The reality of it is that both comapnies have good product, In certain areas Thule outshines Yakima and visa versa. However there are a few things that are in Thule's favor. First All of Thule's rack systems under go the European lab strength tests & Yakima does not. Now they both come with a lifetime warranty but that was Thule leading the way. Over the past few years Yakima has spent more $ devoping bike stuff then Thule and Thule has been developing the watersports stuff. It shows how they are winning in each arena based on product design. Yakima though has become obsessed with designing stuff that looks very polished and we all know that products that look pretty are almost impossible to build with great strength and durability. This is a move to appease the masses of soccer moms and lexus owners not Expo people.
Now as to the Outdoorsman vs the xsporter, the outdoorsman couldn't hold the xsporters jock. I have not only bent 4 good bars on the outdoorsman but I have had the stainless machine screws that tighten the crossbars mounting colars, snap off while on a trip. That was a huge pain in the butt. I also had a small vine catch a corner of the rack and pull it off the bed rail by actually bending the "J" bolts that hold the assembly on the bed rail. I also was constantly having to readjust the unit becuase it would slid around the bed rails with heavy loads under vibration. My xporter went on and on it's first baja trip and never moved, never lossened etc. I also cought it on a tree and it did not budge. This is due to the fact that the xsporter tower attaches using 2 mounting points per tower as opposed to the outdoorsmans one per tower. If the outdoorsman would use 2 mounts per tower it would not slide around and would not come off as easy. The crossbars have never bent because thay are not a standard bar. The bar was designed specifically for the application which is the way it should be.
Now as a dealer for both brands I have personally installed probably about 8-900 racks over the years. My staff countless more. I can tell you that we kept shop notes on installs as to make recomendations for customers with certain models of cars as to which fit better. Example. On early saturns the yakima Q clip would grap onto the plastic door jamb cover. The thule install required removing that piece so a clip could then be attached to the metal structure behind that plastic cover. So what would you rather trust a load to the plastic cover or the metal structure of the cars body? An advantage of having a rack that goes through an independent cert process for strength.
Thule relies on mostly metal parts for this reason. The metal will not degrade over a few years due to U.V. exposure like most of Yakima's stuff. And yes I know some of you will tell me that you have the old Yakima 1A rain gutter towers and they have been working great for 10 years. Well Good for you. All I can say on the matter is that I pulled that particular Yakima product off my shelf and would not sell it as a liability was at hand. I have broke 4 1A tower personally and have had atleast 5 or 6 customers break them too. Everytime there was either car or toy damage which yakima would say "we do not cover damages to vehicles" I broke one coming back from Utah a few years ago on the road. Broke a 3K racing shell that had never been in the water when it happened. I called at 3:00 which is the cut off time for overnight shipping. I got a rep on the line and they said oh I'm sorry we can't overnight till tomorrow. You missed the cut off by 3 minutes! I said are you crazy call the warehouse and tell them to throw one on the truck. I buy over 100k a year with you guys. they refused. I called Thule 25 minutes past there cut off time and they overnighted me a complete rack system to a hotel up the road. on 2 other occasions Yakima was moving and I would call as a dealer for some kind of Tech issue and I would get a message that said "Thanks for calling Yakima dealer support line. Due to the fact that everyone is in mandatory corperate meetings we can not help you at this time. Please call back later" Hell I couldn't even leave a message! This went on for a month both times LOL! The first time that happened was when I opened my Thule Dealership.
There are fans in both camps but facts are facts and Now I have related some between the lines opinions as a dealer based on personal experience but here is a fact summery
Yakima Mostly composite components that degrade to U.V. over time.
Thule mostly metal construction that will hold strong for much longer.
Yakima a little more user friendly in some areas of assembly and cosmetically more appealing
Thule sticks to Form follows function rule and care less about cosmetic perfection and sometimes install ease.
Cost of comparable products about the same.
Yakima now made in Mexico
Thule made in USA and Sweden
Both Brands readily available Nation wide
Thule available worldwide
Thule owned by European corp
Yakima primarily owned by First national Bank of Islam!
