Will be doing a bit of travel soon and would like advice on the best most secure method to lock my SUP to roof racks?

Kanu Locks www.kanulock.com/

yep Kanu locks are simple to use, worth their $90 cost for the peace of mind they give.

Lock rack!!! I used mine to travel to Melbourne and back. About a 600 kms round trip. Didn't move an inch

lock rack are unbelievably good. Locking is just one benefit.

lockrack - simple. Easy. Good quality

all the way with Kanulock.

Lock racks are the best way by a mile

a Dockslocks is a good cheap solution also

How do lockracks go with a number of craft of different width, is there any problems getting the narrower item to stay secured? .

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I think the Kanulock will do the job and be more flexible for my various needs.

Yep Kanulock will do the job.
I decided to drive from Perth over to Qld for the Nationals in 2014, an 11,000km round trip with 14', 12'6, 9'2 and 8'2 sups on the roof.
I also had a few kites a kite board and a few other 'essentials' on the roof rack under the boards I took heaps of detours down tracks gravel roads etc, Cactus, Treachery, Double Island and as far as Rainbow via the freshwater track of course.

Two sup's either side with kanulocks meant I could take off whatever board I wanted and lock the straps back up so that even the kites below were secure.




Plus countless trips to Exmouth, Gnaraloo etc up North and back often into 30+knot winds and Kanulocks have never let me down.




However I usually throw an extra strap over the front just to be sure.
I did see where a friend of mine and fellow breezer Juddy, had a kanulock corrode and give way under the plastic coated clamp.

^^^^^

What Kent said - purchased this set of Kanulocks in April 2012 and got four years life out of them. Have purchased some new, "traditional" style ones that are a much tighter fit.

This snapped as I was loading the boards on the roof & tightened the strap - snapped with only minimal tension being applied.

Not happy about it but better in the driveway than @ 100kms on the freeway.

Was there any maintenance instructions provided with the straps

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warwickl said..
Was there any maintenance instructions provided with the straps

Not that I can recall. I don't think these straps got any worse/more/bad treatment than "normal" - sometimes they were left outside in rain/sunlight, other times under cover/on the back seat of the car.

Wow , that kanulock looks like electrolysis eroding the alloy. I have two kanulocks which have been great for the most part but not perfect. From day one both sets have been frustrating to lock with the key as they seem to catch on something inside and stop the key turning. I find I have to keep jiggling the key and adjusting the "bite" with the lever and eventually it locks. I probably should give some feedback to the company on this. You don`t have to lock them to travel which is a plus.
The lock racks look very quick and easy and convenient but for me are not ideal either as i personally would not want anything extra bolted to my roof racks all the time.

Hi Guys,

Warickl emailed me requesting some feedback on some of the above topics, so I figured I would respond in the forum.

Kanulocks are perfect for tying down and securing SUPs to racks. You can tie down multiple boards, you can use them on any board on any rack and they take no longer to use than a normal set of straps. With the Stainless cables running through the straps and the lockable buckles, if you want to lock your boards down you can by simply turning the key. There are other benefits with having stainless steel in the straps, they make way less wind noise, they are easier to throw the straps over the car when its windy, they are a great tie-down even if you don't need to lock them. I have been making and using these straps for about 12 years, between my wife and I, we would use these straps almost every other day with longboards, SUPs and occasionally nowadays the windsurf gear.
Anyway that is my sales pitch, now to respond to the above -

What will kill any tie-down any brand?
1) Degrading of the webbing - UV will eventually destroy any strap. This is the first part of most tiedowns on the market to fail. How many of you have lifted a board bag by the handle and had the webbing fail? Or rubbed your hand along the webbing on the edge of your bag and had it fall apart? This is the same webbing as in some well known brands tie-downs that is holding your board on. I have people tell me about their trusty old straps that haven't let them down in 5 years.. I have load tested a lot of these straps and believe me there is no such thing as a trusty old strap. The failure point of webbing that has seen a lot of sun is way way down compared to when new. Is all webbing the same? No, there are different materials, UV stabilizers, colours etc.. that can increase the life of your webbing but eventually it will all degrade.
The Kanulock straps are made from UV stabilized material, we only make them black because this is the most stable colour, but the biggest factors that make the strap component of our tiedowns last, is that their are 2 x 2.4mm braided stainless steel cables taking some of the load and the fact that the cross-section of our webbing is tubular meaning the outside layer shades the inside layers slowing down the breakdown.

2) Corrosion of the buckle - Every diecast tie-down on the market is zinc they all corrode given the chance. What can you do to make any tie-down buckle last(all brands)? Buy a painted one - this will last longer than an unpainted one but painting alone is not enough. Don't store them wet or in a moist environment, don't drop them on the road so the paint chips off. Being on the roof of your car they will always get wet and salty - so dry them out and periodically spray them with Lanolin, WD 40 or similar to look after them. I have made the Kanulock buckles as corrosion resistant as I can (within economic reason - I could make a full stainless steel buckle but no-one would pay for it) with a bit of maintenance they will serve you well for years.

Before using any trusty old tie-down (any brand) - Is there any damage or freying to the webbing? Feel the webbing with your finger nail, is it brittle and does it just fall apart? Have a look at the buckle - are there signs of corrosion(does it look like Juddy's) ? Any signs of impacts, gouges etc.?
If yes to any of the above, it may be time to update your tie-downs. Call me .
Always use a front and back strap for boards and you shouldn't have a problem.

@Juddy - Glad it failed in your driveway,contact me if you want another set.
@Jungleman - Could be one of two things - 1) Latch part has to be all the way forward to turn the key. If it is a set made before 2008/ 2009 (No numbers on the lockface) you needed a fair bit of force to pull the latch forward. I changed the design in late 2008 and they are so much easier to lock. If you have an old set like this let me know and I will sort you out a discount on our newer sets as they work so much better.
If when the latch is forward the key is still hard to turn you may have a damaged key or lock, let me know the key number and I will send you some more keys.

RE: Electrolysis - I guess possible if sitting in a puddle for days / weeks. Same as above - no different from any tie-down buckle, they all have dissimilar metals in the pin and spring components. The only difference being the stainless cables - however these don't contact the buckle parts unless fully wet.

If anyone has any other questions about tie-downs let me know.

Clinton

I had kanulock for a while but found
1. difficult to lock-unlock (particularly in winter) apparently problem has been addressed, shame it was there in the first place.
2. wire ended up protruding through strap causing damage to fingies

I think the problem of corrosion is due to the sleeve of rubber over the buckle covering moisture and in particular salty moisture, which would speed the process of corrosion. A good rinse out would help and or a sleeve that retracted easily.

solution=lockrack
Alternatives are a wonderful thing

+1 for kanulock, I've found them easy to use and give me a much more relaxed and secure feeling when I need to leave my SUP secured to my car when I am parked unsighted when on the road. I also use them to secure my SUP under the structure of my caravan when I am away in town etc. The only problem I have had is that the rubbery cover over one of the buckle covers has been torn ........ not sure if you can get a replacement. After 12 months of use overall it's thumbs up from me!

I often have to carry three boards and i'm pretty sure LockRack's can only carry 2...

I've heard that sometimes the wires in the Kanulocks can dig into the board if they're overly tight (same for all straps i guess...) so i have SeatoSummit straps for normal tie-downs for each board and then a set of KanuLocks around the whole thing for security! They work great. Just remember to loop them through something solid, not just the roof rack itself, otherwise you could just steal the whole set of roof racks and boards...

Master locks python cables work great, can't be cut with side cutters. Just put one front and back either side of wide point on board.
I use Kanulock as 2nd option as well when i have heaps on roof but python locks give better peace of mind. You would need a grinder or huge cable cutters to get through them.

It may have been poor form for me to have posted those pics - I certainly wasn't aiming to bag Kanulocks - the one thing that they did absolutely do for me was provide a sense of security when away from my car - something that other types & brands of straps can't do.

For peace of mind & security, I can't rate them highly enough.

Yeah I can't fault Kanulocks,bit of WD40 now and then store em inside my car when not in use and they fit securely and don't bite the rails of my boards.Had mine for about 3 years and still no sign of wear n tear.

I'll throw in another vote for Kanulocks! I bought the yellow 4 meter and it easily ties down 3 sups. I've been using them for a couple of years solid including countless trips to the beach and camping, with absolutely no maintenance and regularly dropped in the sand etc. I did try to lock them just last week and found it very difficult to get the key in and could only lock one. I got home and with a squirt of silicon spray and some gentle jiggling it's back like brand new! Gave them a good wash and another spray with silicon and they're Micky mouse. As the owner said, a quick wash and check now and then and some minor maintenance with a couple of seconds of lube spray and bob's your mothers brother!! I rate them!!

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Carbs79 said..
Master locks python cables work great, can't be cut with side cutters. Just put one front and back either side of wide point on board.
I use Kanulock as 2nd option as well when i have heaps on roof but python locks give better peace of mind. You would need a grinder or huge cable cutters to get through them.

I have a python cable lock here as well but cautious to use it. Being a round plastic coated metal cable they could be a bit harsh on some softer boards. Kanulocks will be much kinder to your boards rails in this regard.

Kanulocks work well, are very secure and give great peace of mind..... but

User warning: (NOT a fault of the straps)

My friend said "don't be a pussy! Crank em' down!

Then proceeded to put his full weight tightening into the strap..... over several boards (not in bags)

Yep.... the wire dented very strong rails, of the top board, in 4 places.... to the point of needing repair before surfable.


His fault , not the racks, they did 1,000's of miles without damage, when used properly.

They work great when you tighten securely.... but do NOT over tighten.

The thin diameter of the wire WILL pull into an unprotected board, if you do.

I love them... just use them properly, the same as it is with everything you use to tie a board down.

Over tightening straps is one of the main causes of damage to boards (carbon race boards in particular.
There is absolutely no need to crank them down hard, even if they are loose as your board will only move slightly.
Just firm is all that is required and if like me you have heaps of padding on your racks check them occasionally as they become loose when your padding compresses.
If you are one of those that can't help himself but overtighten them put some carpet or something under the straps on the rails (and stay away from my boards)

Lockrack and Kanulocks are different solutions to a simialr requirement. Yes both have a "lock" function but I hate the tie down routine of throwing lines from one side to other, passing under rack, and then back over again, and then feeding through the end fitting. Love my Lockrack for that reason, its such an elegant solution. But it is a solution to a specialised use case - 1 or 2 boards on a roof rack. It does this really well.

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Jungleman said...

Carbs79 said..
Master locks python cables work great, can't be cut with side cutters. Just put one front and back either side of wide point on board.
I use Kanulock as 2nd option as well when i have heaps on roof but python locks give better peace of mind. You would need a grinder or huge cable cutters to get through them.

I have a python cable lock here as well but cautious to use it. Being a round plastic coated metal cable they could be a bit harsh on some softer boards. Kanulocks will be much kinder to your boards rails in this regard.

I use tie downs still to hold the board on. Python lock is not pulled that tight to hold board to racks.
I have not had any marks from them.

seems unavailable in the US of A

cost?

Lockrack..cant beat them..all done and loaded in a couple of seconds..a carry two boards..been on long roadies..no problems at all..secure, safe and silent. Best investment I made
Chur

Thank you all for the input.
All considered Kanulock was my choice and a 3.3m set arrived today.
Note the maintenance instructions in photo.
I measured the length and noted the ss wire runs in 2 single strands each side of the webbing stopping about 25cm short of the end. I assume the non reinforced 25cm is to facilitate tying off the strap. Take note of my comments when considering the length of strap you require.
I will provide more comment after a bit of use.