I just flew down to Arkansas and rode in Falconpilot’s Ballistic 223 last week. Jim was generous enough to let his friend Gentry borrow his boat and meet me at the lake for a ride. Turns out is snows and gets cold in Arkansas too. Now I know what 80+ mph of snow in the face feels like. Lol!
A little background. First off, I am not a boat brand loyalist or a fan boy, I just tell it how I personally see it. For example I wear my current boat brands hat, t-shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, sleep in the Underoos, and swear it’s the best boat ever just cause I bought it. Honest feedback is all you will get to me. In the last 10 years I’ve had a Legend 211 & two V-20’s, a Ranger 520c, Nitro Z-9, Bass Cat Caracal and I’ve spent a ton of time in a Phoenix PHX21.
My first impressions. When walking up to the Ballistic it’s like looking at a fancy car. It just looks slick. The lines, angles, and details just look money. It’s a super pretty boat. I have not felt that way about many other boats. For me that’s important. Not in a show off manner, but I don’t want to spend Cadillac money for something that looks like a Kia.
Close up. The fit and finish of the boat was second to none. The front deck is absolutely huge. Surprisingly long and very wide at the console. It feels bigger than my V-20. The locker doors are aluminum along with the lip so when your locking the door it’s metal on metal, the underside is even finished. They have sea deck material in the bottom of all of them which I loved. The compartments are MASSIVE! I’ve never seen more storage space. The inside of the live wells are finished to match your boat colors. The step box/center console was solid and had sea deck material in places where you would kick it or drag your shoe against it to prevent wear and tear. Same thing by the passenger seat where their rods sit. The engine compartment is layout the best I’ve ever seen. Wide open! You can get to everything without having to move a thing. Wiring and components are all the best you can get. The drivers console was super sleek and clean. Very comfortable seats and I had plenty of room. I’m 6’2 and 265lb of Grade A beef and I had room to spare. Every component on the boat is made of the highest grade materials.
The ride. The boat is super stable on the water. Gentry is a bigger man than I am and we both got on the front deck and moved around with minimal moment. The hole shot was gray and 0-70 in this boat was crazy fast. I wish I had a stop watch. We hit 80mph in a very short distance. I know it’s not Allison fast but this is a big bass boat not a racing boat with a trolling motor. Night and day better than anything I’ve spent time in. The boat rides really good through the chop. We we’re able to hit some decent waves and I was impressed once again. It glides right through them and lands soft. Being the boat is completely vacuum infused it felt more solid. It was a lot quieter and you didn’t get that slap and vibration noises. It’s hard to explain, but you don’t get that feeling like your hurting your boat when you come down off a wave like I did with two other brands I’ve had. The Phoenix rides great with a slight edge to Legend in rough water and I have a feeling this is just as good if not better, however, I haven’t been in Lake Michigan in one yet.
Conclusion. All and all I loved the boat it checks all the boxes of what I am looking for. We all now there is give and take when trying to maximize certain features in the ride of a bass boat. I think this boat is the best balance of everything. Speed, rough water ride, stability, maneuverability, and tracking with a trolling motor. There is a specific model boat out there that is the best in every one of these categories but you have to give something up to get it. When it comes to the ride I think the 223 is the best balanced boat on the market. It does everything great with the least amount of give and take. I would highly recommend that you take a close look and talk to the guys that have one. The boats are hand crafted but the same guys every day. The owner Jim Wells is a super friendly, down to earth person and even took the time to call me and see how my test drive went only a few hours later!
If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Thanks!
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Originally Posted by K-DAWG
