Malone Liftline Compact Ski Carrier Review

Smaller cars get better gas mileage, but fitting skis and snowboards inside can be a challenge. In the spirit of keeping things budget-friendly and not spending 25% of your vehicle’s value on a ski rack, I found the most affordable rack on the market: Malone’s Liftline Compact Ski Carrier.

The full story: I recently moved away from my local ski area, and as much as I love my Adventure Truck, I’m very tired of the 12 MPG. So I decided to buy myself another vehicle keeping two things in mind. It had to achieve 30+ mpg and be as economical as possible.

I finally found a sporty, compact 2013 Ford Focus with 39 mpg for only a few thousand on the local market. The problem I soon encountered with the compact car was carrying my nearly 6-foot-long skis inside the small car. Hence, this economical rack from Malone – and it gets the job done.

In short: Malone Liftline Compact Ski Carrier ($150) is a lightweight, compact, and budget-friendly roof ski rack. It can safely hold three pairs of skis or two snowboards, comes with a universal mounting bracket, has an integrated ski lock, and weighs less than 5 pounds. Overall, there’s nothing fancy about it, but I’m happy with it.

Scope out other ski and snowboard racks for the roof or hitch of your rig in the Best Ski and Snowboard Rack Buyer’s Guide.

In the Field: Malone Liftline Compact Ski Carrier Review

i spent 2 months with it liftline ski rack During the 2026 ski season. From February to April, I covered more than 1,000 miles on my 70-mile round-trip trip to the local ski area. I ran this ski rack in conjunction with a Thule Snowpack M: the two racks together were a perfect fit for my Thule Wingbar Evo crossbar.

The compact design of this rack works well with my compact car and makes perfect use of the extra space on my crossbar. While I used it for additional ski storage, the compact rack fits very well with other crossbar-mounted racks like a cargo box, mountain bike carry, or kayak rack.

One feature I love about the Melon is its ability to open up to 90 degrees or more, which means it’s incredibly easy to lift skis or snowboards in and out of the rack. The spring only opens about 35 degrees, and you have to manually raise it to more than 90 degrees before it can open any further.

installation

The LiftLine rack comes completely assembled out of the box and features tool-free installation. Everything can be installed just with your hands.

The rack can be installed in one of two ways. Either with a T-slot compatible rack, like most aftermarket roof racks. Or, using the supplied universal mount. Additionally, the rack comes with a 1-inch riser block that can be used to raise the rack one inch higher for better clearance for bindings.

First, I tested installing the rack with the universal mounting bracket. These brackets seem quite sturdy and tighten to any crossbar with a simple hand knob. There are four per rack. I found that it can be difficult to tighten the hand knob enough to meet my safety priority at highway speeds. However a simple trip to the hardware store and a few dollars will get you a nylon lock nut for tool-lovers who want a stronger grip.

Then it’s as simple as opening the rack, aligning the holes, and using two small hand knobs to tighten the rack to the crossbar. During this process, hand-turned knobs are smaller and in a more limited space. I found these knobs to be even more difficult to tighten comfortably than the first set, and they were difficult to grip due to my large fingers.

These can be easily replaced with nylon lock nuts for a more secure mounting setup for DIY-lovers. Overall, I have given the installation only a moderate (7/10) rating as it was difficult to tighten the hand knob completely.

locks

The ski rack comes with an integrated ski lock, two keys, and a large push-button to unlock.

It is important to note that there is no crossbar lock associated with the universal mounting bracket. That bracket can only be opened with your hand, as no tools are needed, even when the ski rack is closed.

When installed with a T-slot, the rack locks completely, as the only way to access the hand knob is to unlock and slide the rack open.

However I was not able to get the hand knobs inside the rack tight enough to prevent them from sliding back and forth in the T-slot when pulled. Meaning, even with the rack closed, I was able to pull it up to the end of the T-slot and therefore even snug the rack into this mounting system.

The keys and locks worked great and were easy to use. The large, bulky buttons can be easily operated while wearing gloves. Although you can see the overall lack of quality, both buttons on my test rack are showing signs of paint overspray.

Unfortunately, it was unusually warm weather in Colorado, and I didn’t get a chance to test how the rack opens below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, but it works fine below freezing. Overall, the rack has adequate locks to prevent theft. Although if a thief wanted to steal it completely and had enough time and effort, he could probably do so.

Aerodynamics and MPG

The compact size of the LiftLine Carrier helps reduce its overall aerodynamic drag. But during testing, it still suffered some drag and a slight MPG loss. while using the bus liftline carrierI calculated about a 2 mpg loss in efficiency. This increased from an average of 39 mpg without any rack to 37 mpg with a loaded ski rack. The MPG loss was less noticeable when driving unloaded.

But the total install and removal only takes a few minutes. So, the best way to reduce MPG loss is to remove the rack when not actively used. Since it is compact, the rack is easy to store in the trunk of your vehicle. It also does not require any tools to install, making the process easy.

minor grip

I spent countless days and miles using Liftline and discovered a few shortcomings. The first downside is that there are no crossbar locks, and while the lock is a great theft deterrent, the entire rack can still be stolen by a willing thief.

The rack’s biggest downside and compromise for its affordable price comes with the materials used. Each piece of the rack feels flimsy and lacks long-term durability. This is true from the lack of pivot joints to the basic rubber that doesn’t grip the skis well. When fully tightened, you can still slide your skis back and forth along the rubber.

Additionally, I was unable to fit three pairs of powder skis without touching them. Carrying three full sets I could only fit two wide skis and one short ski. Additionally, most ski racks of this size can hold up to four pairs of skis. Malone only has three, which means its carrying capacity is a bit low. But it can also be positive to fit a ski rack on your roof, with another carrier taking up the crossbar space.

who is it for?

Malone Liftline Compact Ski Carrier This is a great option for those looking for the most affordable ski rack. It is an ideal compact rack for a roof rack already used with a cargo box or other carrier on the roof.

There are trade-offs like long-term durability and safety with an affordable price tag.

For those looking to carry skis on the roof of their rig for under $200, it’s hard to beat. For my low-budget ski resort travelers, the affordable LiftLine was a great roof rack combo.