Few things ruin a paddling trip faster than watching your kayak lift and slam on the roof at 65 mph. That is exactly what the best bow and stern tie down straps prevent: those two extra lines stop the hull from shifting under braking, kill wind lift when semis pass, and act as a backup […]

Last summer I drove 1,400 miles round-trip with a fishing kayak strapped to my roof rack using bargain-bin straps from a gas station. One of them snapped at 65 mph somewhere in eastern Oregon, and I spent the next 90 minutes pulling over to recover a kayak that had slid off the back. That day […]