Kayak FFS: Sniper Marine Pole vs. Fishing Specialties

[Koz]

When I first purchased FFS for my kayak I went looking for a pole mount for the FFS transducer. I looked at both the Fishing Specialties unit and the Sniper Marine unit and couldn't fathom why I would spend $800 on an FFS mount.

 

Now I know.

 

Don't get me wrong, the Fishing Specialties pole is a great unit and it's well made.

 

Fishing Specialties Pros:

• Well made
• Cost
• Easy to install
• Lightweight
• Quick and easy to change to perspective mode and back again.
• Has a breakaway feature when you hit something underwater so you don't trash the transducer, the mount, or your kayak. There is also a tether so when the unit breaks away it can stay attached to the mounting plate.

Fishing Specialties Cons:

• Constantly reaching and turning to point the transducer. Granted, this is also a function of my AP120 where the tracks are further up the bow than most kayaks.
• There's a little bit of play in the forward and down modes.
• It doesn't stow on the rail as is. You can jerry rig it, but it's neither pretty nor stable. Keeping it in the water while steaming to another location greatly reduces your speed, so you want it out of the water. You also don't want to hit an underwater object at speed, even with the breakaway feature.  So when motoring from point to point I would pull it from the water and place it on the deck.
• Hard to achieve a full 360 sweep unless you leave a lot of cable hanging out.
• Did I mention the constant reaching as you have to turn the pole handle to set your target?

 

The Sniper Marine pole is a completely different animal entirely. You can turn the entire pole if you want, but it's made so that you turn a grip like a motorcycle throttle to change the direction of the transducer.

 

Sniper Marine Pros:

• Well built
• No play in setting forward or down modes
• Turn the grip to point and shoot the direction of the transducer. I have an extension pole on my handle which allows me to sit comfortable in my seat and change the direction of the transducer instead of having to lean forward all of the time. 
• Quickly locks and stores on the gunnel when I make a move to a new location.
• Breakaway system if you hit something underwater, but no tether. You're relying on your transducer cable to pull it back on board.

 

Sniper Marine Cons:

• Expensive. I opted for the all aluminum version, but there are some with plastic parts that make the unit less expensive.
• Heavy. 
• Poor instructions, despite their online videos. It took me a minute to figure things out.
• No perspective mode, at least with the mounting option that I used. I need to go into my Garmin box and see if there is a mount that will allow me to quickly change to any of the three FFS modes.

 

Both of these are great mounts. But for my needs, I prefer the Sniper Marine. Whether I'm sitting or standing on my kayak, it's easy just to grab and turn the grip to reposition the transducer. As an older gentleman, I prefer not to reach, twist, and stretch all day out there on the water.