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An Inflatable Roof Rack for Your Car

The light-duty Ultix Tair Rack is cheaper than conventional roof bars, stows away easily and is quick to install

By Rain Noe - Feb 11

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Here's what I've found to be the pain points for roof racks, at least the one for my car:

Enter a caption (optional)
1. It's a pain-in-the-neck to install. It came with a little cheapie torque wrench that I've been meaning to buy a replacement for, but I already spent several hundred dollars on this roof rack; now I gotta buy another tool?
Enter a caption (optional)
2. If you leave it on, it reduces your mileage and creates wind noise.
3. If you leave the rack off, but carry it around with you in case you need it, the bars take up a lot of space in the trunk.

This inflatable roof rack, designed by a London-based outdoor gear company called Ultix, is an interesting alternative that solves those problems. It might not be suitable for carrying construction materials, but I appreciate the outside-of-the-box thinking:

Enter a caption (optional)

The USD $65 Ultix Tair Rack has already been successfully Kickstarted, and for those who want one, there's still about a month left in the campaign.

With the surfboard example shown in the video, I'd still be wary of the spoiler/lifting effect. Speaking of which, do any of you have good tips for securing sheet-like things in a secure way?

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Rain Noe

Rain Noe is a writer and industrial designer based in New York City.

3 Comments

  • Gustavo Cutillas
    2 days ago
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    eva foam should do the trick


    !Report as spam
  • Donald Jones
    7 days ago
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    Reply

    They used to make a tube shaped stiff foam bolster that tied into the car rain gutters and could be sinched tight for carrying a surfoard or windsurfer.

    !Report as spam
  • Tim Grocott
    8 days ago
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    Reply

    Rolled up towels and ratchet straps do exactly the same job. Although this product looks far less silly.

    !Report as spam

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