Video · Kayak Reviews
Bonafide XTR130 at ICAST 2025: Riding a $25,000 Rigged Kayak
At ICAST 2025 I ride a Bonafide XTR130 rigged to the max with a 100 lb thrust Power-Pole Move bow motor and see what $25,000 buys.
What’s in this video
At ICAST 2025, Austin and Chad Hoover brought a Bonafide XTR130 loaded out to the max. This is Austin’s boat. With the kayak and every accessory added up, it comes to $25,000. The big piece is a Power-Pole Move bow motor with 100 lb of thrust. They warned me to keep it under 10 since it was my first time, because it can throw you out of the boat.
The remote uses plus and minus for speed, plus left and right. One cool feature: most bow mounts make you spin the head around to reverse, but this one has a reverse button that spins the prop backwards. I tapped it and it went right into reverse. Going forward I ran it up through the speeds to 20, the top. It’s completely silent and very smooth, and it threw a wake fast. Speed 9 was a comfortable cruise.
The rest of the rig: big Lowrance screens, foot steering, a Torqeedo in the back with its own throttle and a battery under the seat, and an anchor pole. I did try anchor mode, and it did something weird I didn’t like, so I turned it off. Maybe it’s all that thrust. On the way back to the ramp they were ghost riding the other boat, driving it by remote with nobody on it. Is it overkill? Let me know what you think.
Key moments
- 0:00 Intro to the Most EXPENSIVE Kayak at iCAST
- 0:47 Full Breakdown: The Bonafide XTR130 & Power-Pole Motor
- 0:57 Testing the Motor Controls & INSANE Reverse
- 2:43 Speed & Maneuverability Test on the Water
- 3:58 Hitting TOP SPEED with the Trolling Motor!
- 5:11 What Makes This a $25,000 Kayak? (Full Cost Breakdown)
- 5:44 Testing the Anchor Mode Feature
Quick takeaways
- With 100 lb of thrust, start at a low speed setting until you're used to it.
- The Power-Pole Move has a reverse button, so you don't have to spin the motor head around.
- Anchor mode behaved oddly on this rig in my short test, so I wouldn't judge it from this run.
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