My new favorite accessory for the season is the Ski Bumper. It’s a simple concept: place a solid peace of rubber on the side of your car (with magnets) to safely lean your skis, boards, and poles against so you don’t damage your car and your gear doesn’t slip and fall onto the ground.
We’ve used it on a couple trips up now and my routine is pretty simple: throw the Ski Bumper in the trunk and leave it there. When arriving at the parking lot I’ll grab the bumper, throw it on the side of the car, and then start unloading our skis and board off the roof and pull my poles out of the trunk. Now I have all our gear ready and can change into my boots, jacket, etc. Once everybody is ready to go, I grab my gear and then pull the bumper off and throw it on the roof of the car.
When we walk back to the car I have no quick ability to unlock the car to start storing gear. So, I reach onto the roof, throw the bumper on the side of the car, learn my gear against it and then can get everything else (keys, gloves off, etc.) so we can start loading back up. Last thing back in the trunk is the bumper and off we go.
It’s a simple routine (perhaps more complicated when written) but the Ski Bumper is a great addition to it because now I can lean our gear without dinging up the side panels of the car. Plus, half the time they slide off the side and fall on the ground.
Some alternatives to leaning your gear on your car: throw gear on the ground? Risk people stepping on it and not seeing it, taking up space around your vehicle in the lot. Keep it on the rack until ready to go? We have a tall SUV so I have to jump up into the car to reach the far end of the rack and would rather get everything down off the rack, then start putting on boots (and not ding up our car interior).
The bumper is quite simple: a solid rubber strip with ridges to help hold items in place (its not just a smooth surface). The backing is a thin magnet so the bumper is flexible and should contour to most vehicle bodies.
For $15 the Ski Bumper is a simple, solid accessory to add to anyone’s routine. We’d highly recommend it to anyone.
and pull my poles out of the trunk. Now I have all our gear ready and can change into my boots, jacket, etc. Once everybody is ready to go, I grab my gear and then pull the bumper off and throw it on the roof of the car.
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