The Finest Ski and Snowboard Racks

How We Tested Ski and Snowboard Racks

The folks behind GearJunkie spend a lot of time in the mountains. From daily resort rips to cross-country ski laps, we love taking our skis and snowboards to the corduroy. Like most skiers and snowboarders, we often use our vehicles to get to the start point. We’ve mounted our roof and hitch racks onto sedans, SUVs, trucks, and everything in between. 

After years of regular use and testing, we’ve identified the best ski and snowboard racks on the market. We thoroughly assess every ski and snowboard rack that we test, down to the last screw. A ski and snowboard rack should be easy to use, ergonomic, durable for the long run, secure, and versatile. We deep-dive into the installation, opening and closure systems, materials, locks, and more so that you don’t have to mess around. We’ve weighed dozens of racks against these standards.

The models on this list are as good as it gets. These ski and snowboard racks offer a variety of styles from hitch to roof mounts, compact or extended in size, modularity for 12-month use, and a variety of price points so you can find the perfect rack for your crew and wagon.

Why You Should Trust Us

Our lead tester and photographer is Eric Phillips, an avid skier and snowboarder based in Crested Butte, Colorado. Phillips — who’s also an automotive enthusiast and specializes in our motors content — has used a plethora of vehicles and racks to get his gear to the snow in all types of weather. That includes short ticks to his local hill and multi-day powder missions. Tinkering on vehicles is one of his favorite hobbies, and ski racks are the perfect accessory for life in a ski town and for a powder hound.

Many of the ski and snowboard racks featured here have been with us for many seasons. Even after regular exposure to the elements and racking up miles on rough roads, they’re still going strong. Whether you’re a downhill skier, snowboarder, Nordic skier or somewhere inbetween, we’re confident you’ll find a rack to help get your gear to the mountains. As new racks roll out, we’ll be sure to keep testing and update our list to reflect the current market.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose a Ski and Snowboard Rack

All styles of ski and snowboard racks provide the benefit of keeping your sharp edges away from the car’s interior while keeping the seats open for passengers.

Two primary styles of ski and snowboard racks dominate the field. The first is roof racks, which mount on the roof of your vehicle using factory or aftermarket crossbars. The second is a hitch rack, which connects to your rig with the hitch receiver.

If you can’t or don’t want to lift gear overhead, and price is no object, choose a hitch ski and snowboard rack. If you want to save money and aren’t concerned about lifting your gear or potentially getting sullied by the car’s dirty body, then a roof rack is for you. 

Read more of the pros and cons below, as well as the style differences within each category.

Types of Ski and Snowboard Racks

Roof Racks: Pros

Roof racks have the benefit of nestling your gear lengthwise along the pinnacle of your vehicle, keeping them away from road grime. The list of contaminants is pretty extensive, spanning unburnt fuel, tar, salt, grease, and cement dust, to name a few.

Another advantage of roof racks is that they don’t comprise access to the primary cargo storage.

Roof racks are generally less expensive and weigh far less than hitch racks since they require fewer materials.

Roof Racks: Cons

Depending on the height of your vehicle, one downside is that roof racks can be a physical stretch to load and unload. Loading often involves lifting skis or snowboards above your head and then fully extending your arms to place the gear on the rack.

Certain conventional designs offer a sliding feature to bring the loading zone further to the edge of the vehicle. But in general, hitch racks are considerably easier to load. 

They are often single-purpose, whereas hitch racks are more often modular, so you can convert the base to hold bikes in the summer with additional accessories.

Some roof racks with skis loaded can hinder the hatch from opening, depending on the length of the vehicle and the gear.

While one of our favorite ski and snowboard roof racks can flip down for aerodynamics — the Küat Switch 6 — and a quieter ride, most roof racks stick up and dock fuel efficiency. Like wind blowing through sails, some can add noise to your car ride, such as a mild whistle.

Hitch Racks

Hitch racks for your skis and snowboards attach to the vehicle beneath the back bumper using a factory or aftermarket hitch. Our consensus is that hitch racks are much easier to load and unload, as they are much closer to the ground and don’t involve lifting your snow equipment overhead. 

Under the umbrella are two styles of hitch racks: swing-arm or swing-away and tilt. The subcategory refers to how the rack can be repositioned so that you can access your cargo space in the vehicle.

Tilt Hitch Rack

Tilt racks like the Gravirax GR-4 Hitch Mounted Ski Rack can allow the rack to lean back at an angle, enabling you to open a hatchback or drop down a tailgate. This makes it possible to lean in and grab a backpack, parking lot grill, cooler, or let your dog hop out. Tilt racks are often more lightweight and less expensive than swing-arm racks.

While they are dipped away, they don’t offer completely unrestricted access to the rear of the vehicle.

Swing-Away Hitch Rack

Swing-arm or swing-away racks utilize a heavy-duty arm that can be locked into a fixed position behind the vehicle while you’re driving. But it offers the ability to unlock and swing the rack away from the rear of the vehicle to get to all your luggage.

Generally, a swing-away operation tends to move the rack further from your ride than a tilt hitch rack. This yields greater access to the primary storage space of the vehicle. It also moves the rack out of the way, so that you can more easily pull out heavy or cumbersome items.

Our favorite swing-away rack is the Yakima EXO SnowBank Exo System Snow Mount. The excellent structure swings a full 180 degrees away from your vehicle, giving you unobstructed access to whatever’s back there.

Hitch Rack: Pros

Hitch racks are heavier-duty and have more moving parts than roof racks. The benefit? They can hold considerably more weight than roof racks and offer more versatility. Most swing-away ski and snowboard hitch racks can be converted for summer use, including the ability to carry bikes, cargo boxes, and more.

While many hitch racks and roof racks can hold around 4 snowboards or skis, some hitch orientations can bring more along. The Gravirax GR-4 Adjustable Ski Rack has a 10-ski model. But hitch racks usually max out at 2 snowboards whereas roof racks can fit up to 4 snowboards.

Most importantly, hitch racks are much easier to load, unload, and generally operate compared to roof racks. You don’t need to lift your skis or snowboard overhead or, for some, climb onto a tire or seat to reach the locking mechanisms. 

Hitch Rack: Cons

Broadly speaking, hitch racks for skis and snowboards come with bigger price tags than roof racks. Robust and more materials come at a cost.

Additionally, hitch racks are often heavy and can be hard to install or move alone. 

Otherwise, the downside of hitch racks is that dirt, muck, salt, and other road grime can build up excessively along the back of a vehicle (and your gear) compared to the roof, especially if a rack is low to the ground. This is due to the air vortex that occurs behind a vehicle as it moves through the air, sucking grime from the road and swirling it behind the vehicle. Greater clout leads to the issue being exacerbated for vans, trucks, and SUVs.

Hitch-mounted racks hold your cargo directly in this vortex, which leads to dirty skis and snowboards after driving at highway speeds. If you live or drive somewhere where they salt the roads, this could lead to rust forming on the metal ski edges. 

That’s one reason why we suggest configuring the Yakima EXO SnowBank Exo System Snow Mount with the EXO TopShelf, so that the skis and snowboards can be more elevated above the ground.

Rack Capacity

One of the first things to consider when choosing a winter gear rack is how many skis or snowboards you typically take with you. Racks generally carry anywhere from 4 to 6 skis or 2 to 4 snowboards, so you have some options. Some designs carry even more. The max quantity we’ve found is 10 skis (in the 10-ski model of the Gravirax GR-4 Adjustable Ski Rack) plus 2 snowboards with the aftermarket sleeves.

Generally, a snowboard takes up the same room as 1.5 pairs of skis, meaning a rack that can hold 6 pairs of skis can only hold 4 snowboards. You can mix and match both skis and snowboards on one rack, but your carrying capacity will go down. 

Remember, you can always carry fewer skis than a rack’s capacity, but never more than a rack’s capacity. And you never know when you’re going to pick up a few more buddies to ride with.

Some hitch racks have optional add-ons that will add more ski or snowboard capacity to the rack. Roof racks do not have aftermarket add-ons for capacity.

Vehicle and Travel Compatibility 

Both types of ski and snowboard racks in our guide require certain criteria from your vehicle to securely mount the racks.

Crossbars

Roof racks require factory or aftermarket crossbars to be on or installed onto your vehicle’s roof prior to rack installation.

Crossbars usually come in square or round shapes. They extend from the driver’s side across the roof to the passenger side and are what a ski rack mounts to. Don’t let that confuse you with roof rails, which are standard on most vehicles. Roof rails reach vertically, toward each bumper, and perpendicular to the crossbars. Roof rails are what crossbars mount to.  

Most racks offer universal crossbar compatibility, but some, like the Yakima FatCat EVO 6, are designed to work with Yakima-specific crossbars.

If your car doesn’t have crossbars, don’t worry. They are fairly easy to install yourself like in our DIY guide, or have your local auto shop install them for you.

Hitch Receiver

Hitch racks require your car to have a hitch receiver on your vehicle, which is where the hitch rack can bolt into place. Vehicles usually come with a hitch receiver, which is a metal tube that is mounted to the frame. But don’t worry, aftermarket hitches are very common, and you can find one for almost every make and model. Most are DIY installs, but a reputable auto shop can help you install one properly.  

Hitches generally come in 1.25-inch and 2-inch sizing. It’s important that you verify the size of your vehicle hitch receiver prior to purchasing a rack. A larger, 2-inch hitch can carry heavier loads, which is great if you plan to carry a swing-away hitch rack. It’s also worth noting that some racks come with an adapter to fit either size.

One thing to note is that even with a hitch installed on your vehicle, the rack might not always function perfectly. For example, the Yakima EXO SwingBase hitch rack would not open on our tester’s Subaru Outback with an aftermarket hitch installed because it was too close to the bumper, but the rack worked just fine on our testers’ Ford F-150 and Toyota Tacoma. 

Ease of Use

Most of the ski and snowboard racks in our guide are relatively easy to use, but each has tradeoffs.

Hitch racks are often easier overall as they don’t involve lifting skis or snowboards above your head and then fully extending your arms to place them on the rack. You don’t need to risk getting filth on your clothes, which can sometimes happen with a roof rack.

Locking a roof rack involves reaching even higher or potentially stepping on the tire or a seat with the door open to reach the rack, so that you can pull down with enough force to engage the locking mechanism. 

Some smart racks now offer a sliding feature to bring the loading zone beyond the edge of the vehicle and above the ground. However, operating a roof rack always involves some level of reaching up.

Hitch racks bring the loading zone from the top of the vehicle down to chest height or lower, meaning you won’t have to get on your tippy toes or climb your vehicle to reach the rack with your equipment. They also can swing open to allow complete use of your rear hatch. Some roof racks with skis loaded can hinder the hatch from opening. 

Certain roof rack release buttons are larger or more ergonomic than others, which we find are easier to operate with gloved hands.

Pads

Pads are the rubber material that comes into contact with your skis or snowboards along the base and top sheet. Nearly all the racks in our guide use a rubber pad to secure your skis in place, whether that’s on the hitch or roof.

Most of the pads are either curved or rectangular in shape, and a single strip stretches from one side of the arm to the other. The rubber compresses around your skis to grip them and prevent movement once the arm is shut.

Our testers were impressed with the GripLock rubber on the Küat Grip 4. The GripLock rubber uses a zipper-like layout with alternating rubber teeth that fit together flush when the rack is closed. We found the grip to be superb, and it gripped skis and snowboards tighter than other designs, no matter how wide or narrow.

Locks

There are two main types of locks when it comes to ski and snowboard racks. Locks that secure the entire rack system to your vehicle, known as crossbar or hitch locks, and locks that secure your equipment to the rack, known as ski locks. 

Overall, locks play an important role in deciding which rack is best for your needs. Do you plan on living on the road or keeping your skis and snowboards on your vehicle for extended periods of time? Go with a roof rack that has an integrated crossbar lock. If you’re just doing day trips to the ski resort and won’t have gear camping overnight on the rack, you may not need to invest in a rack with integrated locks. 

Rack Ski Lock

Being able to lock the rack when your skis or snowboard are inside is an important component. Not only does it prevent your skis or snowboards from being stolen, but it can also make sure the rack doesn’t pop open when you’re zooming down the highway.

Most racks in our guide integrate the lock into the closure function, essentially requiring the rack to be locked before you drive away. The only rack without a ski lock is the Gravirax GR-4 Hitch Mounted Ski Rack.  

Crossbar or Hitch Lock

After spending your hard-earned bread on a ski roof rack, the last thing you want is your rack to get stolen from your vehicle. That’s why integrated crossbar locks are an important aspect of a ski rack.

The racks we’ve tested without these locks are the Gravirax GR-4 Hitch Mounted Ski Rack (which attaches via hitch receiver), and the Yakima FreshTrack 4 and Rhino-Rack Ski and Snowboard Carrier #576, which affix to a crossbar. Even with the ski lock engaged, anyone with a simple set of tools, a few minutes, and muscle would be able to remove the entire rack from the vehicle. 

Integrated Aftermarket Locks

Several brands offer aftermarket upgrades to unify and customize the key cores between your equipment. We recommend the investment for ease of use and not needing to manage as many keys, especially if you have a collection of racks or accessories.

Brands with universal key-and-lock-core upgrades include:

We liked that the Yakima FreshTrack 4, Yakima FatCat 6, and Yakima EXO System all have the SKS upgrade option. As does the Rhino-Rack Ski and Snowboard Carrier #576.

Keys and Key Rings

Our testers were most impressed with the locks and keys on the Küat Grip 4 and Küat Switch 6, which came on a sturdy key ring and with sturdy plastic-coated heads for easier grip with gloves on and in the cold. 

Most other racks offered rather meager metal keys with no reinforcement or key ring.

Open and Closure

One of the biggest pains with ski and snowboard roof racks is opening and closing them in cold and snowy conditions.

Release Button

Opening the rack with gloves involves first unlocking the ski lock, then pressing the release button or pulling the release handle.

Our favorite design was on the Küat Grip 4, which uses a handle to open the rack as opposed to a button. We never had problems opening this rack, even with heavy-duty mittens in freezing conditions. 

Closure Latch

Closing the rack, on the other hand, takes a lot more effort and usually involves stepping up — for shorties, maybe onto the tire or running board of the vehicle — to be able to reach the open rack’s arm and fasten it down.

When fully loaded, certain roof racks can take a bit more grit to clamp down. Most roof racks have a multi-stage closure mechanism, meaning you’ll need to firmly press until you hear two or three clicks.

Functionality: Open and Closure

We found that with the ski and snowboard hitch racks being closer to the ground, they were much easier to close and lock into place than any of the roof racks.

The easiest rack to open and close overall was the EXO TopShelf, which are the arms that secure skis and snowboards on the Yakima EXO SnowBank Exo System Snow Mount. This was because the orientation of the rack was horizontal, and we could easily reach it while standing in our winter boots.

Locking Mechanism

It’s worth mentioning that the Gravirax GR-4 Hitch Mounted Ski Rack has no locking, opening, or closing mechanism. Skis rest vertically inside the tubes like bats hanging in a cave. Also, we were disappointed with how hard it was to close and lock the Yakima FatCat EVO 6 and the Küat Switch 6 when those two roof racks were loaded to their scripted volume. 

Extender Bars

Extender bars are a more modern feature emerging in the ski and snowboard roof rack space. These inserts are like stilts, extending the vertical space between the car’s roof and the rack.

The higher gap allows room for bulkier ski or snowboard bindings. One rack we tested, the Yakima FreshTrack 4, has an optional extender bar that places the rack at an angle, taking a triangular form, to create more space for bindings. 

If you plan on stacking snowboards — one facing up and the other facing down — you’ll need enough ceiling for the bindings. When bindings rub the roof, that can cause excess wear, scratches, or dents on both.

If you have low-hanging crossbars or large bindings, we recommend going with a rack that has extender bars. 

Assembly

Assembly refers to the time from opening your package to having the rack ready to install. Some racks in our guide like the Küat Switch 6 come ready-to-go straight out of the box with no assembly required! You gotta love time-savers. Most other racks require some sort of assembly, though, so grab your mocha.

Certain designs, like the Thule SnowPack Extender, required 30 minutes of assembly before the rack was ready to install. That’s on the higher end of a build. If you do plan on storing your rack in the original box during the off-season, keep in mind the assembly times. You’d need to disassemble the rack to fit it back into the original box. 

Installation

Installation comes after the rack assembly. This step refers to the time needed to mount your ski rack on your vehicle.

We rated the installation of each ski and snowboard rack between easy, moderate, and difficult based on how long it took to install the rack. The other factor was the comprehensiveness of the tools provided. If we needed to hunt down tools, that was a shortfall.

Difficulty Ratings

Easy installs took 15 minutes or less, from the unboxing to having the rack fully mounted — including the assembly. Now, that’s pretty good. A moderately challenging installation lasted anywhere between 15 and 30 minutes. Difficult installs were 30 minutes or more. Ouch.  

While some installations took more elbow grease, all the racks in our guide can be assembled and installed at home without the help of a professional. Just make sure to read the instructions thoroughly before you start and follow each step. Also, install your ski rack before it starts snowing, or do it in a garage to avoid making your install harder. 

Tools

Of all the installation tools included with racks, the Küat Switch 6 and Küat Grip 4 had the best quality. On the other hand, the INNO L INA951 tools felt very economically made. They flexed when tightening, causing our tester to have one go flying. This was also the only rack where we experienced a bolt stripping during the install. 

Our longest installation time was 46 minutes for the Thule SnowPack Extender, partly due to the absence of the required tools. A T20 bit and Phillips-head screwdriver were needed per the instructions but not provided. Keep this in mind if ordering this rack. The instructions were also not the most clear, because they lacked text.

Aerodynamics 

For those who want the best gas mileage, this section is for you!

Generally, hitch racks are more aerodynamic than roof racks, which means they support better gas mileage. Even the most aerodynamic roof racks get worse gas mileage than hitch racks. Roof racks lead to drag caused by wind hitting the rack as it flows over your vehicle.

Hitch racks have less drag because they sit behind the vehicle in a pocket of reduced wind and drag. The more you can get your gear behind your vehicle and out of the wind, the better aerodynamics your rig will sport. 

To help increase your gas mileage while hauling gear, you could travel slower, but obviously, we recommend going the speed limit for safety. Highways speeds above 50 miles per hour drastically reduce gas mileage, reports the U.S. Department of Energy.

You could remove your roof rack when it’s not in use, but that would also be time-consuming. and get hitch racks as low as possible on your vehicle.

Some racks like the Küat Switch 6 can be folded down flat to improve the aerodynamics and gas mileage when not in use.

Hitch racks help, because the more you can get your gear low and behind your car, the more efficient travel will be in terms of gas mileage. This can be enhanced by mounting your hitch rack on a low setting or even use a drop hitch when driving taller vehicles like 4×4 trucks. 

FAQ

The short answer is, usually. The vast majority of hitch-mounted or roof rack designs can hold either skis or snowboards. The Gravirax GR-4 Adjustable Ski Rack is a more ski-centric design that does need an additional accessory to hold a snowboard: the Gravi Steel Snowboard Sleeve ($199).

Snowboards take up more space on a rack than skis, meaning a rack that can carry 6 pairs of skis can only hold 4 snowboards. Make sure to check the carrying capacity of any rack before you purchase. 

Yes! Both skis and snowboards can be stacked on your ski roof rack. Stacked refers to having a pair of skis or snowboards sandwiched with their bases together. Technically, that’s one single set of skis and two snowboards, for instance. This saves space on your roof rack as opposed to placing the equipment side by side.

Just make sure there is enough clearance for the binding on the bottom between the rack and the roof of your vehicle, in order to avoid unnecessary wear on both. If they do hit, you can get extender bars to raise the height of the roof rack and free up space for stacking like with the Yakima FreshTrack 4.

Keep in mind, when talking about rack capacity, manufacturers are referring to a single set of skis being stacked and snowboards being situated side by side, but it’s perfectly okay to stack snowboards.

We wouldn’t recommend having sticking two skis with a snowboard on the other side. It’s best to only stack skis with skis and snowboards with snowboards, due to the ski brakes and base compatibility.

Crossbars are the bars that run from the driver’s side to the passenger’s side, across the vehicle’s roof. They are essential for mounting a roof rack.

All roof racks require crossbars for mounting. Some cars come with crossbars. Otherwise, aftermarket crossbars are very easy to install yourself along with your ski rack. They come in a set of two, and you’ll need both to mount a ski roof rack.

You’ll also want to check that the crossbar shape is compatible with the roof rack. Each brand manufacturers their own specific shapes with particular material composites and finishes. But in general, there are oval, square, heavy-duty (HD), and aerodynamic bars. Yakima, for instance, offers four crossbar styles that they’ve labeled JetStream (aerodynamic aluminum), HD Bar (heavy-duty), CoreBar (aerodynamic steel), RoundBar (oval).

Yes, you can carry both skis and snowboards simultaneously on one ski and snowboard rack.

A rack that holds 6 skis or 4 snowboards can hold a mixture of both, like 3 skis and 2 snowboards. The width of a snowboard is approximately the width of 1.5 sets of skis side-by-side.

We have all seen the pictures and heard horror stories of skis being lost on the highway after someone forgot to lock their roof rack before driving off.

Ski and snowboard roof racks, when used correctly, are one of the safest ways to transport equipment to the ski resort.

The padded arms clamp down securely on your skis or snowboards without hurting them. Highway speeds won’t harm the rack or gear, either. Just make sure to follow all the instructions during the installation process and when loading the gear. Before driving, always double-check that your rack is locked, whether there’s gear inside or not.