Yakima  SkyBox NX LG Roof Box

This is my first rooftop carrier, so I'm not sure how this compares to other units. I do like that it can be accessed on both sides. I also like that it's a matte, textured type of plastic and not that shiny, glossy plastic you often see. I also really like the way Yakima designed the rack clamps on this. It went onto the Prinsu Rack on my FJ Cruiser as easy as can be. I just took this carrier on a 2 week trip through Socal, Arizona and Colorado. I was in snow, sand, sun, etc. My one beef with it is that when it's full (or even when it's not full and it's just cold/wet outside) it's kind of hard to close, because there are no handles to grab onto the outside. The lock will not release the key until you shut the lid hard enough that three, internal latches along the perimeter engage, which in turn raises the handle to the locked position. This is supposed to help confirm that you shut the lid fully and that it is locked, so you don't walk away with the box accidentally unlocked. It's also supposed to help you keep track of the keys, so you don't lock the keys inside the unit. On paper, this is great, but out in the wild, it has mixed results. You have to really slam the lid down with a good amount of force to engage the lock and raise the handle, and when it's super cold and wet outside, this is really, really, really hard to do because there's no place to actually grab onto the lid to push it down. Even with the grippy, textured plastic, it's still slippery and there are no real handles to hold onto. You either have to hold onto the thin lip with your fingers or try and get above the whole unit and push it down firmly from the top. If you're putting this on an SUV and the lid is always open, it's kind of hard to get high enough above it to push the lid down. I'm not sure if this is a common problem with all of these units, because I don't really see handles on any of them, so maybe I'm just not using this correctly. But it proved too difficult for my wife to close in frigid Colorado weather, and it was pretty challenging for me. At first I thought we might just have it overfilled, so we reduced the amount of stuff we put in it, but it still proved really difficult. Anyway, it's a decent rooftop box, and it would be an EXCELLENT rooftop box if it just had some rope handles or something to help facilitate slamming the lid shut to engage the lock/handle. I'm considering just drilling some holes and adding them myself. Or maybe I'll return it and consider a more premium model. I dunno, still trying to decide here.

After having REI assist me 3x to get the box moved forward so the back of it wouldnt rub on my hatchback light, i have up and let it rub as it kept shifting backwards. I ook this box on the freeway headed North, some gracious human flashed their brights to notify me that my box was open. I had locked the box with the handle in the up position. About an hour later it was open. I don't understand how this is supposed to have "the superior locking mechanism, when all appeared well and it still flew open. I borrowed a friend's Thule, that didn't happen! In fact, the wonderful REI staff helped me pick out this box need on their recommendation. So, i don't know if this is a fluke- but I'm very disappointed and now feel like i need to always throw some tie downs over it because it cannot be trusted.