Stratos or Triton

fastoutlaw69 · 03-29-2008, 04:27 PM

Looking for some opinions I'm trading in the old boat for a new one in the spring, thanks to the bank (my wife). My question is this, the Stratos 294 with the ETEC 200 HO or the Triton TR 196, either boat would be dual console with tandam trailer and pretty much loaded out. They are both 70 mph boats......but it seemas the Triton comes with a few more creature comfort items standard and a bigger fuel tank.....just curious if anyone could shed some light on this for me, as to which boat would be the better choice

NCsportsmanTitan · 03-29-2008, 06:06 PM

Both are great boats. I have a 2002 Triton Tr-21 w/ Yamaha Vmax 250 EFI. I have a friend with a 285 Pro XL Stratos and he likes it. I have noticed that the tritons do have a few more creature comforts in comparison as well. Good luck with your choice!

NCsportsmanTitan · 03-29-2008, 06:11 PM

I also forgot to mention on the previous post, that I would go with the Triton for overall ride and performance. I know that my boat is bigger and much faster, but in comparing smaller Tritons and Stratos', I still would go with Triton. Good Luck!

fastoutlaw69 · 03-29-2008, 08:48 PM

thanks for the advice i'm going to keep doing my homework i was just looking at them both again and it's a tough decision, i like them both really well i guess i'll know more when i talk to the Triton dealer on monday and get a price on the TR 196

thebassn8tr · 03-31-2008, 07:00 PM

It goes in this order Ranger, Triton, Skeeter and that's it!

**nmanley** · 03-31-2008, 10:10 PM

I've owned a Ranger and Stratos in that order and would not be scared to have the Triton. The Ranger while having the creature comforts is just heavier than the other two and over priced IMHO. Weight equals performance.
Stratos and Tritons are Earl Benze designs hulls and will get you there faster than most and still in one peice.

NCsportsmanTitan · 04-01-2008, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nmanley

I've owned a Ranger and Stratos in that order and would not be scared to have the Triton. The Ranger while having the creature comforts is just heavier than the other two and over priced IMHO. Weight equals performance.
Stratos and Tritons are Earl Benze designs hulls and will get you there faster than most and still in one peice.

I couldn't agree more! I took a tour of the Triton Boats plant in Ashland City, TN and I feel even more confident about my boat after the tour. It's good to know that you have a well built boat underneath you when you've got it skinned back at 82 MPH (yes, I had the GPS on) down the lake!!!

fastoutlaw69 · 04-20-2008, 07:51 PM

Well I got to tell you I don't know a whole lot about the ranger but I've been doing my homework on the other 19 ft to 19.5 ft boats and what I have seen so far this is how I would rank them IMHO just based on standard features, and fishability, however the Xpress is loaded out with every option, skeeter zx200, triton tr196, stratos 294, I have also been looking at getting an xpress X19LE but i guess only time will tell and my wife of course. I think I'm going to look at the ranger in that size to, to be honest when I think of ranger I can't help but think about $$$$$$ and lots of them.

jljue · 05-10-2008, 07:21 PM

I don't know if anything has changed in the last 20 years or so with Skeeter, but my uncle's 1985 Starfire 175 (18 ft.) is holding up quite nicely. I've been fixing it up for him since he no longer uses it since moving from Atlanta to Norfork, AR, and I've been getting compliments on how good it looks the last few trips on the reservoir. Sure, he took very good care of it, but it looks a whole lot better than some of these other boats that are only 10 years old.