Thule Outbound Rooftop Cargo Carrier Bag

Just finished a 1500 mile trip with this on the roof of a Kia Sorento, and really couldn't be happier. Zero issues with the bag, it's still in one piece, and everything made it intact.Our Kia has factory siderails, and we bought cross bars to be the primary anchor points for the bag. Also bought a rubberized pad for beneath the bag and a nylon web to go over the top. Not 100% sure we needed either, but wanted the extra peace of mind. I packed the bag as full as I could each day to reduce flapping, then tightened down the side straps and secured the nylon mesh to the side rails and cross bars. Seemed to work. The only noise I got was from the mat, when some excess wasn't pinned down by the bag.It's not a stretchy material, so don't expect to really overload it. I also didn't want to put a lot of strain on the seams and zipper, so ours was full but not stuffed. I had a couple of hard sided cases in it, with wheels or handles against the bag walls, and it wasn't a problem. I couldn't duplicate the streamlined appearance of the photos, but some strategic loading maximized how much went in the bag. It was a bit of a hassle getting things loaded just right every day, but that was offset by the extra space and comfort inside the car.Performance wise, I didn't detect any noise, and the bag required almost no adjustment. I checked it 3-4 times in the first 200 miles, but after that just made a quick review when we stopped for gas. Even when we were doing 80, it stayed right where I left it. It did seem to knock our gas mileage down a little, but overall wasn't bad. There was an afternoon when we also had a strong headwind, and mileage fell below 20 MPG for that tank (from ~24). That was the biggest issue I felt, I didn't detect much cross wind impact.If I was making a lot of trips, I'd probably look more seriously at a hard sided roof box that was lockable, but for infrequent tripsthis bag works great for me. And, I'm not sure there's a better solution for the price. I'd buy it again.

The little velcro tabs were not sufficient to hold the top flap down. After less than a day driving on the interstate at 75 - 80 mph (Texas, I-10W) the top was not staying down all the way. The next day it flapped enough to pull the zipper apart. A man passed us pointing at the top and we pulled over to check it out. The zipper had completely failed and the top was loose. Luckily our stuff was not loose in the carrier or it would have been littering the road. We were in a city and Home Depot was within 2 miles to get some straps and tie down the bag for the rest of the trip.Might be ok for slow speed local trips, but not up to cross country interstate travel. I'll be sending this one back for a refund.

We had an upcoming 8hr drive from Las Vegas to Reno and back and my husband spent many, many, many hours researching a rooftop cargo device bouncing between hard shell and soft bag. Taking into consideration we would be driving a 2011 Honda Element (basically a shoe box) we were already aerodynamically challenged. It was confusing how one review would state "5 stars, great in rain and no noise" while another would be the complete opposite. My husband determined it has more to do with the vehicle and application but in the end you get what you pay for.We settled on the Thule 868 Outbound Cargo Bag. 13cu ft would suffice as we would be storing only luggage. we probably could have used the bigger one but our factory cargo bars are not adjustable. Traveling to was beautiful weather, traveling back had us in about 3hrs of intermittent hard rain while driving at 75mph behind semi truck spray and not one drop of water inside this bag. Worked perfectly!!! We read reviews from people in the southeast/east region and yes, rain is different over there but as far as the west coast I was impressed.Alas, because of our non-adjustable cargo bars we did have to adjust the back attaching straps to the side. We made sure the front of the bag was full (one large suitcase, bags of clothes and an old pillow to fill space) for aerodynamic purposes. We added one small ratchet strap for insurance and it worked like a charm.In the end this product did what it said it would do. Kept everything dry in the rain and even driving a box of a vehicle there was no additional wind noise. In hindsight we would go with the bigger one but there was only 2 of us and roof restriction so this one worked just fine. All said just be proactive, plan accordingly (Bag stuff in case of a leak and add straps) for peace of mind for your trip.

Opted for this cargo bag over others due to the brand name and reputation of Thule.We have used this bag once so far, to make about a four hour round trip over the holiday's. The bag is very easy to attach to the roof and fits very securely. Basically the entirety of our trip home was in a hard, driving rain, and the bag held up surprisingly well, allowing only a small amount of water to get in. I'd recommend maybe just putting a trash bag over items that you don't want to get wet.InstallationNote that this bag is versatile and can be used on vehicles with side only roof rails (only if there's a center post on the rails to keep the bag from sliding front to back as you drive) or on vehicles with side rails with crossbars. Our vehicle has side rails only, and the bag didn't move an inch. Ideally however, I think this is meant for roof rail systems with both front to back and side to side rails, or crossbars.Overall, the bag fit a decent amount of items, but don't expect to fit more than a couple of small suitcases or bags and some other soft items to fill out the shape of the bag. I was hesitant to buy due to negative reviews re: the zipper, however the zippers seem to be well built, and held up well after our first use.