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Power Pole vs Talon

4K views 22 replies 17 participants last post by  ifsteve 
#1 ·
I'm getting a power pole on my upcoming build for sure and my dad has one on his current skiff and loves it, but he's upgrading soon. The dealer we are working with only deals with Talons and not power poles. Wondering if you guys had any experience? Thoughts? We can have the talons done at the dealer or can take to a seperate dealer and have them do the power poles after the boat is built. We've had a couple minor issues with our power pole but they've always taken good care of us in terms of service and backing their product. Looks like Power Pole has the lions share of the market when it comes to these products.....
 
#5 ·
I did do a little research but most of the threads are 10 years old. I know PP had great service we know that first hand. I gather the PP is more "repairable/servicable" thatn the Talon and the Talon is heavier off the back but its self contained. My biggest concern was reliability and function. My dad would prefer the power pole but is not opposed to the Talon if its a good product. This is for a 23'bay boat so the weight is less of an issue for him. Thanks for the comments so far, feel free to keep them coming.
 
#6 ·
I never mounted the Talon I bought for a bay boat a few years ago. There didn’t seem to be a good way to rinse the inside. I sold it as a figured it would go bad quickly being in the salt/on a lift. A little bit after that, my buddy with two on his boat had corrosion issues with both.
 
#8 ·
The Raptor has fewer pump failures than the Power Pole. The Talon is self contained as someone mentioned and can be retracted without needing to cut/open a hydraulic line in the event of a failure.

The Talon has smaller form factor for the depth achieved. The Talon holds in rough conditions far better than the other two as it will continuously drive the spike as pressure is released.

Power Pole does have great customer service but I find it ridiculous that pumps need to be continually replaced on a $2k plus device. They originally had a Parker pump but now have the "SeaMonster." I have replaced many of the SeaMonster 1 and 2.

You want customer service, get the Power Pole. You want to fish, get a Minn-Kota.
 
#12 ·
The dude's looking for experience, not opinion. Care to expand? From my extensive first hand knowledge of all three, the CURRENT Talon is the superior offering but there are advantages to each. Older Talons have corrosion issues, but he is looking at new units, which have changed in design markedly.

Your comment may echo your experience but give him the information to make an informed decision. This isn't the off topic section.
 
#17 ·
My buddy installed dual talons, I tried to talk him out of it. It’s been like 6 months and he had to have a circuit board replaced on one. On top of that, the service guy grilled him about it, implying it was his fault. I have/had 3 power poles. One bought new. A tarpon broke the mount on that one when it jumped into the boat and slid off the back taking out the power pole. They asked If I had video of it 🙂 said they normally don’t cover fish damage, but he’d see what he could do. Next day 9am I had a new mount on my doorstep, no charge. The current 8ft power pole blade pump I bought used 4 years ago is a bit loud, so I contacted power pole. They said, “We’ll make you a ticket, send it in, and the rebuild if needed is considerably less than a new pump.” This on a used power pole, probably at least 6 years old.
 
#18 ·
I’ve been on a boat with talons, they make fishing from the back a pain. When you’re anchored they’re always in the way and the way they deploy makes it difficult to avoid wrapping your line when hooked up to a lively fish. Also, there’s probably a reason MK went through millions of dollars in R&D to develop the Raptor anchors.
 
#19 ·
If you ever fish in muddy areas the talon can get stuck in the down position, and if you don't have tools on the boat to take it apart its a long ride home. Had it happen on a friends boat. Also, I have seen many reports where the talon cables break and have to be sent back to minn kota to be replaced.
 
#23 ·
There used to be a video on You Tube comparing a PP and Talon side by side. Had one of each installed on a boat. One of the starboard and one on the port. Did a test showing how long the boat drifted downwind from the time you hit the deploy button till the boat actually stopped. I don't remember the specifics (wind velocity and the distance they drifted) but it was night and day difference. PP stopped the boat quickly. The Talon did not.

Don't try looking for it. They got it removed years ago. All you can find now is idiots sitting in their garage or shop talking about them. No real on the water side by side test.

Can't speak to Raptors but you literally couldn't give me a Talon.
 
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