Our take

The number nobody mentions is the basket's own weight. Most factory crossbars are rated around 100 to 165 lb dynamic, and a steel basket eats 40 to 50 lb of that before you load anything, so your usable cargo allowance is roughly half what the bag's 15 cubic feet implies. Worth it if you haul awkward rigid things, a spare wheel, timber, a cooler you can strap to the frame. Wrong buy if you only ever carry soft luggage, where a bag alone saves you the weight, the noise and a hundred dollars.

Best for: Drivers who need to strap down rigid or odd-shaped loads, not just luggage