There wasn't a ton of information available when I was considering buying another set of PP or giving the Raptors a try. So I wanted to share some details of my experience so far when considering switching. I will try to keep it mostly facts in the first part, and will share some of my opinions at the end.
- Had dual Sportsman II's since 2017 (CM2's).
- Reason for new purchase: Decided to permanently move them to my work boat (was sharing them with my pontoon barge, so I had to switch them 4 times a year).
- Was considering upgrading to Blades, but was intrigued with what the new Raptors had to offer.
- Ended up giving the new Raptors a try.
- Currently working on installation
1) POLE COMPARISON: As some others have stated, Raptors are more comparable to Sportsman II or Pro Series in terms of general design and overall size. Raptors have bumpers for the spike when stowed. I had a lot of slapping on Sportsman II's in rough water, especially after they got some wear on them. The Raptors have a fully coated spike like the Blades. The Raptors weigh 25LB each (just the pole, dry). I did not weight my Sportsman II's cuz they are already mounted to my other boat, but I feel like they are pretty close.
2) POLE MOUNTING: The hole patterns are the same. I wasn't sure when I purchased, so I ended up buying the MK brackets. So I technically could have saved myself a chunk of money, but I'll live.
3) MOUNTING BRACKETS: I'm not totally disappointed that I bought the MK jackplate brackets. They are VERY sturdy. Much stiffer than the PP brackets I had (PKD-S-2-6-BLK). Not saying this to knock the PP brackets, they worked just fine. Just stating my observations. I see PP has newer "box" style brackets that are likely more sturdy and more expensive (closer to MK brackets). I don't know if the stiffer bracket is necessarily better. Poles are designed to have compliance, and the brackets were a part of that "suspension" effect. The stiffer brackets will transmit more of the torque to the poles, and probably induce more shock to the poles when running in rough water. But will they hold better with stiffer bracket? Will they wear faster?Time will tell.
4) PUMPS: The Raptor pumps are a lot heavier and bigger. Raptor = 13LB (dry, with bracket); PPCM2 = 7+LB (with oil and bracket). The Raptor pump mounting bracket is twice as thick, has an added brace, and has the exact same hole dimensions as the PP pump bracket. But to be fair, the Raptor bracket needs to be beefier to handle the extra weight of the pump, and I never had any issues with the PP setup. I do like the slotted pump mounting holes to make it easier to install in tight spaces. But I now have to reconfigure some stuff because the Raptor pumps don't fit in the space that I had my PPCM2 pumps. The Raptor pump bracket will mount right in to where I had the PPCM2's mounted, I just have to move my onboard charger to give more room for the oil tanks. Not the end of the world, just more work. MK also uses a real nice jacketed electrical cable on the pump that looks clean.
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5) MOUNTING BRACKET SELECTION: If you are considering switching from an existing PP setup, and you do want to use the Raptor mounting brackets (I could not find any dimensional drawings to help me evaluate choosing 4" or 6" from MK); I was using the PKD-S-2-6-BLK brackets from Power Pole, and I had them bolted at the at the top of the slots. The 4" Raptor brackets put me at the same mounting height. But there is no adjustment in the Raptor brackets.
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6) I have my hoses running through the top of the hull, and had originally used the PP grommets that came with the units. The Raptor grommets are exactly the same and the hoses fit in to the holes I originally drilled perfectly.
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SOME OPINIONS:
The Raptors seem pretty well made. Only time will tell how they hold up. I felt like I got my moneys worth out of the Sportsman II's. They did start to oval the holes on the frames at some of the joints. Probably my fault to some extent for not being better about replacing bushing kits. But I did regularly make sure the bolts were tight. Thats the only reason I didn't want to go with another set of Sportsman's. I know a lot of people with Blades and they definitely seem to hold up better, which is why I was prepared to spend the extra money for them. My opinion from the research I did was that the Raptors were maybe somewhere between the Sportsman II's and Blades. The main reason I decided to try the Raptors was because I was presented a deal I couldn't pass up. Going based on standard market pricing, I would have bought the Blades (primarily because I was already set up for PP, and because of the reputation). Since I haven't actually run the Raptors, my opinions could be bias, and may change over time. But this is all info I wish I had, so I leave you with that. I will post more updates as I get them fully functioning, and as I start to use them when water softens up.
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Originally Posted by Jon406
