Hockey Club

Poor security (2007-12-10)
Yakima really blew it when designing the security of their new towers and accessories. The lock engages a thin tab on the glass-filled polymer cover. Once the cover is lifted, the cam releases the tension on the Q Clips and the entire rack can be lifted off of the roof. With the cover locked, there are several pry points that can be attacked with a flat-bladed screwdriver or pry bar. The fit of the cover is very loose and it can be lifted about an eighth of an inch. I can also pry the cover with my bare hands enough to fit an even larger lever behind it.

I owned a set of SST towers back in the mid-90s. The tensioning screw was pinned to the back of an all-metal lock body, and the lock engages the metal clip and also locks the tensioning lever. While the new Q Tower design allows greater adaptability to different roof lines and ease of attachment/removal without having to readjust the tension, once the plastic cover is compromised, say goodbye to your rack and everything on it. I used to leave my SST rack on my car when not hauling gear. That won't be the case with this rack.

The Thule 400xt tower seems similar in design to the old Yakima SST tower however, the lock body on the Thule seems to have a plastic cover as well. I don't know whether there is a solid metal cover underneath it. Also, it only fits their rectangular crossbars.

Works Great (2007-03-15)
This Yakima roof rack system works great and I highly recommend it. I bought one for my Mazda 3 and have use it, along with a Yakima roof rack for 2 cross country ski trips (I live a Florida, skiing is far away). The rack hasn't shifted an inch and was relatively easy to install. Yakima has a product guide on their site to make sure you order the right pieces for your model car.