I've been fishing out of a 1999 Ranger R71 for about 10 years and am finally going to take the plunge into a new or gently used boat. I have been pretty anti the Nitro boat due to it being a BPS special and all of that however I fished out of a buddies last week and it rode and fished great.

Anyone have any pros/cons on the Nitro?

I found a 2014 with a 250 Pro Xs at a good price on boat trader that caught my eye.

I had planned on buying a new Skeeter ZX 225 but I'm entertaining this nitro for about 20 grand less.

As I have stated in other post I was a rep for a fishing boat company for 36 years. Nitro started its life in Sulphur Springs Texas by Allen Stinson in the early 80's. ( Who later went to Stratos) He had worked for Skeeter before building his own boats. Then Tracker bought Nitro.
I am not one to bash a brand. Resale value is the bad part of Nitro as it is not perceived by most in the fishing world to be a high end product. A lot of Ranger and Triton dealers are complaining that since the Bass Pro buy out of those two brands that the boats they are getting now are coming in with "Nitro" traits now.....wood in parts of the boat, cheaper carpet and seat vinyl, cheaper bilge pumps and hardware etc.
Get on line and look up a Z21 Nitro on a NADA or Kelley Blue Book. Compare that to the same year model Skeeter or Ranger and you should see a large difference. Look on Bass Boat Central or Texas Boat Trader and make some comparisons. Then before buying go take a ride in bad conditions (Rough Water) and make your own comparison.
Skeeter, by market share, is the #1 selling bass boat in Texas...and they are built here....hence the high resale value. Ranger has the number two spot.
Nobody really builds a bad boat anymore...just some are better than others.

I personally would not get a Nitro. I've had two Rangers and they've been great.

If you plan to keep it ten years... a nitro is great. The middle year resale value is tough.... but if you keep things a while, great boat

bookmyer said:

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I personally would not get a Nitro. I've had two Rangers and they've been great.

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Plus one. Love my Ranger. There are some rumors of quality issues after the Basspro deal but its hard to say. The new Vexus brand has also made things interesting. But Nitro is definitely a step below the top tier brands like Ranger, Basscat, Legend, and Skeeter. Lots of little things that add up to a more budget friendly product. I wouldn't consider a Nitro unless the deal was great and the boat was perfect.

Thank y'all for the responses. I was pretty sure those were the answers I was going to get. I have honestly fished out of a Ranger my entire life. My dad has a 1979 Ranger that I grew up in and chose to stay with Ranger when I bought mine in 2008.

I went and looked at new Nitros today after work and they just felt cheap compared to anything else I've looked at. I think I'm going back to either a new Skeeter ZX 225 or a lightly used Ranger.

A good decision. I went to the Classic and saw the new Vexus. Was not impressed. Looks like a Walleye boat hull with a old Stratos tunnel hull top deck. Lots of gizmos on it but not very good lines. imho
If not Skeeter then try to find a nice "Pre Bass Pro" Ranger...like a 2016 or back.
I still have a relationship with many of the Ranger dealers in Texas and they are all worried about the quality and QC and fit and finish now. Two of the largest dealers took on Skeeter.

Zx225 is great boat. One of the best values in the market.

Skeeter is on the top of their game right now with pricing and value for $$ spent.

Gunny456 said:

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A good decision. I went to the Classic and saw the new Vexus. Was not impressed. Looks like a Walleye boat hull with a old Stratos tunnel hull top deck. Lots of gizmos on it but not very good lines. imho
If not Skeeter then try to find a nice "Pre Bass Pro" Ranger...like a 2016 or back.
I still have a relationship with many of the Ranger dealers in Texas and they are all worried about the quality and QC and fit and finish now. Two of the largest dealers took on Skeeter.

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I hate to hear that. I have a 2013 Ranger Z520 and when I was shopping for that boat it blew the Skeeter away in terms of quality. Hopefully I can hold on to my Ranger for a long time. I had to order a part for my trailer a month or so ago and the service seemed the same as always when ordering directly through Ranger.

Where do y'all think the best place to shop for a used boat is? I've been all over boattrader and Texas fishing forum.

Wanted to share some info with you in hopes it might help in your quest. Right now is the best selling season for bass boats. It starts at the boat shows in January and runs till about July 1 or so. Most of the better manufacturers have a huge back log as demand is exceeding supply as so much has changed in the market place. Triton is about gone, Legend is gone, Ranger is in a transition as Bass Pro learns to manage it, Bass Cat's market share has not changed in decades as it has no dealer network and they were also bought out by a ski boat company so Skeeter and Phoenix are building and selling all the boats they can produce.
Consequently good used product is at a premium right now because dealers are snatching good used boats up to be able and have something to sell and are very aggressive with " trade in" pricing as it is a sellers market right now.
You are going to have to just get out and network and stay on the forums or call the better known dealers of bass boats that do volume to see if they know of something. The kings in Texas for Bass boats are Fun N Sun Marine in Ft. Worth, Diamond Sports Marine at Lake Fork, H&W Marine in Marshall, Boerne Marine in Boerne, Texas Boat World in Killeen, LMC Marine in Houston, Deans Marine in Odessa and Nautical Mile Marine in Tyler. These dealers sell 80% of the bass boats in the Texas market and would be your best bet to find or network to find a good used boat.
Year model will change in July so a lot of the promotional "Team" boats will be coming available as these guys change boats. They can often times be had for good prices.
Skeeter has a "Demo Team" and those boats are well taken care of and have very low hours on them....check with some dealers on the availability of them. They dont last long as they are highly sought after.
Hope this helps some.

Understand. Back in those years Ranger had great fit and finish but the Skeeter would out handle and out ride the Ranger but Skeeter lacked some in fit and finish imho. Now Skeeter seems to have, according to dealers who sell both Skeeter and Ranger, both the good ride and handling and a good fit and finish as well. Plus Skeeter has the best warranty in the business
One dealer said he got a Ranger in on order and it had wood again in the dash. He also said he got a Ranger in that had Triton tie downs on it. Hopefully it will get figured out at Bass Pro and will be like it used to be.
I take notice when the number one dealer in Texas for Ranger takes on Skeeter and is supposedly doing really well with them. Had to be a reason in my book.

Gunny, thanks for all the info. I'm actually working in San Angelo tomorrow and will pop by Deans Marine and see what they have. I had gone to Boerne marine to look and they didn't really seem interested in my business but it could have just been a bad day. I need to look at fun n sun as well. Once again, thanks for all the info.

Interesting. I'll have to ask the guy's at Texas Boat World their thoughts next time I have my boat in there. And eyeball the new Rangers myself assuming they have some. I'm not interested in a new boat right now but just curious. Interesting thing is I remember talking to a guy that won a Skeeter in one of the early Bass Champs on Choke Canyon and he said it was the roughest riding bass boat he'd ever been in. I've never been in one. They sure are a lot of them out there though. I'll definately check them out next time I'm in the market as long as I can drive it.

The owner is Ken but he is stretched thin as he has a store in Marble Falls as well. Also his best friend is in MD Anderson with bad cancer and it has him really stressed. His daughter is going to A&M and he is a good guy if you can get him to slow down. Good luck on your quest. Hope you find something that fits and that you can have enjoyment with.

bookmyer said:

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Interesting. I'll have to ask the guy's at Texas Boat World their thoughts next time I have my boat in there. And eyeball the new Rangers myself assuming they have some. I'm not interested in a new boat right now but just curious. Interesting thing is I remember talking to a guy that won a Skeeter in one of the early Bass Champs on Choke Canyon and he said it was the roughest riding bass boat he'd ever been in. I've never been in one. They sure are a lot of them out there though. I'll definately check them out next time I'm in the market as long as I can drive it.

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I've rode in several quite a bit since one of my old tournament partner owned a few of them. One of the worst riding 20' foot boats I've ever been in, not to mention the porpoising at lower speeds. I know Gunny loves them since he used to work for them, but they're barely above Nitro in quality in my opinion.

Skeeter has a factory "Demo Team" and is the only manufacturer that has that. They do events all over Texas and give a very unique demo ride that shows the real capabilities of the boat. They have had the "Demo Team" for around 20 years or so. They prefer the windier the better to show how well the boats do handle in rough water.
If you go to Texas Boat World get Cliff Brown, the owner, to tell you when he will have them at one of his events and go experience it. Tell him his Aggie buddy sent you by. He is a really good man.
Good luck man.....tight lines always!

Skeeter does ride a little rougher than some of the other brands but it's not bad especially if you know how to drive.

Wood is a great core material IF it is BS 1088 or maybe 6566 and encased in quality resin like a good truly water proof epoxy, plus a layer of glass, and the wood cannot be punctured for hardware installation without proper drill and fill installation, which is where most lazy corner cutting manufactures fail, aside from using cheap garbage plywood.

The right wood is superb in the right application. Light and strong and yet flexible enough to take shock and impact.