Online: www.REI.com
URL for this product:

From the U.S. and Canada — Call 1-800-426-4840
Mon. through Sun., 4 a.m. through 11 p.m. PT.
International — Call 1-253-891-2500
Mon. through Sun., 4 a.m. through 11 p.m. PT. English language only.

Yakima BigStack Boat Rack

$119.19
$149.00^*

REDUCED PRICE You Save 20%

(14)

Item # 767991

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Gear and Advice You Can Trust

This item ships for free! Learn more

To view videos or use the zoom feature on REI's websites, please download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.

NOW PLAYING

Enjoying increased capacity and ease of use, boaters can return to paradise with the Yakima BigStack, the next generation of post system!

Single-post design with integrated padding carries up to 4 kayaks vertically; posts fold flat when not in use
AnchorHead™ tie-down system provides 2 options for securing boats to the rack
Outer hooks on AnchorHead can be used for "lasso loading" or straps can be run through the center of the AnchorHead
Universal mounting hardware fits round, square and most factory bars
BigStack locks to crossbar with SKS lock core system (sold separately)

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

Imported.

Item 767991

Rebate Available!
Get a manufacturer’s rebate of up to $50 on Yakima purchases through 5/27/13. Get rebate form and see full details (PDF 728 KB). Shop all qualifying Yakima products

View all Yakima products

REI Membership

REI Membership $20.00

Yakima BigStack Boat Rack Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Yakima BigStack Boat Rack

3.4

(based on 14 reviews)

57%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Compact (5)
Functional (5)
Easy to use (4)
Stable (4)
Durable (3)

Cons

Unstable (3)

Best Uses

Kayak / canoe / rafting (7)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Recreational rider (3), Recreational user (3)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (3)

Reviewed by 14 customers

Sort by

Displaying reviews 1-10

Previous | Next »

Jul

2011

(0 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

YUKima Bigstack

By JaneMare

from Mill Valley

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Cons

Hard To Install Or Use
Unstable
Weak Construction

Best Uses

Comments about Yakima BigStack Boat Rack:

This rack was recommended to us as a great, easy to use, multiple kayak carrier. How it could ever hold multiple kayaks would be a mystery since it can't even transport one. This rack is terrible- unless you like to be stressed out and pulling off the freeway every 20 miles to tighten or readjust the kayak. I returned this and purchased HullRaiser (that's a great kayak rack).

Comment on this review

Apr

2011

(0 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Bad Design

By Outdoorguy20

from Seattle, WA

About Me Intermediate

See all my reviews

Pros

Cons

Unstable
Weak Construction

Best Uses

SUV's

Comments about Yakima BigStack Boat Rack:

My wife and I went to REI to purchase a carrier for our new kayaks. We looked in the Yakima catalog to see what our options were and we chose the BIGSTACK. After carrying the kayaks one time, I discovered that buying this carrier was a mistake.

I have to agree with Mr. Yakkie from Denver, tying the boats directly to the vehicle would have been safer. This type of tie down is not stable. The BIGSTACK posts have a red lever at the base to release them. I have no idea if you lift the red lever up, or push it down to release because the lever would do neither. One of the BIGSTACKs would not latch in the upright position. It stayed up from the tension on the straps and the compression of the kayak pushing on it.

The directions to tie down a boat are ambiguous; the illustrations in the directions are terrible. You can watch the video on the Yakima wedsite 10 times and still not understand how it is done. They skip several steps.

After one try, we returned the unit and got a pair of HULLRAISER. Yakima needs to back to the drawing board with this one.

Comment on this review

Jan

2011

(6 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Flexible and quick to load

By Dodgerpuppy

from North Carolina

About Me Anytime

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy To Use
Locking cores
Stable
Very Flexible

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Yakima BigStack Boat Rack:

I have used Yakima Stackers and now BigStacks for years, both for whitewater and touring kayaks. I have run from one to four boats up and down the interstate in excess of 80 mph and have never had an issue. If you believe these are unstable then you are likely strapping the kayaks down incorrectly or it is likely a perception issue. If you have bent your bars trying to tighten them, you really are using them incorrectly, as you should not even need to deform the boat when tightening, let alone bend steel. There are great instructions on the Yakima website on how to use these. It is essential that the strap coming over the kayaky is not allowed to slip outboard on the crossbar, or the system will be unstable. You must go around something beside the crossbar (like the stacker itself) in order to keep the strap tight to the kayak, otherwise it will not hold the bottom of the kayak tight. Again see the Yakima website at [@]. Trust me, if you follow these simple instructions you will not have any issues. I have never lost a kayak or had one even come loose, and I only use bow and stern tie downs as safeties on my touring kayaks (never too tight, just as a backup).The only negative I see to the new BigStacks is the added bulk and weight, which is totally un-necessary. Other than that, I like the fact they now accept the locking cores and that they have the loop at the top to make things a little easier when loading and give me something to lock my boats too with a cable.Overall, a very flexible and easy to use product if you follow the instructions.

Comment on this review

Jul

2010

(0 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

too much slippage

By pungojoe

from TN

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy To Install
Easy To Use

Cons

Unstable

Best Uses

Comments about Yakima BigStack Boat Rack:

I'm a beginning kayaker so I preface my feedback by saying that there could be some user error involved. However, I found that the big stack didn't meet my needs for carrying my two kayaks because my boats kept sliding sideways on my bars and getting loose while travelling down the interstate. They were very secure at the top of the big stack where they are tied through, but there's nothing to secure the boats at the bottom unless you tie the boats together, which I wouldn't want to do out of fear of losing both boats. After two trips of constantly worrying about whether my boats were going to fly off and stopping to check and tighten straps, I returned the big stack and paid the extra cash to get the hullraiser cradles. The bow and stern tiedowns are also more effective on the hullraiser as they are the thin aero-dynamic straps as opposed to the thick straps with the big stack.

Comment on this review

May

2010

5.0

Solid, Very Solid

By DrPowers

from DC

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy To Install
Easy To Use
Stable

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Yakima BigStack Boat Rack:

When I initially went shopping for a kayak transport solution (I have 3 ~10ft-ers) I was afraid that I'd have to spend 60-100 per kayak. This kit costs much less and will hold up to 4 kayaks. I imagine that it can also hold canoes as well.

The claim that it can hold 4 kayaks really depends on the width of the existing rails of the roof rack.

I was only able to fit 3 on top of my OEM BMW 3 roof rack but it did a great job at holding them on.

Installing the kit is a breeze and it makes very little noise while on the road. The kit feels very solid on my bars but I might be a little more worried installing the kit on round bars rather than square bars.

Putting the kayaks on is fairly easy but you might need another person to help hold the kayaks in place while you fetch another.

This kit held the kayaks in place so securely that I contemplated not putting the bow/stern ties on. I did it anyway just in case but I think I could have gotten away with not using them at all.

Additional ties / parts are fairly expensive. The locks are NOT included so expect to pay a little more for them. The tie downs can always be substituted for any other type of webbing or rope.

I might want to buy some plastic tubing to line the bow/stern lines to keep the vibration down when driving. Its just annoying to drive long distances with webbing that is constantly vibrating.

Otherwise a GREAT purchase! You cant really argue with a kit that can hold 4 kayaks for this low price.

Comment on this review

Dec

2009

5.0

Excellent Kayak carrier

By charlesBastian

from Waco, TX

About Me Intermediate

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy To Install
Easy To Use
Lightweight
Stable

Cons

Best Uses

Carrying up to 4 kayaks
Small Cars

Comments about Yakima BigStack Boat Rack:

I use my Big Stacks every weekend, to carry two 10' kayaks and one 14' kayak. This item makes it very easy to load and secure all three kayaks, by myself. Although, sometimes my wife helps load them...

Not sure what problems other people have had. I've had no problems, following the instructions.

Comment on this review

Aug

2009

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Not perfect, but completely satisfactory

By boatmn

from Oxford CT

About Me Advanced User

See all my reviews

Pros

Functional

Cons

Best Uses

Kayaking

Comments about Yakima BigStack Boat Rack:

I found no stability problems with my 17 and 18 foot kayaks. I use bow and stern lines, but you should always use bow and stern lines no matter what type of rack and accessories you are using.I have also used it with my 20 ft tandem

Comment on this review

Jul

2009

2.0

Not for larger kayaks

By adamjive

from Richland, WA

About Me Recreational User

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact

Cons

Not Functional

Best Uses

Kayaking

Comments about Yakima BigStack Boat Rack:

Decided to save a few bucks and get this to transport two 12.5 ft fishing kayaks (~60 lbs ea). I found for this application these were quite a bit inadequate. It is very difficult to attach the 2nd kayak, I can't imagine going for 4 as the box advertises.

They were not even close to stable without very taught lines from bow and stern (I actually bent the bars a bit from over tightening).

With some effort and cuss words I was able to make it work for a 7 hour round trip at all speeds and some very heavy winds... so it's not a complete loss, and would probably be fine for a play boat or two.

For me, I'm returning and getting a couple sets of hullraisers... I think the time (and insurance premiums) I save will be well worth the extra $100.

Comment on this review

May

2009

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Easy and Stable

By Hiker Painter

from Eugene, OR

About Me Recreational User

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Functional
Lightweight
Simple adaptable

Cons

Best Uses

Kayaking

Comments about Yakima BigStack Boat Rack:

I have used the Big Stack three times now. I attached it to my factory rack on a Toyota 4 Runner. I'm hauling two 14.5 foot kayaks. The rack with the adapter attaches nicely and securely to the rack. The straps cinch down the yaks perfectly. You need a second set of front and rear lines. I'll weigh in on durability later, but for now a great product. 15 minutes of loading time by myself, not being in a hurry. The only thing I see that might be a problem is stability on the round type bar racks with a smaller diameter than my oblong shaped factory bar.

Comment on this review

Mar

2009

4.0

Not bad

By Jean-Paul Miller

from MD

About Me Recreational User

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Functional

Cons

Slow to Setup

Best Uses

Boating

Comments about Yakima BigStack Boat Rack:

I do not suffer stability issues with this item like some reviews have mentioned. It takes more time though to stabilize then 'J style' racks.

I always use bow/aft straps and my kayak is just over 16 feet in length of moderate touring design. My kayak has not suffered any of its scratches from this rack set up.

I am happy with the product as my roof is narrow and can not fit two 'J style' racks on my car. This rack allows me to carry more then one kayak on my small car.

I would go with a 'J style' rack if I had more space or only wanted to carry one Kayak as they are much easier and faster to load.