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Yakima FatCat 6 Ski/Snowboard Mounts

$183.19
$229.00^*

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Item # 849953

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The wide Yakima FatCat 6 takes ski and snowboard mounts to a whole new level! It holds 6 pairs of your fattest skis or 4 snowboards.

Big push-button opening makes it simple to operate even with gloves on
Integrated binding lift gives you optimal clearance between car roof and bindings
Low-profile design with aerodynamic nesting arms slices through the wind to help cut down on gas usage
Internal hinge system allows FatCat 6 to remain low and compact while carrying fat skis and boards
Easy, tool-free installation means you're on your way to the slopes in no time
Universal attachment system fits Whispbar, round, square and most factory racks right out of the box
Lockable with included SKS lock cores and keys
Yakima FatCat 6 mounts cannot be removed from crossbars when closed and locked

Please note: Yakima products can only be shipped to U.S. addresses.

Imported.

Item 849953

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Yakima FatCat 6 Ski/Snowboard Mounts Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Yakima FatCat 6 Ski/Snowboard Mounts

3.8

(based on 12 reviews)

82%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Easy to use (9)
Stable (8)
Lightweight (7)
Easy to install (6)
Durable (5)

Cons

Best Uses

Suv's (6)
Large cars (4)
Luxury cars (4)
Small cars (3)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Advanced (7), Intermediate (4)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (11)

Reviewed by 12 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-10

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Feb

2013

4.0

Does the trick, but a couple of critique

By Bryan Heart Bikes

from Chicago, IL

About Me Intermediate

See all my reviews

Pros

Attractive If It Counts
Attractive If It Matters
Easy To Use
Looks good

Cons

Expensivo
Install Not Seamless
Probably Theft-able

Best Uses

SUV's

Comments about Yakima FatCat 6 Ski/Snowboard Mounts:

My wife had an ailing Yakima ski rack from her snowbunny days in California, and this is a most excellent upgrade: rubber is nice and pliable, actuation is pretty fluid, holds the skis pretty well on the roof. Instead of two strips of rubber running the width of the top and bottom bars, this puppy has three strips, alternating bottom-top-bottom, which I felt offered a more "customized" fit on the skis (less wiggling). Haven't used it on a snowboard yet.

There are a couple of critiques I had that perhaps someone will find useful in making a decision:

** Let'$ $tart with dollar$, because this thing is expensive! Best features of all the racks I was looking at, but certainly among the top-dollar options.

** The attach points (rack to factory/oval cross bars like mine) are no longer bolts and threads - that sounds like a good thing, right? - but rather a sort of "comealong" mechanism (turn the dial to advance a belt and buckle, either looser or tighter). Where the belt and buckle "meet" to tighten down, I felt like it was really tough to dial in the right amount of tautness, where "as tight as I think it needs to be for sturdiness" was really, really hard to fasten, and "the limit at which I think I can humanly fasten this" wasn't as tight as I'd hoped it would be. BUT, I drove 6.5 hours each way with three sets of skis on the roof, and nothing moved. So maybe it's my paranoia.

** Because of the new attachment method, be aware: When the rack is empty, if you don't have the jaws closed and locked, it COULD BE POSSIBLE for someone to prop open the top bar, unhook the fastening points without the use of tools, and remove your expensive Yakima rack from your roof. And then you'd be mad. So avoid that and keep it locked up.

** With skis in the rack, you can practically clamp these jaws closed all the way - very secure! - BUT the SKS cam locks will NOT function as prescribed. We had to loosen the "teeth" a few clicks before the locks would work. I don't know why that is! The locks should work at all levels as long as the teeth/jaws are properly engaged. We had two engineers on the case at the time, so we were sure it wasn't user error.

All in all, quite pleased, and would recommend to anyone. I'd just advise that, what I like may not be what you like... so be aware that, if you want to spend less, there's likely to be something else available to you! Cheers.

Comment on this review

Feb

2013

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

2.0

High Expectations, low results

By JustMatt

from Ventura, CA

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Looks good
Quiet
Wide

Cons

Hard To Install Or Use

Best Uses

Large Cars
SUV's

Comments about Yakima FatCat 6 Ski/Snowboard Mounts:

I purchased this roof rack system to replace an equally sized Thule system.

The reason I was replacing the Thule system was because it did not give me enough clearance when I carried snowboards bindings-down (impacted roof).

While these do give me the ability to carry ONE snowboard in an elevated state, the overall ease of use of this system, as compared to the Thule, was extremely difficult.

I mounted the roof rack to the factory crossbars on my 2013 Outback. This process took quite a bit of time and was a bit of a challenge as you had to get the rubber straps tightened appropriately (with a small scroll wheel) and then align the latching system _just_ right so that a little gray notch wasn't blocking your way (I guess you really have to see it to understand).

Once installed, it was extremely difficult (compared to the Thule system) to close the roof rack with 4 snowboards (2 x 2). The system would frequently unlatch itself, and did not feel very secure when fully latched.

Locking the system is another challenge. I thought I was going to break the key off in the lock cylinder the first few times I was turning the key. As it turns out, one must give a significant push in while turning to free up the lock cylinder. This was quite unlike the Thule system, which was an effortless twist.

Finally, when in the "open" state, one does not have nearly enough clearance to adequately insert snowboards/skis as you have about an inch of opening to work with. Compare that to the Thule system which opens quite high. This may be due to the fact I have my system setup for additional binding clearance for the roof, but still, this is yet another frustrating component of this system's design.

Given the opportunity, I would have purchased the OEM system, which offers the option of additional roof clearance. Conspicuously, the Yakima-supplied Subaru OEM mounts were out of stock nationally.

On the plus side, these mounts look very nice, and are less noisy when unloaded compared to the Thule system.

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Feb

2013

2.0

Good Idea, still room for improvement

By Nanashi no gombei

from San Jose, CA

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Holds A Lot Of Skis
Low Wind Noise
Stable

Cons

Locking Mechanismlock

Best Uses

SUV's

Comments about Yakima FatCat 6 Ski/Snowboard Mounts:

Would have loved this product if the locking mechanism/ lock was good. Wind noise is non existent from the rack in a 07 Xterra. Locking the racks took some strength. (maybe that on a xterra its harder to get the leverage to close?) But thats not my ultimate gripe. Took it up to a trip to Mammoth and when we were getting ready to go home one of the locks just would not unlock. We ended up having to destroy the lock to get it to open. The rack was had two pairs of skis locked at the time. It was not like we jammed the rack with too many skis. We ended up tie wrapping the rack shut for the drive back.

Not sure if we just had a bad lock or what but its a disappointment. I ended up returning the product. Trying the Thule and its locking mechanism is much better but the wind noise is much greater. Installation on the Thule only took like 10 minutes. The Fatcat 6 took like 20. Install was relatively easy. No tools required. Really wished the Fatcat6 worked out. I really like the design, the low wind noise, the double hinge on the other end, but the one critical part of the rack the lock/locking mechanism was not up to par in my book.

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Feb

2013

4.0

Gets the job done

By JPipe

from Castle Rock, CO

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy To Use
Good Looks
Lightweight
Stable

Cons

Hard to install
Hard To Lock When Full
Theft Is A Concern

Best Uses

Large Cars
Luxury Cars
Skiing
Small Cars
SUV's

Comments about Yakima FatCat 6 Ski/Snowboard Mounts:

This is our first rack and it looks and fits great on our 2013 Subaru WRX wagon with factory cross bars. The install takes two people and the small, cheap, plastic knob adjustment is a littly tricky at first to tighten the rack to the cross bars. We have put 3500 miles on our car since install a month ago and haven't had to make any adjustments and haven't removed it once. When the rack is full or ski's are stacked, it is hard to lock. If you pinch down on the top a few inches from the lock while locking, it seems to take care of that.

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Jan

2013

4.0

Does the Job

By TeaQue

from Snoqualmie, WA

About Me Intermediate

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy To Use

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Yakima FatCat 6 Ski/Snowboard Mounts:

Needed new ski rack after my previous 15 year old Yakima rack jammed and could not open. The Style allows for use on new wider and thicker skis better then the old rack did. New models do not require to match brackets to roof racks all universal now which was nice but a little difficult when setting up the 1st time. Once set up very easy to use and take off and install to roof rack. Hope this one lasts me another 15 years!

Comment on this review

Jan

2013

5.0

PHAT Cat

By psquared

from Solitude, UT

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Attractive
Durable
Easy To Install
Easy To Use
Lightweight
Stable

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Yakima FatCat 6 Ski/Snowboard Mounts:

Installed the FatCat 6 and factory crossbars in one hour. Easy install. Easily holds 6 sets of skis. My wife and I ski on mid-fats (95 cm) and the four kids all ski on 80's, I have room for at least another pair.

Comment on this review

Jan

2013

5.0

Quiet and very functional

By Scottish Hiker

from Parker, CO

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy To Install
Easy To Use
Lightweight
Stable

Cons

Best Uses

Large Cars
SUV's
Trucks

Comments about Yakima FatCat 6 Ski/Snowboard Mounts:

Easily installed and happy to see the locks come with the carrier. My previous Yakima carrier is over 10 years old so it was time for an upgrade, actually it was that I didn't want to move the carrier between vehicles and this was on sale. Happy with the install and functionality. I've only had a snowboard and a pair of skis on it so far but have had no issues and plenty of room for additional gear.

Service and delivery comments:

Bought this at the Englewood REI store when I took my toddler out for a quick trip. Was standing in line with my toddler, who didn't want to walk anymore and wanted carried, and this rack. The woman that checked us out actually carried the carrier out to my car as I was struggling trying to carry it and my toddler. Wonderful customer service as always at REI!

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Jan

2013

5.0

FATCAT6

By Bvetorino

from Hillsboro, Or

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy To Install
Easy To Use
Lightweight
Stable

Cons

Locks Jam When Rack Full

Best Uses

Luxury Cars
Small Cars

Comments about Yakima FatCat 6 Ski/Snowboard Mounts:

This rack is great, it can hold 4 snowboards and a set of skis. To my knowledge there is no other roof rack that can hold that much equipment.

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Jan

2013

4.0

Aerodynamic, a little tricky to install

By Tom in SF

from San Francisco, CA

About Me Intermediate

See all my reviews

Pros

Aerodynamic
Lightweight
Stable

Cons

Best Uses

Luxury Cars
Small Cars

Comments about Yakima FatCat 6 Ski/Snowboard Mounts:

I bought this to replace a set of similar Thule snowboard racks for the top of my BMW 328i. These are much more aerodynamic and create little or no wind noise. Compared to the Thule, they were a little more tricky to install on my manufacturer crossbars, but after the initial fitting they're not materially more difficult to remove and re-install.

The design looks better on your car than the very boxy and vertical options from other rack manufacturers. The mechanism for unlocking and locking the holders seems to be robust and well-designed. I'm very happy with these.

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Dec

2012

5.0

challenging install

By Chris in Boise

from Boise,ID

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy To Install
Easy To Use
Lightweight
Stable

Cons

Best Uses

SUV's

Comments about Yakima FatCat 6 Ski/Snowboard Mounts:

I mounted these racks to my 2009 Subaru Forester on the factory racks. I started with the front and after a little bit of play with the red tension wheel I got one side on. After I got one side done I just followed with the final three rack mounts. It is easy with two people would have been a challenge with one. Now that they are on they look great and there is not noise at all. I would recommend having them locked at all times.

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