Best kayak storage for a garage

Two hundred and fifty pounds, double what most kayak hoists claim, on a six-rope pulley whose mechanical advantage the listing actually states, with an auto-locking brake that engages the moment you let go of the rope and dual safety straps as a backup. Ceilings from 10 to 18 feet, joists either direction, pulleys pre-threaded out of the box.

It is the most expensive thing on this page by a wide margin, and 250 lb is more than a recreational kayak will ever need — this figure is aimed at rooftop tents and loaded fishing boats. No lag screw size or joist minimum is published, and strapping a hull into a connector bar takes longer than dropping it onto two hooks.

Two hundred and twenty pounds per tier across four tiers — the highest per-level figure here — on a vertical bar long enough to slide the arms to where your hulls actually sit. It is also one of only two products on this page whose listing says to mount into wall studs. Powder-coated steel for a damp garage wall.

No arm length or bar length is published, so whether a wide sit-on-top hull sits properly in the cradle is a guess until it arrives. There is no total for the rack, only the per-tier figure, no steel gauge, and a single vertical bar puts the entire load on one line of studs.

A hundred and fifty pounds on alloy steel, and the one published detail that decides whether a hoist suits a long boat: 8 ft adjustable straps with an adjustable center strap. Strap length is what sets how far apart the two lift points can sit, and spreading them is how you avoid hanging a 12 foot hull from two pinch points.

It publishes no mechanical advantage ratio, no auto-lock in its listed features and no ceiling height range, all of which the TRUSOON states. One boat per hoist, and at this price two boats costs more than the RAD two-pack.

Two hoists, 125 lb each, for less than the price of one of most rivals, with an automatic rope brake that pinches on every pull, nylon straps, rubber-coated hooks and wall cleats for the loose rope. It publishes its own dimensions and its ceiling limit, which is more than several pricier hoists manage.

A hundred and twenty-five pounds is the second-lowest figure here, the 12 ft ceiling limit rules out vaulted bays, and the hooks will touch the hull unless the straps are rigged carefully. No mechanical advantage ratio is published.

A hundred pounds per hook, published that way rather than per pair, with 15 inches of arm, EVA protectors where the hull rests and four hooks in the pack — enough for two boats. The listing also says to install on studs for added support, which is the honest version of “screws and anchors included”.

Fifteen inches of arm is fifteen inches of leverage on those fixings, so studs are not optional in practice. No steel thickness is published, anchors are supplied but are not equivalent to framing, and two hooks hold a hull at two points rather than cradling it along its length.