I'm not a pro on I-Pilot, but the reason I upgraded was for the spot-lock feature. Just push the anchor button and it holds you in place without anchoring. I think the rest is pretty much the same as the regular co-pilot and Auto-pilot, just a little fancier.
I saw those, but didn't find anyone who had one, so shied away.
How do you like it? How much did the ProNav upgrade cost?
I, too, wanted the spot lock feature, and that was the biggest motivator for the purchase. I often fish alone, and this area can be breezy. Anchors are a pain in the neck, and I don't like have to mind the boat while concentrating on fishing.
Expectation management: Successful use of spot lock requires a little learning curve; not bad, but you need to understand what's happening. I've seen users of Minn Kota's product, Lowrance's version, and Pro Nav all complain about "confused" activity when they engage the anchoring feature. In my view, this is largely due to not really understanding what is happening, and how the unit is working with the GPS relative to the motion of the boat. "Pinwheeling" and "herky-jerky" TM activation can occur depending on how the boat is moving when the feature is activated. I find that spot lock operation is smoothest when it's activated with the bow pointed into the wind, and when the forward motion of the boat is nearly or fully stopped.
I like the Pro Nav unit; I don't have any experience with the Minn Kota offering or any others, so I can't make valid comparisons.
I think I paid about $850 for the whole setup in 2022. That includes the basic unit and the fob. The fob is an option. The basic unit is controlled by the user's smart phone, either iOS of Android. I think there have been some price increases since then.
Likes:
- Pro Nav preserves function of the foot pedal controls. Consequently, the fisherman up front can still control the TM with the foot pedal if desired. I don't know if Minn Kota does this or not.
- The App can fully control the TM, and is the method for using lake maps. It can be integrated with Navionics for full functionality such as following bathymetry data around the lake. If you don't need or have Navionics, then the system has the ability to download basic maps from Google and those can be annotated by the user for route plotting or notes and fishing spots. Basic maps also allow for route plotting and navigation.
- The fob (motion controller) can be used while the app is also being used. That will allow multiple fisherman to control the TM via Bluetooth and both can be used to activate or release the anchor function.
- I have had occasion to use Pro Nav's customer service, and they exceeded expectations, in my opinion. A sealed cable connection came loose on one connector last summer. I noticed it on a Thursday afternoon. I dropped a message on their online contact form about 3:30 pm. I uploaded a picture of the problem connector. I had an email response at 5 p.m.; they stated right up front that the loose connector should not have happened and they asked me to send the whole unit back to them by USPS priority. I had that unit in the mail by 9 a.m. on Friday morning. Pro Nav received the package on Monday afternoon. They sent me replacement units immediately, and I had them by Wednesday.
Dislikes:
- The anchoring can be finicky, as discussed above, but I see comments about this from all brands. I've seen videos on Tiny Boat Nation about the Lowrance Ghost; they considered the actions of that unit unsafe.
- My unit works best with a specific startup process to get the unit going at the beginning of the fishing day. I have had occasional Bluetooth connectivity issues.
Overall, would I buy it again? Yes. I don't know how much the Minn Kota upgrade costs today. When I was looking, it was about the same as the Pro Nav. I like having the phone app in addition to the motion controller (fob).
