Thule Snowpack M Ski and Snowboard Rack Review

Living next to a ski resort is the dream, but a luxury that many people can’t afford. I recently moved into the valley from Crested Butte to Gunnison. Now, instead of the quick bus trip from my home to the lifts, I join the skiers traveling at highway speed between home and the mountain. So this winter, I drove hundreds and hundreds of miles to test Thule Snowpack M Ski rack for my ski resort commute.

My drive is short, about 40 minutes, and mostly at highway speeds. Since I’m traveling more now, I also purchased a more fuel-efficient, small hatchback instead of my truck for my daily trips to the ski hill.

On my commuter car, the snowpack held a mix of skis, snowboards, splitboards, and even Nordic skis for a 60-mile round-trip. Installed on my Ford Focus, I tested the rack for 2 months in all kinds of weather, from 75-degree heat waves to 2-foot powder storms.

In short: Thule Snowpack M ($370) A durable, sleek, and functional roof rack from one of the most trusted names in racks. The rack holds up to four pairs of skis in the M version. You can also upgrade to L version ($420) for six pairs of skis. It has integrated ski and crossbar locks for ultimate security and is very easy to quickly install or remove from your vehicle.

See how this rack compares to our other field-tested favorite racks in the best ski and snowboard racks.

installation

Straight out of the box, the Snowpack comes pretty much ready to go. The only thing you need to do is decide how to mount it, either with a universal adapter on a crossbar or by inserting the T-channel directly into a Thule-compatible crossbar.

I previously installed Thule WingBar Evo crossbars on my roof, so I was able to mount the rack directly to the rack’s T-channel without the larger universal mount. Mounting the rack this way means only one set of locks (ski locks) are required to secure it to the crossbar. Installation took just a few minutes.

One thing to note is that the Swedish company sells racks worldwide, and its instructions only use pictures. There are no captions or words, and it takes a little extra time to understand. However, a quick trip to YouTube answered all my questions.

To access the mounting points, simply pull up the bottom rubber and fold it to the side, revealing the mounting holes. Large handled quick-release knobs make it easy to tighten the rack by hand. Once I understood the system, I was able to completely remove both racks from my crossbar in under 2 minutes.

When using the bulky universal adapter, the rack is also quite simple. Simply attach rubber clamps around the crossbar. Then turn the tightening knob until it is tight, lock the mechanism shut with another set of keys and locks, and install the rack on the base.

Well-maintained locks and solid security

snowpack Comes with both an integrated ski lock and crossbar lock. This means that a thief can’t open a ski rack and steal your skis from the rack, and a thief can’t open a completely closed rack and steal skis from your car.

The rack comes with a key chain and a set of metal keys on four lock cores. During testing, I used the Thule Wingbar Evo crossbar, which has a lock with a third key (for the car’s crossbar). Thule includes extra lock cores with the key set, so I was able to install my crossbar locks and ski rack locks with one set of keys.

With this lock system, I felt confident leaving my expensive skis and snowboard on in public. I often parked on the street overnight with skis on my rack, locked my spare skis in my car during my ski days, and didn’t have to worry about a thief easily getting access to my equipment. Technically, thieves can still pick your vehicle’s locks or cut the rack, but it will take a lot more effort.

When locking the ski rack in the closed position, it takes three clicks before it will completely close. Getting the first click was easy enough. But once fully loaded, I needed to use both hands and my body weight to complete the next two safety clicks to close it. I always keep the rack locked when driving or parked.

Aerodynamics, Noise and Fuel Efficiency

I spent many years driving trucks with camping setups in the back, where mileage was an afterthought. Adding a ski rack to the box that goes down the highway doesn’t matter. Since traveling in a small, light, aerodynamic car, I’ve spent a lot of time realizing how aerodynamics affect mileage and even counting how high my MPG has gone during the same trip.

Without crossbars, with my skis inside my car, I was getting about 39+ mpg on a 60-mile round-trip route, to the ski resort and back home. Adding the crossbar cost me about 0.5-1 mpg. When adding a ski rack full of skis, I’ve noticed a 2-3 mpg loss in efficiency, getting about 36-37 mph per gallon round trip. I also felt significant aerodynamic drag, meaning I was more affected by headwinds and headwinds.

There was the noise of strong wind. While driving with the skis on the rack, I heard a slight whistling sound, which I thought was coming from the wind between the rubber of the rack.

All this suggests that ski racks change the aerodynamics of your vehicle. Rooftop carriers are always less efficient than keeping your gear stored inside. An already non-aerodynamic vehicle such as a large pickup truck with a truck camper will not notice a reduction in MPG or aerodynamic drag. Its aerodynamics and fuel efficiency are already poor.

In a small, fuel-efficient car like my Focus, the impact from a loaded roof rack is more felt. snowpackUnlike a quat switch, it does not fold when not in use. To maximize fuel efficiency during ski season, I recommend unmounting the rack between ski area trips. This process requires only a few minutes at most.

minor grip

After spending a season with a snowpack, I have a few minor complaints about using the rack. Still, though, these are minor. At first there is a slight whistling sound at highway speeds. I can’t hear it on the radio, but with it off, I can hear the snowpack whistling.

I have a little trouble with picture-only instructions. The first time assembly and installation took me a little longer than usual, because I had to figure out the puzzle of the pictures.

My significant complaint with the rack is that when it is unlocked and opened, it does not hold itself fully open – say, 25 degrees, although it does open fully to 45 degrees. This makes it difficult to grab anything near the rear hinge of the rack. One hand must push the rack to fully open and the other hand must pull the ski. Easier to manage on a smaller vehicle where the rack is at head height or less. But with taller SUVs or trucks, it can be difficult to get the rack open and hold the skis.

Thule has recognized that this is a problem. That’s why you can buy the extender version Snowpack for $150 more. The upgrade allows the entire ski rack to slide out to the side of the vehicle for better access. If you plan to use the snowpack on a taller vehicle, the extender version is worth the extra money.

who is it for?

I firmly believe that anyone using Thule-brand crossbars should pair these with Thule Snowpack Ski Rack. Mounting your ski rack directly to your crossbar with a bolt makes the entire system much lower profile than any other rack-crossbar combination.

For skiers and boarders who want a rack that is easy to use, durable, and safe, it’s hard to beat this time-tested Thule brand of ski racks. The regular snowpack is perfect for those with cars and small SUVs, and the extender version is better suited for higher-profile vehicles.