I've been using foam blocks for five years with my kayak. Do they work? Yes. Are they cheaper than this? Yes. You can get by just fine with the foam blocks.However, this system is a step up from it and worth the extra money. The number one thing to focus on improving at when getting into kayaking in my opinion is getting good at car topping it and making the transportation from your garage to the lake less of a pain. It's why so many people buy one and it collects dust. Anything you can do to make car topping less of a hassle is really important. Most of that comes from technique and experience, but these also help for two reasons:1) They're quicker to slap on your roof than the foam blocks. Not by a ton, but definitely less of a hassle. You don't have to spend time making sure they're lined up with each other and centered on your roof like you do with the foam blocks. Every little bit of reduced friction helps, these are faster and easier to get on your roof every time you use them.2) The wider profile of these straps makes the "pivot" part when you're car topping more forgiving. Instead of having to aim for a 12'' foam block, you have a much wider area to "land" on. It's noticeably easier than foam blocks in this regard.So, while the foam blocks DO work and ARE cheaper, IMO these are worth the extra spend. The quality of materials is solid, straps are nice and thick and the friction clasps are really great. I've taken my kayak on the highway (55mph) with more flimsy hardware than this. Pleasantly surprised by the build quality.While the points above may seem like small gains in ease of use and time saved, if you add that up over five years it's not insignificant. Technique is key, but if you're on the fence between these and the foam blocks I would say 100% worth the extra cash upfront.One important note - if you are hoping this will fit a canoe like I was, these are NOT wide enough to bridge the gunnels, at least on mine. I would assume it's the same for most canoes, mine is a 15.5' Pelican Dare Devil. Attaching a pic of the width of these pads for reference - there is 31'' of padding from side to side (hard to get a pic when snugged up, but it's 31'' wide). If your canoe's gunnels are wider than that, these aren't going to work.That said, even though these don't work with my canoe, I still kept them because they are GREAT for the kayak.