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My ten foot fishing kayak weighs 51 pounds. Doesn't sound like much but that ten foot hunk of plastic can be unwieldy when you pick it up and start swinging it around. The Malone system, which I use on top of a Subaru Outback, was easy to install on the Subaru roof racks and understand how it all works. The key to this system is the "stinger" that slides out at the back allowing you to lay the nose of the kayak on the stinger, step to the rear and while picking up the stern of the boat slide it up onto the wings. Once the boat is in position the stinger slides back into position closer to the rear wing. The tie-down system is a four-point system and I have a lot of confidence that my boat ain't going anywhere once it's strapped on.
This is a good sturdy, simple system and is one that I recommend to anyone that needs a car top kayak carrier.

I love this system! I have no problem lifting the 13 foot, 50 pound kayak but getting it up on my lifted Jeep only being 5'4" was a major chore. My husband is not with me when I kayak so loading and unloading is entirely up to me. My husband installed the carrier with ease and I was amazed at how easy it was for me to get my kayak up there. The load assist bar makes all the difference in the world. I would highly recommend this to anyone!

product works good
however, wish stinger held kayak better from when positioning to pushing the kayak
I bought this with the intent of loading kayaks by myself
the stinger does hold a kayak, but not stable enough to reliably always maintain the position as it has slid out many times with the kayak dropping off the van, including dropping it on the rear glass.
I believe if the v groove was deeper or bigger, it may prevent the kayak from sliding off when transitioning and pushing the kayak onto the roof.

My kayak is rather heavy and wide, so others might not experience the one problem I had with the SeaWing/Stinger. Although the load assist module slides down and works perfectly when UNloading the kayak from my Subaru Forester, it has never worked properly when LOADing the kayak onto my car, either by myself or with someone helping. The assist module does not slide forward with the kayak while loading it. Instead, the assist module hangs off the back of the car where it is placed before I load my kayak. I have tried to apply just the right amount of pressure on the assist module while loading, but with no luck. I suppose if the bottom of my kayak were rubber or sticky or something, it would grab the assist module and slide into place. Maybe I could put a rubber mat on the assist module, and then it would work.

Despite the loading problem, this carrier is very well made and is relatively easy to assemble. It also feels very secure during transport. I don't think I would want to position my kayak sideways or on any other product for transport. Before I purchased this carrier, I called Malone in Maine, and they were very helpful, so I should probably call them again and explain the loading problem. I would buy this product again with the assist module, but I would rename it SeaWing/Stinger with UNload Assist Module.

The Malone SeaWing/Stinger Combo With load assist Module is Perfect for my wife's 2007 CRV. We looked for a long time at many different kayak racks, especially ones that she could load and unload by herself. She is 65+ years old and only 5'2" tall. With this combination she can do it.

This kayak carrier with load assist works well. I have a 12ft. long and heavy Kayak. This makes it MUCH easier to load onto the top of our minivan. I have wide cross bars that are standard on my van which holds the "v" attachments in place. I also have Yakima round bars. The attachments do not hold well on those as they rotate back and forth on them. It looks like they would interface with the round bars, but they do not.

I'm not sure how nice other, more expensive kayak carriers are, but these have been very serviceable and I am certain that if my kayak ever slips off my car it will be my fault and not that of the carrier. It was easy to mount and very simple and easy to use. What more could I want?

This is the first rack I've purchased. I have a wide sit on top that's 12 feet long and weighs about 65 pounds. I've been lifting it onto the roof of my Expedition, and it's an unwieldy thing to muscle up to the roof after a long day.

The assembly instructions were somewhat vague, but I figured it out. The fit, being universal, isn't the greatest on the oval factory load bars, but everything seems secure.

Loading the boat is so much easier now! As soon as I get the bow into the Stinger, I keep one hand on the boat while I walk to the stern and just push it forward.

If you have a sit on top, I highly recommend this product!

I bought this rack system after I had bought a Thule L-shaped system and realized that there was no way that I was going to be able to load and unload my 10 foot 50-lb Kayak on my Escape alone. I am a 5'2" woman, and although I consider myself strong enough, there was no way I was going to be able to handle loading and unloading the Kayak on my own. The owner of my local Kayak shop recommended the Malone SeaWing/Stinger Combo after doing some research on them for me and am I glad he did! It arrived quickly and it took me about an hour to put it on my factory installed roof rack. The very next day, I put my Kayak on the rack, alone, and went Kayaking. I then drove by the Kayak shop and showed it to the owner. He is now going to start selling them in his shop and will recommend them to others. I will have no problem hitting the highway, alone, with this system on my car! The Thule is also a good system, I used it once and was happy with the quality of it, but it's just not practical for a small person to handle alone.

I just used this loading system for the first time and was very happy with the ease of loading my 13' 50 lb sit-on-top kayak on to my Jeep (I am a 5'10" slender female). Securing the saddles to my roof rack was quick and easy and hoisting the bow of the boat from the ground to the "stinger" then pushing from the stern was a piece of cake. If you are on a downhill slope it's (of course) a little tricky but as long as you're on even ground and steady the kayak as you're pushing it up it's no problem at all. Securing the tie downs, bow and stern lines was also fairly simple and when I was done paddling for the first time I had the boat loaded and ready to go within ten minutes. Highly recommend it!

I wanted a rack that would allow me to load my 30 lb composite 13 foot kayak by myself. If the load assist module just was about 4 inches longer it would be perfect. It just misses getting to the edge of the ear of my Tribeca. I have a factory installed roof rack that doesn't allow for any adjustment to the bar placement. It would love to see Malone put covers over the buckles like Tule does so when you pitch the tie downs over the roof they wouldn't damage the car.

Overall easy to install, sturdy straps and if you have a small vehicle than I do the load assist should meet your needs

Works as described, well made.

Wife is able to load our 12' kayak by herself pretty easily.

Just loaded my boat on the carrier for the first time. It went very smoothly with no issues. I've read the reviews where people thought the stinger was to small and the kayak can fall off.

All I can say is, either they were not careful enough when they loaded it or were dumb enough to load the boat when their car is parked odd on a hill. Either way, dont be dumb, use your head and you'll be happy with this carrier.

Very good quality materials but the shape of the top and bottom that clamps to the oval shaped, stock roof rack doesnt conform very well. It's easy to see it was designed for a square rack. Thinking of adding a layer or two of the rubber from a bike innertube to see if it helps the issue.