A lot of guys saying they have not been around a NITRO.....but.......give an opinion......and some use old NITRO's to compare to. I can give you some real world perspective. I owned a 2000 929 single console with a 225, EFI. Just sold it last year. That boat was my guide boat and did it's share of travel. It went to Lake Champlain and fished a day they cancelled the Everstart tournament. It has been on the Potomac in some of the nastiest it has to offer (ask Carlos), it's been on Lakes St Clair and Winniconnie as well as the Fox watershed in Wisconsin. Never a day in the shop. Always got me home. My Ranger experience has been pretty extensive since Carlos and I spend a week fishing St Clair every spring for the last 9 years and have been in some very nasty water. We fish the Potomac together as well. Carlos has had 520's of different years. For the last 2 years I lived in Florida and my tournament partner ran a Z21. We were on the St Johns river in some pretty rough stuff as well. I also had my boat there as well.

The reason you are getting a response from me is that I have been lurking on this board for a while because I am in the market right now (I sold my NITRO in Florida before I came back), and Ranger is very high on my list. I watch a lot of the Brand boards just to see who is having problems with what and on which boat!! With all that being said, the one thing you have to remember is that the price points for these 2 is different. Both are great boats with one being greater if you know what I mean. The added value in a Ranger is why you pay more. Is it worth it? To some yes. My 929 was a rough water beast. Had a deck the size of the USS JFK. Was it on the same level as a Ranger.....no.....but it's not supposed to be. I can not and will not make a comparison of the new Z9's to the Rangers because I have not been in one enough to compare. The reason I say that is because you are getting closer in cost when rigged out the same. We are talking used older models. My final take is this:

Is a Ranger worth the extra $$?? Yes it is all day long.

Will the NITRO 929 be a good boat for less $$? Yes it will.

TOXIC