Re: ski racks

[steve.powers@spdg.COM (Steve Powers)]

Osman adds:
> 
> 
> I was shopping around last fall. The cost of the Thule system was more than the
> Yakima. Furthermore, those coffin ski holders seemed very flimsy to me. They
> were made of some type of fiberglass, but the construction seemed weak.
> Besides, the price on those coffins is incredible. IMHO stick with the
> traditional ski rack, and shop between Thule and Yakima.. they seem to be the
> two most quality brands. This time of year, you might be able to find some nice
> close outs at your local ski shops as they make room for new inventory. 

dunno where you live, ski, etc., but there's a very good reason for using
a "coffin" type rack. your bindings weren't meant to accumulate road grit,
salt, crud, etc. that it will see while travelling to the mountain. your
edges will also stay sharper of kept away from that stuff as well. you
paid good money for your skis, why not spend a little more to keep them
in top condition?

not to mention that clean bindings release quicker/better than ones filled
with crud.

as for flimsy, how sturdy do you think it needs to be? ask Eric about how
"stiff" the hoods of the IMSA cars are. we have a Thule case and love it
dearly. with the wagon, you can put your most valuable stuff inside and
no one knows the difference. while I may be an electrical engineer, I work
near lots of plastics engineers. for a plastic product, the Thule box is
_very_ well designed.

other reasons...

steve powers ... '95.5 S6 ... '95 620RX/C ... '91 K100RS-16V ... '88 R100S
spowers@spdg.com * stratos product development group * seattle, washington

"I must tell you that these are strong Bavarian beer-carrying horses, not
 the smaller ones of Italy." (Ferdinand Piech)