Jay, I think this one deserves an update. The biggest benefit, at least IMHO, is the integration with the chart plotters/mycaptain. Even for pontooners, this motor is a gamechanger when paired with a Garmin chart plotter. Actual full autopilot with precharting, this integration is a complete gamechanger that is being slept on. God bless, Jay!
If your trolling motor is only pulling your boat two miles an hour on 10 you've severely underpowered your trolling motor.... Can't really claim this to be a fair comparison
That is the Terrova killer. That steering speed on the pedal is just as good as an Ultrex. And the livescope mounting…I’m a hardcore Minnkota guy but this is impressive
FINALLY a brushless motor for us deep-v guys! Was about to get force or ghost but need longer shaft length Edit: just saw minn kota finally announced brushless motors. The competition is on!
It seems like Garmin took some big steps forward with this trolling motor and made it more for the tiller community rather than traditional bass boats. It may be a few years before I have one but it's on the list of things to get. Thanks for the honest opinion and review
A possible solution to not knowing your speed in the back of the boat. I use a small S-biner to clip the remote to my belt buckle. When you adjust your speed on the pedal, it will indicate the current speed on the remote screen. Obviously not as convenient as looking at the indicator lights on the main unit but maybe a little easier than asking the guy at the bow of the boat while guiding. Hope this helps.
Desperate for help Jay! Bought a kraken with quick release as you have on a competitor 185. I have issues with it not being very secure and have been breaking bolts and dealer has said to put a fabbed up steel plate under in bow to make it less susceptible to breaking since it’s a “heavy motor”. Have you had issue with it wobble or having play while on mount?
For not knowing your power level at the pedal, you could always roll it back a bunch so you know it's at 0, then move back up 5 clicks or whatever you need.
I got the previous Force this spring. In my humble opinion the best feature is the routes. I create a route on my Echomap and just let the trolling motor run the boat and I get to fish! You will like the wireless connection to your graph. Tells you what speed you are in and many other things. The Force is so good, I'm thinking it might be illegal. May the Force be with you!
Totally agree about the routes! It makes fishing way more enjoyable, especially on windy days when it takes more effort to keep the boat going in the right direction.
Is your Force on a bass boat? I have a Crestliner Sportfish 1750, wondering if the 57" shaft is long enough. I might go with the Kraken for that reason, but would prefer the spring assist stow/deploy of the original Force.
Nice product and a great review. I believe it comes down to brand loyalty these days more than anything since the big manufacturers are all putting out great gear that do pretty much the same thing.
I was literally just saying "Dude! You're going to drop something in the water..." and *splash*. Anyway, do you ever feel like the 75" was too big for your boat? I have an 18' deep v with 26" from the water to the bow... maybe a little more. Anyway, according to Garmin, I should add 8" for rough water (which I get into sometimes) and that puts my right at the top of the 63" shaft and in the middle for the 75" shaft. I'm trying to decide if it's worth the extra $200... thoughts?
Does anybody actually mount the Livescope transducer on the trolling motor? Won't that drive you crazy trying to use the Livescope while spot-locked? Thanks.
This motor is the missing link for me, thanks for the great video I just ordered a white one arriving Friday. I had an Ulterra self-deploy unit, that's its weak point though. It's not worth the convenience when it malfunctions often. Reason I went with this is I just got rid of Ulterra motor, all the noted improvements and it integrates with my garmin, which was always a sore spot with Minkota units. Pays to stay informed I almost bought another model Minkota. One quirky thing I find is the price difference on the black model, which cost less, is saltwater rated and comes with transducer about a $400 difference. Is the white paint process that much more expensive? Pro tip: If possible, (pro cuz lot of experience getting repaired) get an extended warranty on any motor, about $300, saved my bacon. believe
Quick question. If you allready have a Garmin 122SV chartplotter with GT56 transducer at the back of the boat (obviously connected with a cable). How do you connect your 122sv to the GT56 transducer in the Garmin Force Kraken? I can't read anything on the site, but it seems to me you also need a cable? There's no cable in the accessories? Or is it wireless?
With live scope on the bottom of the trolling motor when parallel to the shoreline you are only able to see what's in front of the boat the way the trolling motor is going. I would still keep the live scope on the pole so it's pointing in the desired direction, not the direction of travel. Be a pain in the neck to have to constantly turn the motor to see what's to the side of the boat, then turn it back to move ahead. My 2 cents.
I noticed the way you mounted the TM that the head is hanging off the side of the boat. Any concerns with it being damaged trailering - rocks etc? I’ve got one on order and my only concern is getting it mounted so the lund travel cover is still useable and I can use the stabilizer mount. I figure I’ll have to get the travel cover modified. If the head can hang off the side with no worries, that would also help. Great videos! Keep them coming!
Just fyi, using that remote when you are in the back of the boat guiding will be easier than the pedal, also, you can see your speed on the remote display as well. X2 on the route making another viewer mentioned, i do that all the time, i use the app for it but you can do it on your garmin graph as well. Fish hang in different depths throughout the year, if I want a stress free 3 hour trip around the local lake, I pick a depth, set the route right on that contour, and it syncs right with my graphs and force, away you go! Oh yeah, and if you catch a biggin and want to pause your route, just hit your anchor lock!
I run a terrova riptide in fresh and salt. I hate the fact there’s no way to mount a transducer on it so props to garmin. Idk about a wireless pedal I don’t wanna think about batteries and stuff. Definitely some positives and negatives to both. But for a guy with a deep v rig that wants to fully rig his boat with transducers this might be the only option.
the way I know what speed without looking is just give it to good cranks so your at max and then just count the clicks down annoying still but less annoying than asking your buddy what speed your on
Nice review Jay, Hope they come out with an auto deploy, will be hard to get away from my ulterra. I know you say your not getting paid but did garmin provide the trolling motor for free or sponsor the video. if not it would be good to say. See a lot of videos and reviews these days of an incentive for the reviewer and its not really fair to the public that thinks they are watching an unbiased review. nothing wrong with it but should be disclosed to be fair to the viewers,
how is the rocking/swinging that happened when all the weight is in the back of the boat?. that made me stick with my Ultrex but would love to give this one a try at some point
If you put the motor on a GPS heading can you adjust the heading with the foot pedal? Or does that turn the heading off like you said with the spot lock
Very impressive unit. The fish might as well just jump in the boat, not much chance of escaping. Did you put a new prop on the motor? Your first thought was that the prop was small.
Question. When paired with garmin chartplotters does this follow contours / depths / jog. Create a route on the map and the garmin kraken will track your route. This sounds like it can make casting on windy days much easier. Especially for the captain who sometimes will sacrifice a cast or two to regain boat control. If it works that well I’m a fan instantly!!!
Put Garmin Force on my boat last year, thee best addition i have put on my boat thus far. Have the trolling motor linked to the garmin EchoMap you can control the motor from is as well. i use the remote myself, it has a display screen and gives speed and heading, plus the point and click option of the remote is amazing as well.
Interestingly enough a prominent RUclips angler and BASS opens pro from my hometown in Nebraska ran a garmin force 3 boats ago. He went back to Minnkota for his last 2. I’ve heard the same from many others I fish against/with. Interesting to see if you’ll have the same experience or not. I personally couldn’t run one that wasn’t cable steering even on my deep v
Love the video as always Jay! The Krakken is the answer to all us Great Lakes trolling guys' prayers!! It'll pull a 22' Deep V for all day long without running a kicker and holds speed to within a tenth of a mph with gear in the water. It's a game changer for Lake Michigan Salmon trolling
Very informative video. Only question is when running on 10 or top end, how many amps are you drawing. I know it's brushless but did your power cables from batteries get warm or hot.
How easy is it to stow/deploy? I'm trying to decide between the older Force and the Kraken. The older force has the spring assist and the cable which I think would be nice.
Awesome video! I just have to ask, why not an Ulterra? The new ones are brushless and the auto stow/deploy power trim is an absolute game changer. Comes with a foot pedal as well. Just seems like a win, win, win to me. Two year owner of one and I will say it makes everything easy.
Garmin has been stepping up their game over the last few years, after everything I heard about the original Garmin force I was excited to try the Kraken.
@@JaySiemens agree, just wish they would explore the auto deploy/stow feature. Pretty hard to beat deploying from behind my windshield right from my helix screen.
PowerPole has yet to release their long shafted versions, and they will be double the cost of this one. Kinda has me look Garmin (everything in my boat is already Garmin).
I have a Garmin force. Here’s my workaround to check the speed setting without asking the person in the front of the boat: - wear the remote around your neck or leave it somewhere you can see it. The remote displays the speed setting in real time when you adjust speed on the foot pedal. - if you have a Garmin graph within eyesight of where you’re fishing: add the “trolling motor bar” overlay to your screen. This is also an easy way to see other settings quickly like what mode the motor is in or what pre-programmed route you’re running. You wouldn’t think knowing the exact setting would matter but the new trolling motors are so powerful that I’ve nearly thrown myself and others from the bow of the boat when the motor was accidentally engaged at higher speed than intended 😂. Hope this comment helps someone catch a few extra fish instead of messing with their trolling motor!
Garmin graphs and livescope are some of the best but their other products are just garbage! You can even put a garmin trolling motor on a 16 foot fishing boat because it will go crazy in anchor mode or spot lock and almost throw you out of the boat..... junk
There is a setting on the Garmin force remote to turn down the spot lock sensitivity for lighter boats . It fixes the exact issue your having. its default at 5 . try turning that setting down to 3
Jay, I think this one deserves an update. The biggest benefit, at least IMHO, is the integration with the chart plotters/mycaptain. Even for pontooners, this motor is a gamechanger when paired with a Garmin chart plotter. Actual full autopilot with precharting, this integration is a complete gamechanger that is being slept on. God bless, Jay!
Does that differ from the original Force trolling motor?
@@SkolVikingsGuy No, they both can do that, Kraken is just more power.
If your trolling motor is only pulling your boat two miles an hour on 10 you've severely underpowered your trolling motor.... Can't really claim this to be a fair comparison
You finally became a Garmin Guy! Welcome to the club.
Still got the minnkota's for lake master on my boat! Would love to see Garmin get better mapping for Lake of the Woods.
@@JaySiemensjust get better mapping in general. Lake master is leaps and bounds ahead
That is the Terrova killer. That steering speed on the pedal is just as good as an Ultrex. And the livescope mounting…I’m a hardcore Minnkota guy but this is impressive
None of these words mean anything to me
FINALLY a brushless motor for us deep-v guys! Was about to get force or ghost but need longer shaft length
Edit: just saw minn kota finally announced brushless motors. The competition is on!
🎣🎣DUDES...YOUR HERE🤘 SMASH THAT THUMB 👍 👍👍 LET'S GROW JAY'S ALGORITHM ❤🤘🤘🎣
It’s only 6 thousand dollars so I’m sure it will fly off the shelves
It seems like Garmin took some big steps forward with this trolling motor and made it more for the tiller community rather than traditional bass boats. It may be a few years before I have one but it's on the list of things to get. Thanks for the honest opinion and review
Your remote should tell you what speed setting your on if your in the back of the boat.
A possible solution to not knowing your speed in the back of the boat. I use a small S-biner to clip the remote to my belt buckle. When you adjust your speed on the pedal, it will indicate the current speed on the remote screen. Obviously not as convenient as looking at the indicator lights on the main unit but maybe a little easier than asking the guy at the bow of the boat while guiding. Hope this helps.
My question is your not worry about foot pedal falling in the water??? How much did foot pedal cost?
That Garmin lock you are using at 11:51 in this movie, i can't find it, what is it called and who sells it
Desperate for help Jay! Bought a kraken with quick release as you have on a competitor 185. I have issues with it not being very secure and have been breaking bolts and dealer has said to put a fabbed up steel plate under in bow to make it less susceptible to breaking since it’s a “heavy motor”. Have you had issue with it wobble or having play while on mount?
Email me at info@jaysiemensmedia.com
I love Garmin stuff❤ nice trolling motor❣️❣️
For not knowing your power level at the pedal, you could always roll it back a bunch so you know it's at 0, then move back up 5 clicks or whatever you need.
that's what i was thinking, or vice versa
I just had to see this video while I’m in a love/hate relationship (mostly hate) with my Minn Kota. That thing is bad to the bone.
I got the previous Force this spring. In my humble opinion the best feature is the routes. I create a route on my Echomap and just let the trolling motor run the boat and I get to fish! You will like the wireless connection to your graph. Tells you what speed you are in and many other things. The Force is so good, I'm thinking it might be illegal.
May the Force be with you!
thanks for sharing! ill give that a try!
Totally agree about the routes! It makes fishing way more enjoyable, especially on windy days when it takes more effort to keep the boat going in the right direction.
Is your Force on a bass boat? I have a Crestliner Sportfish 1750, wondering if the 57" shaft is long enough. I might go with the Kraken for that reason, but would prefer the spring assist stow/deploy of the original Force.
your videos are the best!! feels like I'm watching a high production value video. awesome video Jay, you gotta come down to g-bay sometime!!
Thank you!!
Nice product and a great review. I believe it comes down to brand loyalty these days more than anything since the big manufacturers are all putting out great gear that do pretty much the same thing.
I was literally just saying "Dude! You're going to drop something in the water..." and *splash*. Anyway, do you ever feel like the 75" was too big for your boat? I have an 18' deep v with 26" from the water to the bow... maybe a little more. Anyway, according to Garmin, I should add 8" for rough water (which I get into sometimes) and that puts my right at the top of the 63" shaft and in the middle for the 75" shaft. I'm trying to decide if it's worth the extra $200... thoughts?
I 100% would loose that pedal in the water.... I loose everything in the water.
Does anybody actually mount the Livescope transducer on the trolling motor? Won't that drive you crazy trying to use the Livescope while spot-locked? Thanks.
This motor is the missing link for me, thanks for the great video I just ordered a white one arriving Friday. I had an Ulterra self-deploy unit, that's its weak point though. It's not worth the convenience when it malfunctions often. Reason I went with this is I just got rid of Ulterra motor, all the noted improvements and it integrates with my garmin, which was always a sore spot with Minkota units. Pays to stay informed I almost bought another model Minkota. One quirky thing I find is the price difference on the black model, which cost less, is saltwater rated and comes with transducer about a $400 difference. Is the white paint process that much more expensive? Pro tip: If possible, (pro cuz lot of experience getting repaired) get an extended warranty on any motor, about $300, saved my bacon. believe
Quick question. If you allready have a Garmin 122SV chartplotter with GT56 transducer at the back of the boat (obviously connected with a cable). How do you connect your 122sv to the GT56 transducer in the Garmin Force Kraken? I can't read anything on the site, but it seems to me you also need a cable? There's no cable in the accessories? Or is it wireless?
Does the foot pedal give you a positive feel like the cable steer?
It has a tension adjustment so you can make it feel the way you want.
Jay that’s my next trolling motor for sure but will that transducer hook up to Lowrance or anything else besides a Garmin ?
With live scope on the bottom of the trolling motor when parallel to the shoreline you are only able to see what's in front of the boat the way the trolling motor is going. I would still keep the live scope on the pole so it's pointing in the desired direction, not the direction of travel. Be a pain in the neck to have to constantly turn the motor to see what's to the side of the boat, then turn it back to move ahead. My 2 cents.
I’m really trying to bring you to Whitedog Ontario, 25 minutes from minaki. Lots of big walleyes big bass and huge pike
I noticed the way you mounted the TM that the head is hanging off the side of the boat. Any concerns with it being damaged trailering - rocks etc? I’ve got one on order and my only concern is getting it mounted so the lund travel cover is still useable and I can use the stabilizer mount. I figure I’ll have to get the travel cover modified. If the head can hang off the side with no worries, that would also help. Great videos! Keep them coming!
Just fyi, using that remote when you are in the back of the boat guiding will be easier than the pedal, also, you can see your speed on the remote display as well. X2 on the route making another viewer mentioned, i do that all the time, i use the app for it but you can do it on your garmin graph as well. Fish hang in different depths throughout the year, if I want a stress free 3 hour trip around the local lake, I pick a depth, set the route right on that contour, and it syncs right with my graphs and force, away you go! Oh yeah, and if you catch a biggin and want to pause your route, just hit your anchor lock!
Technology thats just not attainable for the average fisherman. Nice stuff. Just don't see it on my boat until it's a quarter of that asking price.
I run a terrova riptide in fresh and salt. I hate the fact there’s no way to mount a transducer on it so props to garmin. Idk about a wireless pedal I don’t wanna think about batteries and stuff. Definitely some positives and negatives to both. But for a guy with a deep v rig that wants to fully rig his boat with transducers this might be the only option.
the way I know what speed without looking is just give it to good cranks so your at max and then just count the clicks down annoying still but less annoying than asking your buddy what speed your on
If you had to shorten the shaft, would that be possible?
Nice review Jay, Hope they come out with an auto deploy, will be hard to get away from my ulterra. I know you say your not getting paid but did garmin provide the trolling motor for free or sponsor the video. if not it would be good to say. See a lot of videos and reviews these days of an incentive for the reviewer and its not really fair to the public that thinks they are watching an unbiased review. nothing wrong with it but should be disclosed to be fair to the viewers,
Hi Jay, Nice Job. where did you get the trolling motor shaft support bracket?
What 3 blade prop is that?
how is the rocking/swinging that happened when all the weight is in the back of the boat?. that made me stick with my Ultrex but would love to give this one a try at some point
If you put the motor on a GPS heading can you adjust the heading with the foot pedal? Or does that turn the heading off like you said with the spot lock
Very impressive unit. The fish might as well just jump in the boat, not much chance of escaping. Did you put a new prop on the motor? Your first thought was that the prop was small.
If you have your remote with you at the back of the boat it should show you your speed…..
Nope, that is going to be a transducer destroyer. Like the original better.
Does the pedal float? You may want to get a tether so you don’t need to dive again on top of the bow.
Is the steering quieter than the original force seems like to me it’s pretty loud
Holy crap, almost $4000 for a trolling motor....not for many of us.
Is the 75 inch shaft the best choice for your 205 competitor?
Question. When paired with garmin chartplotters does this follow contours / depths / jog. Create a route on the map and the garmin kraken will track your route. This sounds like it can make casting on windy days much easier. Especially for the captain who sometimes will sacrifice a cast or two to regain boat control. If it works that well I’m a fan instantly!!!
Canadian guy wears USA flag shirt !!! Hahaha
Put Garmin Force on my boat last year, thee best addition i have put on my boat thus far. Have the trolling motor linked to the garmin EchoMap you can control the motor from is as well. i use the remote myself, it has a display screen and gives speed and heading, plus the point and click option of the remote is amazing as well.
Seems basically like the power drive for installing
Can you use a foot controller at the front and one at the rear also?
Difficult to stay “looking” at fish on spot lock?
How were you able to get your hand on one this quick?
Kayak version coming 2051
Interestingly enough a prominent RUclips angler and BASS opens pro from my hometown in Nebraska ran a garmin force 3 boats ago. He went back to Minnkota for his last 2. I’ve heard the same from many others I fish against/with. Interesting to see if you’ll have the same experience or not. I personally couldn’t run one that wasn’t cable steering even on my deep v
MF got that when it first came out. It takes a while to adjust but with the software updates the old force is still a force.
I go 3.1 mph 24v 70lb 16ft boat
Release the Kracken is from the movie “clash of the Titans “ Circa 1980
Also from a shitty movie in the late 2000s or early 2010s. Might have been a remake.
I feel like it would only be a true comparison to minnkota if you review their new quest lineup of motors. Otherwise great video.
Agreed, I mentioned that in the video.
At least use a table cloth on the picnic table.
Good review, not harping but the speed tests are null and void due to the big wind difference
Yup, I mentioned the wind difference.
Great video. But what's lt cost?
you need some arclab sun shades on those head units.
Love the video as always Jay! The Krakken is the answer to all us Great Lakes trolling guys' prayers!! It'll pull a 22' Deep V for all day long without running a kicker and holds speed to within a tenth of a mph with gear in the water. It's a game changer for Lake Michigan Salmon trolling
i mean do you wanna spend 5k for a trolling motor or 5k for 9.9 kicker? also dont forget about the lithium batteries or 3 agm.
Whatever happened to uncut angling ?
Doesn't the remote show the speed of the trolling motor? If so keep the remote on your neck.
I prefer not to wear the remote all day, but that is definitely an option.
Very informative video. Only question is when running on 10 or top end, how many amps are you drawing. I know it's brushless but did your power cables from batteries get warm or hot.
58AH on 10 with 24V on one of the Australian videos
Welcome to the Garmin side!
I have this motor on my boat and just love it's manuverability , power and how quiet it is....
How easy is it to stow/deploy? I'm trying to decide between the older Force and the Kraken. The older force has the spring assist and the cable which I think would be nice.
dang that's a sexy unit!!
talkin bout the motor, not jay.
Hahahaha
wow 💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝
Hanon looked violated after you grabbed that remote from him 😂
Hahaha so true!
love me some garmin products and having jay do a review on it is even better
Glad you like them!
Garmin! Quality stuff!!!
Absolute wildness
Awesome video! I just have to ask, why not an Ulterra? The new ones are brushless and the auto stow/deploy power trim is an absolute game changer. Comes with a foot pedal as well. Just seems like a win, win, win to me. Two year owner of one and I will say it makes everything easy.
Garmin has been stepping up their game over the last few years, after everything I heard about the original Garmin force I was excited to try the Kraken.
@@JaySiemens agree, just wish they would explore the auto deploy/stow feature. Pretty hard to beat deploying from behind my windshield right from my helix screen.
@@royfletcher8548 I would guess Minnkota has a patent on the auto-deploy. I’m sure you’ll see other brands come out with it once the patent lapses.
@@2cthetruth not getting paid by garmin…
Thanks jay you just cost me some $ lol
Haha I’m sorry!!
Good day to Jay and the family!! Hannon is getting big!! 😊
Thanks! Yup, he's a chunk!
Nice
How do you now carry a magnet on your boat? Never dropped a rod over?
I've got a magnet! Needed a good swim though.
I believe it's aluminum.
Who the hell drops things in the lake? 😂
❤️👊💪🎣
i mean do we really need a 4k-5k trolling motor?
I think that’s kind of the standard for motors these days. The powerpole motor is $7500. I think I paid around $4,000 for my ultrex 6 years ago.
You don’t need 99% of the fishing technology these days. 😂
PowerPole has yet to release their long shafted versions, and they will be double the cost of this one. Kinda has me look Garmin (everything in my boat is already Garmin).
was the other MinnKota prop a Kipawa?
Yup!
Wicked
I have a Garmin force. Here’s my workaround to check the speed setting without asking the person in the front of the boat:
- wear the remote around your neck or leave it somewhere you can see it. The remote displays the speed setting in real time when you adjust speed on the foot pedal.
- if you have a Garmin graph within eyesight of where you’re fishing: add the “trolling motor bar” overlay to your screen. This is also an easy way to see other settings quickly like what mode the motor is in or what pre-programmed route you’re running.
You wouldn’t think knowing the exact setting would matter but the new trolling motors are so powerful that I’ve nearly thrown myself and others from the bow of the boat when the motor was accidentally engaged at higher speed than intended 😂.
Hope this comment helps someone catch a few extra fish instead of messing with their trolling motor!
This is very helpful! thank you!!!
Garmin graphs and livescope are some of the best but their other products are just garbage! You can even put a garmin trolling motor on a 16 foot fishing boat because it will go crazy in anchor mode or spot lock and almost throw you out of the boat..... junk
There is a setting on the Garmin force remote to turn down the spot lock sensitivity for lighter boats . It fixes the exact issue your having. its default at 5 . try turning that setting down to 3