Don’t you wish you could test out new boating and fishing gear before you laid out your hard-earned cash for it? Of course you do – how many times have you bought something that looked great on the store shelves, then quickly broke or failed to perform during real-world use? It’s happened to us all. Fortunately, as writers we do get the chance to test out new stuff ahead of time on a regular basis; here are a few items we’ve recently tested with real-world use, and can give you the straight scoop on.
Electronics – We spent time on the water with the Simrad NSS evo3, the Raymarine Axiom, the Lowrance Elite 7x HDI, and the NaviOP integrated control and digital switching system.
Fishing Gear – On-water fishing tests will tell you a lot about the Okuma Azores fishing reel, the Y-Zuri 3D Inshore Pencil, the Abu Garcia Revo STX, and the Penn Reels Torque, which we’ve had in service for years. Note: if you’re intrigued by the above picture of all those reels, you can see them in action in this video:
And, here’s one of the lures we were testing out, too:
Outboard Engines – The Suzuki 15 we tested has been in use for years now, at this point we’ve had a slew of experience running the Evinrude G2 outboards, we’ve run the Yamaha V-6 Saltwater models and the Mercury Verado models for countless hours, and we’ve also performed dozens of dockings with outboard joystick control systems.
Oddball Gear – Those of you who like to film the action with a GoPro will want to see what we think of the QuickPod battery/grip; paddlesports fans should check out the Corcl; and XG Sunglasses will be of interest to those who are sick and tired of polarization blacking out their fishfinder screens. If you’re thinking about putting a new deck on your boat, be sure to check out SeaDek: Awesome Boat Improvement Project, first.
Fishing Boats – We’ve tested a zillion, but here, we’re only talking about the ones we’ve spent significant time on. Those we’ve fished, cruised, and caroused on sufficiently to provide ownership-level insight on. Let’s start with the Glacier Bay 2665, which we fished offshore for an entire season. Then there’s the Bayliner F18 and the Element F16, a pair of inexpensive beginner boats, both of which we’ve fished in lakes, bays, and rivers. The Boston Whaler 230 Outrage we’ve taken off the dock for days at a time, on at least three occasions. The Regulator 23, which we’ve run offshore to a distance of 60-plus miles. And check out all of the boats in Small But Sturdy: 3 Little Fishing Boats That Can Handle Big Water, because we’ve got extensive fishing-time on all of these craft.
While it’s true that Google allows us all to do far more product research before making a purchase than was ever possible before, it’s just as true that the Google-sphere is riddled with misinformation and nonsense. So before you lay out your hard-earned cash be sure to get straight talk from a reliable source – and see if it’s something we have had hands-on experience with.