These saddles are great. I bought two pairs of them to haul around my 17 foot sea kayak. I didn't get the hullyrollers simply because I felt the saddles would hold the boat in place better. The straps from the saddles run right under the front and back of my cockpit coaming which means the boat is very secure. I’ve had them for about two years now and have used them tons of times. I move across country usually twice a year (Texas to Montana)and take my boat with me each time. That equals up to about 10,000 miles of traveling with my boat. I've driven at times up to 90 miles per hour, driven through torrential downpours, windstorms and on dirt roads so bad I've actually seen people crack their oil pan on it and these saddles have always held my boat on tight and secure. Sure, on those really windy drives though Wyoming the boat was moving around quite a bit but the saddles held. Originally I got one of those foam and strap tie down kits to use with my kayak but I couldn’t even go 50 miles per hour with it because the straps just could not hold the boat on the roof. My kayak would just keep sliding around. That's when I decided it was time for a real roof rack solution and I couldn't be happier with the outcome. The only negatives I can think of is that the saddles do take a while to put on and off so I just keep them on the rack all the time. It’s actually faster to take the whole rack on and off then it is to put the saddles on and off. Also, after he first year, the saddles started leaving pretty significant black marks on the hull of my boat in the shape of the saddles. My boat is plastic by the way. Scrubbing my boats gets off some of the marks but not all. I may have to use something more abrasive to remove them. The marks are purely cosmetic though. They probably formed as a result of my cross country travels and the boat slightly shifting and rubbing against the saddles in the high winds. If you don't plan on traveling cross country a lot then you shouldn’t have a problem. Overall a great buy.

Great saddles for securing your kayaks to the rack. Unfortunately it takes time to mount them to the rack .. for two kayaks there are eight wing nuts to align and tighten. Since we do not wish to drive around all the time with the saddles mounted it becomes a hassle to mount and dismount them before and after each paddle. Would be nice to have a simpler/faster mechanism: challenge to Yakima engineers.

These are so easy to attach and when paired with the hully rollers they are even better, if you are going to be hauling a kayak get these with the hully rollers!

I really like them because the kayak is so secure. Yakima seems to be doing some changes to them. Some come with two straps, and some with one. I like the one strap because it goes all the way around the saddles and kayak. I think Yakima makes a great product!