments in between but I've found them to be just fine. I'm a 5'1' female and I load and unload my 10.5' 55pnd kayak on and off these saddles no problem. If you're looking for smooth and elegant then look elsewhere but if you're a bargain shopper and don't need all the bells and whistles then these will do. I have two sets of these side by side on the hard top and Yakima rails of my Ford Ranger and they get the job done.

Pros: -Budget price. -Bargain priced all over the internet, selling as used. -Incredibly simple and easy installation and removal on any bar. -Low profile--looks good it that's important to you. -Does not spin on square or aero bars. -Little if any wind noise when they're left on the bars.

Cons: -Tend to spin on round bars when pushing kayak on car from behind. -Small footprint can dent poly kayaks if saddle is on bottom of hull instead of on the curved sides. -When loading from behind (pushing kayak on), grippers on rear saddles grip too much. (Peel the grippy stuff off. Leave it on the front saddles.) -Easy to steal saddles if little "security" screws aren't installed. -Easy to lose the little "security" screws if they aren't installed.

I've used these for about 4 years, and they've been great. 2 factors to consider if you buy these to make them work. Number one they work best on a Yakima rack with round crossbars. Most importantly, number two - get a bicycle inner tube and wrap it around and tape it (on the ends) on your rack. This gives solid rubber for the pads to grip to, end of problems. Just disassembled mine and taken them off, because I will be transporting a canoe upside down and have to find another solution. They are still in great shape should I ever need them again. The price was right, they do a great job, just get yourself that inner tube!

These saddles fit on most roof rack systems and factory mounted racks on most vehicles.

There are three minor issues with these saddles: sliding on the rack, level mounting, marking the bottom of the boat.

My saddles slide outwards from the center of the kayak over time. To fix this problem and to make setting the saddles faster to set up correctly for my boat, I tied a string between each pair of saddles. This prevented sliding sideways on the roof rack cross bar. It has the added benefit of being able to install the saddles at exactly the correct spacing each and every time.

On some rack cross bar shapes the saddles do not sit level. This is minor and does not seem to cause a problem.

The saddles mar the gel coat or plastic of a kayak over time. This as irritating, but not harmful to the boat.

Wish I had read the other reviews before buying the Evenkeel saddles. I thought their low profile would make it easier to load my kayak on my 2015 Honda Pilot. They just don't work well with Yakima round bars and move with the slightest nudge while loading my 17 foot expedition kayak. And on short trips they move enough so that my kayak ends up resting on the crossbars and not the saddles. I have since switched to a set of foam blocks while I wait to hear from Yakima if they have found a solution to a weak design. They would likely work better on aero or square bars.

yes, these do tend to slide apart. i slit a couple short sections of garden hose and duct taped them to the bar next to the inner support. that keeps that one from sliding. my tower foot keeps the other one from moving.

you could also just loop a rope around the pair and tie that off to hold them together. But for the price of these things you shouldn't have to do this shade tree engineering. They do support my hull nicely though and because they flex you can tighten the boat nicely.

DO NOT BUY THESE
They slide on the Yakima cross bars & if you tighten them up properly the top comes off the base.

I recently purchased two sets of Evenkeel saddles. I installed them on Yakima bars, tightened them down as much as I could, mounted my kayaks on them and drove two miles to the store at 25mph. When I got home the saddles had slide from under the kayaks, which were now resting on the round bar! There is no way to stop these saddles from sliding on a Yakima round bar. They might work on Thule or factory bars. I own three other kinds of Yakima saddles, and two kinds of J bars, so I have a lot of experience loading kayaks on cars. I transport boats over a 100 days a year, and have been doing so for over ten years, so I know what I am doing. These saddles are worthless. I am really surprised Yakima sells them.