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Reviews > Base Camp Gear > Car Equipment > Yakima BlackTop 12 > Owner Review by Anson MoxnessOwner Review by Anson Moxness July 27, 2007
Age: 18
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Review: One feature that makes this box stand out from many other car top boxes is the latching mechanism. Most boxes, including Yakima's Classics line, require a key to open the box, and keep the box open. However the BlackTop (and cousin Platinum Pro, and the updated SkyBox and SkyBox Pro) features a handle which, when the box is closed and latched, can be left unlocked. This way if I am driving from point A to point B I would not have to use my key to lock and unlock it. If need be, I can lock the box closed by inserting my key and turning the lock core and then pushing in the whole handle, it will then lock down and be unable to turn and therefore unable to open the box. Another feature that I like about the BlackTop is the fact that it opens from both sides of the box, so I can place it on either side of my car and not have to worry about jumping on the roof just to get my backpack out. To achieve this, Yakima made a dual sided hinge, while it initially appeared flimsy, it has lasted through many openings and closings and much abuse. The one downside of a dual sided opening is that if one side is not completely latched, opening the other side will cause the top to fall off (now attached only at the hinges). Recovery from this problem is easy, but just a hassle, so if I have been changing the side of the rack my box is on, I always check to make sure the box is latched on the other side. When first purchasing the box I anticipated having a problem getting the box on and off the car, to my surprise this was not the case. The BlackTop (and all other Yakima boxes) is equipped with quick-release like levers on the inside of the box which drop down an attachment arm which latches onto the rack system. I found these extremely easy to use, especially when I needed to take the box on or off quickly. In the same mechanism there was a knob (on the left of the picture) which regulates how far the attachment arm drops down. The knob on the right allows the whole attachment to customize the distance between the crossbars. It can fit crossbar spreads of 24 in (61 cm) to 48 in (122 cm). Overall I found the mechanism very simple to adjust, take on, and off. Yakima claims this box can fit almost any rack, and from the clamp system it looks like it would fit any aftermarket rack and most factory racks. The only ones that wouldn't fit would be if the crossbars couldn't get within the box's limits or if the bars were particularly wide (over around 4 in [10 cm]) or tall (more than about 2 in [5 cm]). From general observation of vehicles around Anchorage, Alaska, the BlackTop would fit almost all racks. I personally have never seen a rack that I thought "my box wouldn't fit on that one." I have really only had one problem with this box and that is the fact it is hard to close and latch. The whole box is not very stiff so sometimes I need to press extra hard on each spot next to the latches. I have played around with the newer version of the BlackTop (SkyBox) and they are reinforced with a metal piece running the length of the box and ribs on the bottom of the top clamshell; these make it much easier to close (I could do it with one hand). This problem seems to have been remedied in Yakima's newest boxes, without changing any of the above features that I like. One problem that I anticipated with this box is that I would have a large depletion of gas mileage when I have the box on top of my car. However I don't really notice it at all. By having the box on my car I lose perhaps 1-2 miles per gallon (0.43 - 0.5 kilometers per liter). Surprisingly my aftermarket Yakima rack system creates more wind noise without the box on than with.
To rehash: Read more reviews of Yakima gear Read more gear reviews by Anson Moxness Reviews > Base Camp Gear > Car Equipment > Yakima BlackTop 12 > Owner Review by Anson Moxness |